Crossroads Hearing to Wrap, Solicit Public Comment Monday Night

Monday night, Mahwah residents will have a final opportunity to address the township’s Planning Board before it votes on the preliminary site plan of the Crossroads Town Center.

After about two years of testimony on the 600,000 square foot shopping center, the Crossroads Developers are expected to give closing statements on their application Monday night at a 7:30 p.m. Planning Board meeting.

Members of the public will be able to address the board with any comments about the application before the board takes a final vote on it.

Planning Board Chair Todd Sherer said Friday he was “not sure” if a vote would take place Monday, or at the following meeting, depending on how long the public comments portion takes.

Members of the “Stop Mahwah Mall” group, which formed two years ago to stop the development of the shopping center, are expected to voice their opinions about the past two years of testimony on the application at the meeting. The group emailed a reminder to its supporters last week calling Monday night’s meeting the “last opportunity for the board to hear from us before it votes to approve or deny the application.”

The group also pushed for all concerned residents to attend the meeting.

When testimony wrapped last month, Sherer estimated that about 50 residents would attend the final hearing Monday night. Over 250 residents attended a township council hearing in March of 2011 during which the council approved an ordinance allowing for the shopping development on the Crossroads property.

If the board grants preliminary site plan approval, the Crossroads developer would then move on to seek approvals from the state and return to the Planning Board for another round of testimony and final site plan approval, officials said.

Monday’s meeting will be held at town hall on Corporate Drive.