Supermarket Meeting: Summary and Feedback
Summary of the Community Meeting on Replacing Stop & Shop
On February 28, 2023 a full room gathered in the community center on South 6th to hear what was announced as a “Community Meeting on Replacing Stop & Shop.”
Mayor Elsie Foster said the supermarket is top on her mind. She asks everyone she meets “Do you know anybody who wants to move a supermarket to Highland Park?” She is tapping into everyone who says they will help to make sure we have a supermarket in our town.
Matthew Hale, chair of the economic committee, presented next. Stop & Shop’s business model is for a much bigger store. The building not in great shape. He said a local family owns the property that holds the supermarket, and the borough officials have had numerous meetings with the family. The parcel of land that holds the supermarket has been designated for redevelopment. He talked pathways of getting to a supermarket. He referred to the redevelopment plan as a “picture frame.”
Teri Jover, Borough administrator and head of redevelopment, talked about the many Borough services available to help those in need. She talked about the food pantry, rides to markets, and training for online shopping using Borough computers. She also mentioned that we do have a market in Highland Park: Glatt 27.
Jim Constantine, Borough Planner who works for LRK, Inc. gave a presentation on the redevelopment plan presentation. Included was a possible 5-story-building on the current supermarket parking lot. He did say they will limit the height of the buildings, and some will only be 2 stories high. He presented several slides of current Borough scenes that he felt could use improving.
Feedback from Community Members
We asked a few people for their feedback about the meeting. Here are the responses that we got:
The borough council is trying hard, but there’s no quick solution. To be profitable, big name supermarkets need much more space. One thing I would like to know that they didn’t share is, how are they actively pursuing supermarkets? Are they just randomly calling, or could they find a professional that knows all the players in the field and could help make a plan that is attractive to a brand that has a smaller supermarket model?
I think the mayor is genuinely looking for people to help us get us a supermarket. However, the meeting itself was really a sale of the redevelopment plan. No one I know wants a 5 story building on Raritan Avenue. Personally, I would like to see local farmers invited to come to Highland Park more often.
My biggest disappointments were lack of communication and no real specifics when closure is only 3 weeks away, and the unwillingness to provide the public with a chance to speak. The pictures of redevelopment were nice, but they don’t tell us anything. Anyone coming in will likely have their own desires. Sadly, this was a public meeting without public comment.
It was great to see and hear from our elected officials in person, and to see such a large number of community members turn out. I was disappointed in the event, as the presentations were predictable and unimaginative. The structure of the event prevented us from listening and sharing our concerns in a public forum.
The meeting itself was a vague rehash of existing documents. The fundamental problem is someone owns the property, and the “numbers are clear”. I think it’s “good” social engineering and image/YouTube management that they divided the public part of the meeting into unrecorded breakout sessions. “Good” in terms of putting the council in the best possible light vis-a-vis these circumstances.
Fundamentally we have here a conflict between conservative principles. On the one hand, we believe in free enterprise and the right of the property owner to capitalize as he/she sees fit. In some sense, the details of the economics and grocery store business model minutiae don’t matter— we see that the private parties involved want something that the people of the town do not.
On the other hand, there are more nebulous cultural and quality of life considerations to which the town has a right and responsibility to faithfully represent the interests of the people. In an ideal world, these would be reconcilable with the property owners’ interests. Since property values are now so disproportionately high relative to the economic value of marketing to local spending, then we either have to increase local spending (5 new pot dispensaries!) or via zoning/regulation decrease the value of the stop and shop parcel until the owner is more amenable (abhorrent according to our principles? possibly would expose the township to legal action?). As Councilman Hale said, he would solve the problem by winning the lottery. We probably need a better idea.
From a civics perspective, we need to be able to trust in our local government to negotiate effectively on our behalf, but there is no transparency. We need confidence that they are not compromising on our priorities with private interests, or with state/federal government for funding purposes.
The messaging exacerbates this worry. In terms of vision, “We are a walking town”. Are we? I don’t see that but maybe I’m wrong? Convince me. Show that we need these shuttles, including that the usage is by residents. Without convincing residents that such services are actually in demand, one would be rightly suspicious that these are concessions to Trenton pushing for more support for low income housing. This may or may not be a good thing, but residents deserve to know if that is in fact the motivation.
“The council is working tirelessly and is doing everything that can be done”. I’m happy to accept that, but I’d like to know more details. It’s hard to have a conversation otherwise. Instead of these specifics, we were shown pictures of the sad state of the building. What is this supposed to convince me of?
What is Your Response?
What is your response? What are your concerns? Visit the forum and discuss the redevelopment plan, the supermarket meeting, or other Highland Park issues. Sign up for the forum.