City Council will pursue a recommendation in the city’s master plan to rezone the state Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) property in the southeast corner of Rahway.

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Among the recommendations in the 2019 Master Plan Reexamination Report was to rezone the MVC site from R-2, Medium-Density Single-Family Residential, to I-L, Light Industrial (or to a new Port-related zone if one is created). The 18.4-acre site is bounded by East Hazelwood Avenue, Woodbridge Road and Randolph Avenue.

City Council introduced an ordinance (O-31-21) during its Aug. 6 meeting. A public hearing and final adoption is scheduled for the governing body’s next meeting on Monday.

UPDATED, SEPT. 14: With no comments from the public or City Council members, the governing body last night unanimously (8-0) approved the ordinance (O-31-21).

The rezoning would be for “greater consistency with the surrounding development patterns and to provide additional opportunities for this type of use,” according to the ordinance. The city’s zoning maps will be updated to reflect that Lot 1 in Block 302 will be rezoned from residential (R-2) to light industrial (I-L).

In a section of the master plan re-examination report titled, “Recommended changes to development regulations,” it recommended rezoning the MVC site from R-2 to I-L, “or a new Port-related zone. “it is not anticipated that this use will change anytime soon, but if it does in the future, the City should be ready with appropriate zoning for this property.”

In a related recommendation, the plan suggested I-L Zone flanking East Hazelwood Avenue, to “modify the existing I-L zone in the southeastern portion of the City along East Hazelwood Avenue to focus on port-related/logistics uses.” Potential changes could include expanding the list of permitted uses and increasing maximum building height to at least 45 feet, which is needed for new industrial buildings, according to the report.

“A wide range of land uses exists in the vicinity of this site, including commercial, residential, industrial and public uses,” according to the master plan re-examination report. There’s a large-scale automotive sales operation to the south in Woodbridge, along with East Jersey State Prison, and a “sizable new warehouse building” on the southeast corner of the Woodbridge Road and Randolph Avenue.

The east side of Woodbridge Road is developed with a mix of commercial and residential uses and is located in the B-1 Neighborhood Business zone.  There is a residential neighborhood in the R-2 zone further to the east between the B-1 zone and the I-L Light Industrial zone on the east side of Witherspoon Street.

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