Dear Editor:
The District at 1515 is a proposed development located at 1515 Route 10 located in Fire District 6. The owners of this property currently pay taxes to support the budget of Fire District 6. Unfortunately, earlier this year, the development was granted a PILOT agreement with the Township thereby exempting the site from paying real estate taxes of any kind.
Instead, the agreement stipulates that they make payments solely to the municipality based on the gross income of the development.
The Planning Board is scheduled to hear their application on Monday, July 26, 2021, where they are requesting approvals to demolish the existing office building and construct 498 apartments and 62,000 square feet of retail area.
Not only will they be paying $0 in real estate taxes; they also will be paying $0 taxes to support Fire District 6’s budget.
This will result in the subsidization of fire protection for a multi-million dollar development by everyday residents in this district, many of whom are struggling to keep up with constant tax increases and major utility rate hikes. These areas include homes located in Intervale, Druid Hill, Mazdabrook, Eastbrook Village, Normandy Village, and other homes located in Fire District 6.
It really is only fair that the owners of The District at 1515 help support Fire District 6’s annual budget and pay a minimum of $50,000 per year to the district.
For reference, last year the owners of the Lanidex site located on Parsippany Road were granted approvals by the Planning Board to demolish six office buildings and construct 525 apartments and 75 townhomes to be branded as the PARQ.
There is no PILOT agreement with the township and the owners of this development will be paying full real estate taxes unlike the owners of the District at 1515. They will also be paying taxes to support Fire District 3’s budget. In addition, they agreed to transport/bus all students residing in the development, to and from Parsippany schools, at no cost to our taxpayers.
In all fairness, and for the good of the Township, I believe that the owners of the District at 1515 should also agree to transport/bus all students residing in the development, to and from Parsippany schools, at no cost to our taxpayers.
Kris (Krishant) Patel
Parsippany
