Camden City Council unanimously approves new Cramer Hill plan

Five years after Camden City officials gave up the fight on a $1.2 billion redevelopment plan that would have displaced 1,100 families in Cramer Hill, a less intense reincarnation was passed by City Council Wednesday evening.

The new plan, approved unanimously, is expected to cost $742 million and take 25 years to implement. Supporters say the project will aggressively attack vacant and abandoned properties that have been an eyesore in the East Camden waterfront neighborhood for years.

The Cramer Hill Redevelopment Plan includes neighborhood commercial redevelopment as well as some road improvements.

At Wednesday's public hearing, many residents said they feared the city and big developers would take away their homes. Although the plan states in various sections that occupied dwellings will not be acquired, eminent domain may be used if an area is labeled in need of redevelopment.

"No occupied properties of any type . . . will be taken under this plan," Council President Frank Moran said as a disclaimer before the start of the hearing. "This is a plan I have faith will be addressed and accomplished in phases."

Nilvia Rodriguez, one of the more than 100 residents who showed up at the Camden Pride Charter School gymnasium, went up to the lectern and shot back: "Can I get that in writing?"

Many residents vividly remember fighting the previous version of the plan.

The original plan called for taking hundreds of properties by eminent domain, mostly in William Stanley Ablett Village and Centennial Village near River and State Streets. It would have displaced 1,100 families, including 400 homeowners.

Those clusters of low-income housing will not be touched with the new plan, said Ed Williams, city director of planning.

Cherokee Investment Partners, the North Carolina developer chosen to undertake the project in 2004, was ready to start demolishing and building that year. But a series of lawsuits filed against the city by residents and businesses slowed the start.

In April 2006, a state Superior Court judge dismissed a key blight study that went along with the redevelopment plan. Rather than appealing, the city decided to go back to the drawing board.

This time around it accepted input from various community groups with stakes in Cramer Hill and kept Cherokee Investment out of the picture. The company is staying away.

"There was a lack of public support for what we were advocating," said company spokeswoman Karen Kessler, adding that "our priorities have changed."

One of the biggest differences in the new plan is a waterfront zoning change to allow mixed development of restaurants, commercial, and living space above commercial properties, said Manny Delgado, executive director of the Cramer Hill Community Development Center.

Currently, the waterfront area is littered with trash; the shell of a large TV sat recently by the side of the road. The overgrown trees won't be taken down because of wetlands protection, Delgado said, but some of the properties and lots across the street will be rehabbed or acquired for development.

Now that the plan has been approved, developers may make proposals to the city planning department, Williams said. The city would then hold hearings and keep residents in the loop, he said.