The 100% single party Democratic ruled Morris Township Committee has failed its residents. They are pushing ahead with an ill-conceived plan to build a 50-unit housing complex at the intersection of Ketch Road and Hanover Avenue that will encroach on protected green space as well as the local playground, Ketch Road Field.
 
Don't live near Ketch Road? Don't think this will affect you? THINK AGAIN! Morris Township is planning a number of these developments; check out this list. We'll be providing more detail on these other sites in the near future so please check back. Chances are you live near one of these proposed or existing sites.
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Please read the suggested actions on this page first. More detailed information can be found on the About Us and How We Got Here pages of this site.

The Township Committee could have pushed back A LOT harder to forestall this development but failed to do so despite their protestations to the contrary. Other NJ towns have driven a harder bargain with Fair Share Housing but not Morris Township.

There was also a joint lawsuit 27 other NJ towns had filed to fight back against the NJ affordable housing mandates imposed against their municipalities that Morris Township could have joined sharing litigation costs AS WELL AS OBTAINING AN AUTOMATIC EXTENSION OF THE 2025 DEADLINE JUST BY SIGNING ONTO THE ACTION!

Why did Morris Township DO NOTHING when other nearby towns such as Denville, East Hanover, Florham Park, Hanover, Mendham, Montville, Parsippany and Wharton signed onto this litigation? All these other towns have all or predominantly Republican municipal governance while the composition of the Morris Township Committee is 100% Democrat seemingly determined to turn Morris Township into another Morristown. 

Had the Township Committee taken a firmer stance, we could have ended up with reduced obligations, different locations with possibly fewer unit counts, and perhaps influenced the final design of the project other than that monstrosity they desperately want to shove down our throats.

Both the Colgate Redevelopment Plan as well as the Honeywell Redevelopment Plan sites would have been superior options to Ketch Road and easily could have accommodated the number of required units to satisfy the affordable housing mandate.  Yet the Township Committee chose to put up luxury condos instead knowing full well all along that the Ketch Road was their intended dumping ground for affordable housing units.

The Township Committee never met a ratable they didn't like. The Colgate Redevelopment Plan cost the community a soccer field on Martin Luther King Boulevard as well as saddling us with that eyesore of a strip mall and $850K+ "luxury" condominiums. But, hey, they held out for some electric vehicle charging stations! Be prepared for sticker shock when you get your new property tax bill! 

Also note that they kept this quiet for YEARS until the eleventh hour to minimize backlash. When the Township Committee finally deigned to have sham check the box public hearings, the Township Committee members "plead the fifth" and lawyered up during the 7/16 Township Committee meeting. The Township Committee did not answer ONE single question from the audience; rather Township Attorney Jarrid Kantor, Esq. spoke instead making a statement that attempted to address some of the questions posed.  

The Planning Committee meeting on 7/21 was even worse. The vice chairman of the Planning Committee Joe Alesso bullied and intimidated anyone who had the temerity to speak out in opposition of the plan. One of the attorneys present also got their digs in albeit with much more subtlety than that Alesso.

It also came to light at the Planning Committee meeting that there was ZERO discussion with Morris County about routing the access road for the complex north to Morris View Drive than east to Hanover Avenue. This route would terminate at a less congested intersection with Hanover Avenue and also provide pedestrian access to the bus stop at Morris View for NJ Transit Route 873. This would allow carless residents at least some level of mobility. Just as importantly, this route would spare Ketch Road Field from being bisected by the access road. The increased traffic that would result on the Ketch Field access road would render the playground unusable, but I suspect the Township Committee already knows that and is withholding that fact like they have with so many others.

The Morris Township Committee also deliberately neglected to mention that to meet the settlement mandated deadline, ground has to be broken before the end of the year.

Balance needs to be restored to Morris Township government. One party rule - by either party - is unhealthy. Without compromise to drive consensus, extreme positions can readily be adopted without discussion and debate.

What can you do?

The first thing you can do is register to vote if you haven't already done so and vote against any of the incumbents below in this and future elections:




















 

 
Next, spread the word to all your friends and neighbors in Morris Township. Tell them to check out this website www.saveketchroad.org. Ask them to tell their friends about the website and so on and so on. Even if they don't live near Ketch Road, they will be impacted by the higher property taxes, traffic congestion and school overcrowding this complex will bring in its wake. Sign up to receive email updates on the Contact page. Please also sign the change.org petition Stop the Morris Township 100% Affordable Housing Project in Your Backyard.

Ketch Road is not the only complex to be built. Check out this list of existing and proposed housing projects in Morris Township. Your friends will probably live near one of them.

We are planning to hand out flyers at athletic events, back to school nights, and other public gatherings to raise awareness. If you could spare an hour or two to canvass with us it would be a HUGE help. If you would like some flyers to distribute yourself, let us know and we'll get some to you.

Show up, if you can, for Township Committee, Township Planning Committee, and Morris County Commissioner meetings. You don't have to speak but you can lend moral support to those who do.

Morris Township is located in NJ LD 25. Let your State Assembly Representatives Aura Dunn, Christian Barranco, and State Senator Anthony Bucco know how much this hardship the project will cause you and your family.

There are entrenched advocates for this project who stand in our way.

Our opponents are:

The Morris Township Committee

Donna Guarligia - Mayor
Jeff Grayzel - Deputy Mayor
Mark Gyorfy
William "Bud" Ravitz
Siva Jonnada

If you click on their names above, you can send them an email and let them know what you think but don't hold your breath waiting for an answer. If you're not sure what to say, feel free to send this picture - worth more than the proverbial 1000 words.

Jeff Grayzel is up for reelection this year. Grayzel has morphed from gadfly outsider to career politician; he even has ambitions to run for Congress! Let's send him off into retirement. We will be publishing a series of blog entries examining Grayzel's checkered career such as this one over the next few weeks; sign up for our emails on the Contact page, so you won't miss anything.

The Morris Township Democratic Committee has stacked the Township Committees with hardcore party loyalists; never mind that the Township is 1/3 Democrat, 1/3 Republican and 1/3 Independent. Their hand-picked appointees are thoroughly vetted for party loyalty by the MTDC.

The MTDC committee chairperson, George Quillan also serves on the Morris Township Planning Committee. At 7/21/25 planning board meeting, Mr. Quillan stated that he inspected the proposed Ketch Road development site and felt that the terrain was "too steep" for a roadway to be built from the proposed site through the Morris View complex towards Hanover Ave rather than the proposed entrance via the existing narrow access road adjoining Ketch Road Field. Mr. Quillan is a retired actuary, not a civil engineer with subject matter expertise in road building. Yet he sits on the Planning Board and gets to decide serious matters outside his domain. No wonder we are where we are.

Joe Alesso, the Planning Committee vice-chair, who bullied and intimidated members of the public who spoke at the 7/21/25 Planning Committee meeting also gets a dishonorable mention.