Franklin Township's governing body is set to vote on a 30-year tax exemption for two previously approved housing developments that would add 124 market-rate homes along Route 27, with a public hearing scheduled ahead of the decision. The council meeting is set for 7 p.m. at the Franklin Township Municipal Building on Demott Lane in Somerset.
The hearing, scheduled for Tuesday, comes before a vote on the tax exemption, according to TAPinto. The agenda includes a general public comment period as well as a separate hearing specifically on the tax agreement, giving residents two distinct chances to weigh in before any vote is taken.
At the center of the proposal is Ordinance 4522-26, which would authorize a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with Somerset Street Urban Renewal Associates, L.P. The PILOT agreement covers 37 homes in the Franklin Townhouses phase and 87 homes in the Franklin Forklift phase, both part of the Churchill-Millstone redevelopment area situated between Churchill Avenue and Millstone Road.
How the Payment Schedule Would Work
Under the draft financial agreement, the annual service charge would start at 10% of project gross revenue for the first 10 years, rise to 11% for years 11 through 20, and climb again to 12% for years 21 through 30. The ordinance describes this structure as the standard formula for calculating the annual service charge owed in place of conventional property taxes.
The draft agreement also includes minimum payment provisions that could push the charge higher than the percentage-based formula in some years. Separately, the developer would still pay taxes on the land itself, and may credit qualifying land tax payments against the service charge owed under the agreement.
Township officials project the arrangement would generate more than $16.4 million in service charges over the full 30-year term, according to the ordinance. That figure is weighed against the two vacant sites' current output of roughly $280,000 a year in combined property taxes, per the same ordinance.
A Redevelopment Area Years in the Making
The Franklin Townhouses phase was approved by the Planning Board in December 2021, while the Franklin Forklift phase received approval in August 2023. Township officials note that the first four phases of redevelopment in the area already produced 443 affordable homes and more than 30,000 square feet of commercial space without any tax abatements attached.
The Churchill-Millstone corridor has seen a string of redevelopment moves over the years. Franklin Township previously named RPM Development Group as developer for a 45-acre stretch of the Renaissance 2000 Redevelopment Tract running from Millstone to Churchill Avenues, anticipating up to 437 residential units, roughly 128 units of affordable family rental housing, and 94,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. The township also tapped Leewood Development Group for a more central portion of the tract, projecting about 226 housing units, including 113 affordable units with 50 reserved for rental.
That track record stretches back more than a decade. A New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency announcement once described Franklin Boulevard Commons, a 66-unit affordable building, and Berry Street Commons, a 94-unit complex, as the first two phases of a larger multi-stage development in the same Churchill-Millstone zone. A later state announcement also described the opening of Voorhees Station as RPM Development Group's third project in that redevelopment area.
Franklin's Broader Tax Abatement Rules
Franklin Township's municipal code caps any tax abatement or exemption at no more than 30 full years after a project's completion, or 35 years from the date a financial agreement is executed, according to the Township of Franklin municipal code. Filing an application does not guarantee approval — the code explicitly states it does not commit or require the township to approve any given project and directs officials to weigh a project's benefits against its effect on the township budget.
Any financial agreement must be authorized by ordinance and ultimately approved by the Franklin Township Council, the code states. Annual payments in lieu of full property taxes must be calculated using one of three methods — a cost basis, a gross-revenue basis, or a tax-phase-in basis — and the code does not permit combining those formulas. Once an application is filed, the Township Manager has 60 days to forward it, along with review memoranda, to the council.
This isn't Franklin's only recent tax-exemption discussion. The council previously considered a proposed PILOT agreement with CWP-ASR Somerset I LLC and CWP-ASR Somerset II LLC that would set annual payments at 4% of a project's gross revenue, and it approved a separate PILOT covering 142 affordable apartments on Davidson Avenue under the same 4% formula, despite concerns raised by residents at the time.
Other Business on Tuesday's Agenda
Beyond the housing vote, council members are scheduled to discuss Opt for Help & Hope, the 2026 Best Practices Survey, and a proposed 2027 meeting schedule for the mayor and council. The agenda also includes a proclamation recognizing the Franklin Township Soccer Club's TOPSoccer program.
A consent agenda for the evening covers municipal cannabis establishment licenses for 2026-27, three labor agreements, and a final change order that would increase the Coppermine Road area resurfacing contract by about $98,681, bringing its total to $595,265.66. Council members will also consider a special event permit for Middlebush Reformed Church's Dec. 12 living nativity display.
