TOMS RIVER, NJ – As the campaign for mayor in Toms River heats up, incumbent Mayor Maurice Hill said his opponents are doing nothing but yapping about overdevelopment.
“Talk is cheap,” Hill said today. “Our opponents have been yapping about overdevelopment while we have been hard at work, smartly getting the job done.”
As Mayor and councilman, Hill oversaw thousands of high-density apartments in North Dover and developed a plan to turn downtown Toms River into a city. Hill said the town’s purchasing of over 100 acres of land using the open space fund shows that he’s not the ‘Lakewood Style” development mayor his opponents are saying he is.
This week, a campaign newspaper published by Councilman Dan Rodrick also criticized Hill for the 2017 Master Plan, which he approved, allowing for the construction of homes on the Ciba Geigy Superfund site.
“Mo Hill can say he’s anti-development all he wants, but his record shows he’s pro-development and wants to see Toms River turned into a city,” Rodrick said today. “He can’t fool the people by changing his mind a week before the election. His track record is pretty solid, Ciba Geigy, Downtown Toms River, and North Dover. All you have to do is drive around Toms River to see the changes that happened to our town under Mayor Hill. He supports Lakewood-style development.”
“In less than four years, we’ve acquired 100 acres that will be preserved forever,” Hill said.
In those same four years, Toms River has seen rapid growth in the northern section of town in the form of multiple hi-density townhomes and apartment complexes.
While Hill touts preserving land, some of which was not slated for development, he also touts his massive expansion of Downtown Toms River, saying the future of the small village is large apartment buildings.
“Mo Hill wants to turn Toms River into a city,” Rodrick said. “He has made his plan very clear over the years. I don’t think anyone is listening to what he’s saying a week before an election. Toms River knows Mo and they know what he wants to do with our town.”
