According to a recent letter sent to Jeanne Fox, the President of the N.J. Board of Utilities, Robbinsville residents have complained about receiving letters from Cablevision of Hamilton which state that unless they convert to digital cable boxes that they will lose several channels. These new cable boxes will come at an additional cost, and customers that refuse to convert to a new box will not only lose channels, but will not see a rate reduction. All this comes while Verizon continues to work on spreading FiOS throughout Robbinsville.

The full text of the letter is:

Jeanne Fox, President
N.J. Board of Public Utilities
2 Gateway Center, 8th floor
Newark, N.J. 07102
Dear President Fox,

In recent days, several Robbinsville residents have contacted my office regarding a letter they received from Cablevision of Hamilton. The letter states that unless residents select to subscribe to the IO package by May 20, 2008, these households will lose several channels without a digital cable box, which must be placed on each television at an additional cost.

The timing of this letter comes as Verizon FiOS service is being installed in some neighborhoods in Robbinsville. Portions of the Township are currently served, while other areas will take longer to receive service due to the presence of underground cable throughout our community. It is hard to predict precisely when the entire Township will have a choice between Cablevision and FiOS. Also, our Township is in the midst of its review of an updated cable TV ordinance, which is being discussed by our Council this evening.

Residents who have contacted us note that if they refuse to sign up for the IO package or the cable box, they will lose channels without a reduction in their monthly bill. They view this action by Cablevision as a back-door rate increase and question how this can be permitted. They note the timing of this action, when some residents have choices but others are still months away from having the options that will ultimately be available to them. The May 20, 2008, deadline strikes both the residents and me as an attempt by Cablevision to grab revenue before the full force of competition begins in Robbinsville.

Our Township was one of the first to support the legislation that promoted customer choice in cable services. I ask that the BPU look into this matter and offer the residents of Robbinsville a full explanation for the timing of this action by Cablevision.

Sincerely,
Dave Fried
Mayor, Robbinsville Township

Source: http://www.robbinsville-twp.org/bpu_cablevision_0508.pdf

Mayor Dave Fried and members of the Township Council have reached agreement on the proposed Route 130 zoning ordinance that will pave the way for a long-awaited streamlining of highway zoning, in accordance with the 2006 Master Plan update and the wishes of Township voters.
“The agreement will allow Robbinsville to bring Route 130 into the modern era, which is what voters asked for when they selected new leadership in 2005,” Mayor Fried said. “The differences over a few parcels have masked the fact that Robbinsville residents overwhelmingly favor giving Route 130 a more updated look. Residents want modern services near their homes; they are tired of driving distances in heavy traffic.”

The proposed zoning ordinance, more than a year in the making, calls for eliminating the patchwork of zones along the length of Route 130 and making the corridor a singular highway commercial zone. The proposed ordinance permits current prohibited uses, such as drive-through restaurants, while encouraging high architectural standards and specifically discouraging franchise architecture.

Designed to address parcels along stretch of more than five miles of Route 130, the proposed ordinance has been endorsed by members of the business community and won support from the Township Planning Board. Only two parcels have prompted questions from residents: A parcel off Meadowbrook Road that previously received a zoning variance for multiple buildings, and a parcel off Windsor Road that overlays the intersection with Perrineville Road.

Mayor Fried and the Council have agreed to leave the Meadowbrook Road parcel in its current Office Commercial Zone, which will not affect a recent variance. In addition, the Mayor and Council have agreed to remove the parcel that crosses Perrineville Road.

At its meeting April 24, the Council continued the public hearing on the ordinance until May 8. Mayor Fried today encouraged the Council to pass a resolution to remove the Meadowbrook Road property from the ordinance at its May 8 meeting, and to adopt the ordinance at its May 22 meeting.

“No one who drives along Route 130 today can argue that Robbinsville is doing the best it can,” Mayor Fried said. “The time has come to do something about the condition of our major commercial corridor. I ask that our Township Council pass a revised ordinance at the earliest opportunity, so that investment in our community can continue.”

In addition, Mayor Fried recently asked the Planning Board to review how the 2006 Master Plan treats the Gateway areas at the Route 130 border with Hamilton and at the Route 526 border with Allentown. More zoning changes are expected from those discussions.

Source: http://www.robbinsville-twp.org/press_release_route_130_zoning_april_30_2008.pdf