By BILL BARLOW/Special to the Sentinel
UPPER TOWNSHIP — Township Committee moved forward on declaring the sprawling site of the BL England power plant an area in need of redevelopment Monday, Jan. 11.
That included a resolution making the declaration and the introduction of an ordinance adopting a redevelopment plan.
The ordinance makes no changes to the township’s zoning requirements, according to James Maley, an attorney hired to advise the township on the matter. Committee also approved another resolution asking the Planning Board to review that plan to determine whether it conforms with the township master plan.
“This is another step in the redevelopment process,” Maley said at the meeting Monday, which was held remotely due to ongoing restrictions related to the pandemic. “Jan. 25, we expect to be able to complete that process at your next meeting.”
The resolutions and ordinance were each approved unanimously.
In November, after a lengthy meeting, the Upper Township Planning Board supported declaring the former power plant property as an area in need of redevelopment.
Representatives of the plant’s owner, RC Cape May Holdings LLC, argued against the inclusion of condemnation powers in the declaration of the area in need of redevelopment. That could make it easier for the township to take ownership of property within the redevelopment zone through the process of eminent domain.
In an extensive presentation to the Planning Board, representatives argued that the former power plant is maintained, secure and that the current owner is in the best position to continue ongoing cleanup at the site.
The former plant site is also under consideration as part of a multimillion-dollar offshore wind energy project planned for the region.
Attorney Jennifer Porter, who represented RC Cape May Holdings LLC at the meeting, could not immediately be reached for comment about the township’s latest step.
Before the vote Monday, Township Committee entered a closed-door meeting to discuss potential litigation from Cape May Holdings, as requested by township attorney Dan Young. Most meetings are required to be held in public, but there are some circumstances in which the governing body may keep discussions private under state law, including to discuss lawsuits or potential lawsuits.
Votes on resolutions and ordinances must be made at a public meeting, however.
Closed-door meetings are not unusual for Upper Township, but they typically take place at the end of the meeting. In this case, the public virtual meeting was left open while residents waited for committee members to return, while some residents chatted about whether they should put their cameras on or leave them off during the remote regular meeting.
The power plant opened in 1961, powered by coal and diesel fuel. The station shut down in May 2019.
RC Cape May Holdings bought the plant in 2006, for a reported $12.2 million, with plans to convert the coal- and diesel-fired plant to natural gas. But those plans collapsed after years of legal fighting over a proposed pipeline to transport the gas to the plant, in part through a section of protected pinelands.
The site includes more than 300 acres, including wetlands, woods and several buildings — a cooling tower, smokestack, oil storage facilities and others that are expected to be removed.