New Jersey warehouse sprawl is out of control, residents say

🚨 1 in 4 New Jersey residents live near a warehouse

🚨 Warehouse sprawl is a top environmental priority

🚨 Residents tell lawmakers they need immediate help

FRANKLIN (Somerset) — New Jersey towns need tools to protect themselves from rapidly spreading warehouses that pollute the air and threaten local safety, residents recently told state lawmakers.

There are over 3,000 warehouses in New Jersey, according to a 2024 report from the Environmental Defense Fund.

It found that 2.7 million New Jerseyans — or one in four residents — live within a half mile of a warehouse.

After years of complaints about warehouse sprawl, state legislators are considering bills to give townships more power as they try to wrestle back control of their neighborhoods.

Warehouses taking over Somerset

Franklin Township in Somerset County is one of many towns across New Jersey that have seen a surge in warehouse development.

It's a result of the township changing its zoning laws in 2020. Franklin Mayor Phil Kramer said he expected 25 warehouses to come over the next decade.

They had 31 warehouse developers apply within two years, Kramer said to the Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee.

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Local officials realized the impact this would have on Franklin's 68,000 residents; in 2023, they reverted the zoning laws to close off development.

Developers filed eight lawsuits against the township in response.

Kramer said lawmakers need to give towns more control of stormwater regulations, environmental impact assessments, and traffic planning to prevent warehouse sprawl without facing retaliation from developers.

Current zoning ordinances give warehouses an edge

Warehouse sprawl has been deemed one of the top 5 most important environmental issues by the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters.

Allison McLeod, deputy director of the NJLCV says towns need to have the option to deny warehouse developers.

"The way that New Jersey's law works is if an application comes before a zoning board and it adheres to your zoning, a municipality basically has to say yes," McLeod said.

One bill in the state legislature (A3685/S1077) would reimburse municipalities so they can take a proactive look at their zoning ordinances and fight back against warehouse developers.

Assemblyman Joe Danielsen, D-Somerset, is a prime sponsor of the bill. A former member of the Franklin Township planning board, Danielsen said, "planning is everything."

"Every town should be inspired to look at this and plan accordingly because I don't see warehouses going away. They may change, they may shift, but once they're there, they're there probably for our lifetime," Danielsen said.

Warehouses are environmental and safety problems

Jan Brant is one of the nearly 2,000 residents of the Canal Walk adult community in Somerset. Canal Walk is located within Franklin Township's second ward.

The ward covers around nine square miles. It's home to two schools and around 10,000 people including single-family homes and multiple senior living communities.

It's also where 25 warehouses have been built or approved since 2020, Brant said. They take up over 4.8 million square feet.

Multiple warehouses have been built near Franklin High School, which is not far from Canal Walk.

Every school day, diesel fumes from idling trucks waft over to the parents dropping off and picking up their children, said former Franklin Councilwoman Roz Sherman.

Brant has asked lawmakers for a moratorium on new warehouses until the township completes a study on the impact of warehouse sprawl.

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