From affordable housing targets and deer population control to cannabis revenue and small business support, Ewing Mayor Bert Steinmann has a lot on his plate.
In a recent interview with the Ewing Observer, Steinmann offered a candid look at the challenges and opportunities shaping the township’s future, highlighting a careful balance between growth, infrastructure, and community engagement.
Many of the topics discussed in the interview are presented below in question and answer format and separated by subject. This article has been edited for grammar and clarity.
Development and tax ratables
Ewing Observer: What’s the state of residential development and the housing market in Ewing? Residential values are going up, which means more of the tax burden may shift from commercial properties to residential, especially as commercial values drop.
Mayor Bert Steinmann: Property values in Ewing—and across the region—have gone up significantly, year over year. As for new construction, it’s mostly infill.
People might buy a lot and build a house, but we don’t have the space for major developments of 25 or 30 homes.
The state is looking to repurpose some state-owned land, and I’ve had discussions with them about zoning. But even that won’t be a big number.
Freestanding single-family homes just aren’t going to happen here in large numbers.
And even if we had the space, that would strain our schools, infrastructure, and emergency services. We’re trying to manage growth so it doesn’t burden the town.
We’ve been responsible in our planning. It’s almost like following a master plan. We ask: Where can we grow? How fast can we grow? It’s been a careful balance.
Could it get out of whack? Sure, depending on what happens with the state properties. But we’ve been consistent in telling the state: “Here’s our plan. Don’t push something else on us.”
Ewing Observer: What state-owned properties are being discussed?
Steinmann: Jones Farm (on 257 acres Bear Tavern Road), the Katzenbach School (Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf on Sullivan Way), and potentially the Knight Farm (261 acres off Wilburtha Road).
Knight Farm was preseved under an executive order from Governor Christie Whitman, and we permanently preserved the portion we own. But Katzenbach is a prime example.
Ewing Observer: The state owns that?
Steinmann: Yes, through the Department of Education. They might look to sell part of it and use the profits. Developers are lined up. But I tell them: “If it’s not the right kind of development, don’t bother.”
Ewing Observer: Would the state have to comply with Ewing Township’s master plan and zoning?
Steinmann: If they do a project themselves, no. But if they sell to a private developer, then yes, it has to follow our zoning rules.
Ewing Observer: What’s happening with commercial ratables? The office market is down, and warehouse development is slowing. How’s demand? Any issues with tax appeals?
Steinmann: We’ve had some tax appeals, but that’s normal. People always want to pay less than what their property is worth. Residential owners may claim their house is worth $1 million when they sell it, but only $100,000 when it’s time for taxes.
We’ve had a few commercial appeals, but not many. I’d say 90% are settled before they go to the tax board. Our assessors do a great job—reevaluating and adjusting when needed.
Ewing Observer: On both commercial and residential?
Steinmann: Correct.
Small businesses and commercial development
Ewing Observer: How about new businesses?
Steinmann: We’ve had some. Restaurants, salons, a new dry cleaner. Capital Plaza stores are doing fairly well, though we’ve had some issues with shoplifting. But our police department has stepped up. Marshalls even sent a thank-you letter.
Ewing Observer: Something I’ve noticed is that a lot of the commercial growth in town seems to be small retail businesses. Those are the ones that really sustain communities.
Steinmann: You’re right. They build the community and they hire people. It might not seem like it, but places like Home Depot hire a ton of people.
So do smaller businesses like the Ewing Diner. They probably have 30 waitresses—it’s not a big diner, but the owner runs it well.
Ewing Observer: The heart of the American Dream still lives in small and small businesses. Government doesn’t always do enough to help them. Is there a way for municipalities to encourage people to shop local—maybe rethink that Amazon purchase and support a neighborhood store instead.
Steinmann: Most of these businesses are the backbone of the community. we are launching a new online business directory.
Local businesses can register themselves, and residents will be able to search for services—real estate, restaurants, salons, and more. It ties into a broader “Shop Local” initiative.
There’s now a ribbon-cutting registration form online. New or existing businesses can invite the mayor or council to celebrate an opening or anniversary. It’s easy to fill out and helps promote local engagement.
Cannabis revenue and regulation
Ewing Observer: Let’s talk about revenue from cannabis businesses in town. When it was legalized, the hope was that it would help bring additional revenue into towns. Is it working?
Steinmann: Absolutely. It started off slow. The rollout in New Jersey was messy—lots of rules, but also lots of rule changes. People jumped in thinking there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, not realizing how expensive it was to get licensed and to be compliant.
We had some early issues. One grower was selling to other companies and didn’t realize that was taxable. We explained it, and they made up what they owed.
Ewing Observer: It’s taxable every step of the way?
Steinmann: Correct—manufacturer to retail. Once we got clear guidance from the sate, it worked. Last year, we made over half a million dollars in revenue. I couldn’t use it last year because of timing, but this year we’re expecting over a million. Everyone’s doing well now.
Ewing Observer: I’d guess grow and manufacturing facilities take longer to set up?
Steinmann: Yes. We currently have two growers and two manufacturers online.
Two more growers are coming online soon—one on Whitehead Road in about six or seven months, and another one on Silvia Street, a 30,000-square-foot grow facility, in 14 months.
Ewing Observer: Is there any limit on the number of those?
Steinmann: There’s no limit on growers or manufacturers. We do have a limit on retailers.
Ewing Observer: How many retailers are there in town, or anticipated in the near future?
Steinmann: We have three currently: Jersey Smooth, Colorama Remedies, and Block. Another is opening soon—a craft-style manufacturer, more like a microbrewery for edibles.
It was a rough start, including for us. But we’ve found the pot of gold—finally.
Ewing Observer: The mayor in Robbinsville told me he originally opposed having cannabis businesses in town, but changed his mind. They found that most local crime and police calls were weren’t cannabis-related—there were alcohol-related.
Steinmann: Exactly. People who use cannabis chill out and eat snacks. Alcohol can lead to domestic abuse and assault. It just makes sense to regulate and profit from cannabis.
And the state has taken revenue sources away from towns for years, claiming they can manage the money better. We rarely see that money again—like the $7 million we used to get in taxes from utilities that the state took over, promising us that they would collect the funds and disperse it to the towns. Now do you know how much we get? Zero. The state keeps it all.
And that’s not all that has been taken away. When I first took office, we got a total of $12.5 million in state aid. Now we get $9.2 million—and we’re supposed to do more with less.
Affordable housing
Ewing Observer: There’s a new affordable housing round tied to a law passed by the state last year. As part of that, every town had to pass a resolution affirming the number of affordable housing units it plans to commit to by 2035.
I know it’s complicated. Most towns in Mercer County—about two-thirds, from what I saw—came in with numbers lower than what the state recommended. For Ewing, I believe the state recommended 319 new affordable units by 2035, and the resolution council passed was for 201.
What was the thinking behind coming in lower? A lot of towns and experts are saying many of the state Department of Community Affairs’ numbers were just too high.
Steinmann: I’m not saying they were too high for some municipalities. There are towns that never really played by the rules.
Back in the day, you could sell your credits to the City of Trenton, and the city would say, “Okay, we’ll take the money.” But that put them behind the eight ball. I think Trenton is suffering a bit because of that situation. It didn’t really accomplish what they wanted.
Now, for example, some of our neighbors are way under the number of units they need.
Ewing Observer: Right. West Windsor was in the six hundreds, and Hopewell had some of the highest in the state.
Steinmann: As for us, the 319 units the state recommended included a lot of space that’s not really usable—like the airport. Who’s going to put affordable housing at the airport?
Ewing Observer: I mean, you could, but…
Steinmann: No, that’s not going to happen. They also included property that we’ve already designated for preservation. I’m not going to change the zoning for that.
When we calculated the space we actually have, we came up with a solid number: 201. I think the state will agree. I think it’s a fair number, and I’m not worried about it.
Ewing Observer: What are some of the ways you plan to accommodate the new units? Ewing doesn’t have a lot of space for residential development. If you go by builder’s remedy numbers, you’re talking about having to build four times that—804 units.
Steinmann: Exactly. We’re not going to get to 804. Fortunately, we already have some projects in the mix. There’s one on Parkway Avenue with about 60 or 65 units. So take that off the 201—we’ve already got a chunk covered.
Ewing Observer: So you already have something in place?
Steinmann: Exactly. Many of these units are already in approved or scheduled projects. Meeting the number won’t be an issue. We’ve avoided the kind of legal or rushed development that happens when towns don’t plan ahead. It’s not a good solution.
Communications and community outreach
Ewing Observer: One thing I’ve noticed is that the township has significantly improved communications with residents over the past year. An increased social media presence, website updates, media releases, and the newsletter—all of that has gotten better. What drove that improvement?
Steinmann: When the county government changed hands, some people were left unemployed. We’ve always wanted to improve communication, but honestly, we thought we were doing okay. Turns out we were doing a lousy job.
Julie Willmot, (who previously worked for the county aas director of communications) Bringing Julie on board here was a no-brainer. From day one, communication improved 110%. And I’m not just saying that. It really did.
I get fewer complaints from residents saying they didn’t know something was happening.
They’re getting updates in real time now. There were so many great stories in Ewing that were never told. Now we’re sharing those, and even including stories from other towns.
It’s been great for promotion and even better for transparency. People are finally saying, “Hey, great job on the communication.” I keep saying thank you, even though it’s not me doing it.
It’s been long overdue. Jimmy (James, McManimon, the former township business administrator) and I had some different views on communication—we thought we could handle it in-house. Now I know that was the wrong approach.
Ewing Observer: It’s a different than in the past. Everyone is online now and talking. If local government isn’t part of that conversation, it becomes the target of it.
Steinmann: Absolutely. And while we still have our critics and people writing in with complaints, now we can respond. A lot of those issues weren’t even relevant, but at least we have a voice in the conversation.
Deer population and management
Ewing Observer: Here’s a question from one of our readers. They noticed a lot of deer in their area and sometimes even find dead deer on their property. The township can’t come onto private property to remove them, so residents have to deal with it themselves. Do you think the deer population is a problem? Can anything be done?
Steinmann: Every problem is addressable—it’s just about how you address it. There was a sterilization system attempted, but that didn’t work well. It wasn’t effective.
I’m not in favor of a deer hunt, but we might have to consider something like that. The county is already doing it at the airport and at Mountain View Golf Course during certain times.
We don’t allow it in Ewing’s parks. But even in my neighborhood, which is far from any park, I see deer every day.
I’ve resisted a hunt because a lot of people don’t like the idea. And if we did it, it would only be bow hunting, not firearms. Our parks are in residential areas, and that raises safety concerns. I’m not a hunter, but I know conscientious hunters wouldn’t shoot near neighborhoods.
Ewing Observer: What about areas near the river or more wooded areas? Maybe that’s where deer are being pushed from—and then into neighborhoods.
Steinmann: I haven’t seen a perfect solution. You can’t round them up like cattle. It’s a tough issue. In most areas, there should be about 10 deer per square mile. Many towns have 100 per square mile. Some are starting community-based deer management programs, which must be adopted by the municipality. We’re not quite there yet.
The deer population has a way of auto-correcting itself. The issue is that deer reproduce fast. If you reduce the herd to 25 and don’t continue culling, the population will bounce back to 100 in a year.
They’ll have triplets instead of a single fawn. That’s one of the amazing things about nature. So it’s like a never ending battle.
Sterilization doesn’t work well, because even if you sterilize all the bucks, if you miss one, he’ll make up for it.
Ewing Observer: That’s one happy buck. It’s similar to the invasive snake problems in the Florida Everglades with Burmese pythons. They have no natural predators.
Steinmann: Exactly. We don’t have predators here. Coyotes are around, but not enough. So deer either die of disease or get hit by cars. The only real predator left is humans.
And elected officials are put in tough positions, because it’s an emotional issue too.
Ewing Observer: Right, there’s a valid ethical debate. Some people are just strongly against culling deer.
Upcoming projects and community initiatives
Ewing Observer: Is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to mention?
Steinmann: We’re working on upgrades to our parks and sports facilities. We want to add artificial turf to the baseball, football, and soccer fields—maybe not all at once, but we’re moving in that direction.
We’re also looking to add a spray park in the Hollowbrook section—just a small amenity, not as large as the ones at our pools, but something for kids to cool off in during summer.
We’re improving bike lanes and walking paths too. More people are walking and riding bikes than ever. We want to give them safe, well-maintained spaces to do that.
We’re also putting up, “Welcome to Ewing” signs across town. Until now, there was really just one, and it was falling apart. The new signage will go up at 18 or 19 locations, including highway off-ramps and town entry points. Some of the signs will be large, others smaller, depending on the location.
Ewing Observer: I don’t even remember seeing a welcome sign before.
Steinmann: There was one on Olden Avenue with the mayor’s name, but it’s gone now. This will be a big improvement. (The township recently debuted the first of the new signs on North Olden Avenue.)
We’re also introducing a new communication tool, similar to Hamilton’s “SeeClickFix.”
It’s called “Ewing Buddy.” Residents will be able to report issues—like potholes—using an app or website. It logs the location via GPS and creates a ticket that gets routed to the appropriate department. It’s like a help desk for the township.
I am also launching an annual report to summarize goals, progress and plans. It’ll be like a “State of the Township” document available to residents.
One more thing is the “Hometown Heroes” banner program. It honors residents who served in the military with pole banners along Silvia Street.
The banners will be up from Memorial Day through Veterans Day. Interested residents can apply through the Patriotic Committee.
Steinmann: I also want to put in a plug for our gardening club—Ewing Community Gardens. I believe the applications are being taken now for garden plots (anyone interested can apply at ewingcommunitygardens.wordpress.com).
So if anybody’s interested in that, they can sign up. It’s very popular program. The garden plots are on Whitehead Road Extension.
Ewing Observer: I also saw that the Citizens Police Academy is starting back up.
Steinmann: Yes. Participation was strong last year—we were at capacity, and we expect similar interest this time. The Youth Police Academy in August is always well attended, too.
People can sign up on the police department’s website, ewingpolice.com, when applications open.
Ewing Mayor Bert Steinmann.,
