The Jackson Township Council on Tuesday evening unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance that will greatly enhance the ability of kehillos in the township to establish shuls and mikavos in their neighborhoods.
Prior to the ordinance, kehillos wishing to establish shuls faced the monumental task of finding a property with a minimum size of two acres on which to place their building. This has forced most kehillos in the township to hold minyanim in people’s homes.
With tonight’s ordinance passing, the minimum property size required for a shul would be dropped to 1 acre in most areas of Jackson, with just half an acre required for shuls in some sections, including the Brookwood neighborhoods. The ordinance still must pass a second reading.
This ordinance is perhaps the most pro-Orthodox Jewish move the township has ever made, and comes after years of work by local askanim to push this plan forward.
Jackson Township Council has to be applauded for it’s recognition of religious freedom and gathering spaces. The take away, is practicing faith based community involvement enriches a mutual respect for everyone to share in faith base beliefs ,which makes the community stronger and quality of life enrichment.
I like to know if they pay real estate taxes for the shshul? 🤷🏻♀️
I am not a property-tax expert, however, I would think, because of new interest in the area that every home’s property value will go up and thus the property tax (based on land value) would also go up, and far surpass what the town would have gotten from one house alone. (I think)
The property value in the area will soon plummet. Forcing people to either sell low or stay in an area they soon won’t want to stay in. The only interest in this is to know where to avoid. Lakewood is a dump and apparently soon Jackson too. This does nothing positive for the existing community.
Unless you are profit, or are manupulating the housing-market, ccording to the following reputable links, over the past 5 years a land value in Lakewood has risen over 57%.
https://www.redfin.com/city/23620/NJ/Lakewood/housing-market
https://www.movoto.com/lakewood-nj/market-trends/
https://www.zillow.com/home-values/395471/lakewood-nj/