Petition seeks repeal or referendum of Omega Drive project PILOT
Vernon. More than 2,300 residents have petitioned Vernon Township to overturn or put to a public vote the council’s approval of a 30-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement for a proposed 27-unit residential building on Omega Drive.
| 20 Jan 2026 | 10:30
A petition calling for the repeal of Vernon Township’s recent payment in lieu of taxes agreement with the developer planning a 27-unit four-story residential building was submitted to the town last week.
Delivered to the town clerk’s office by residents Peg Distasi and Ann Larsen on Jan. 14, the petition calls on the township council to repeal last month’s PILOT agreement or put the matter up for a townwide referendum. The petition, which contains 2,353 signatures, is in the process of being reviewed by Township Clerk Marcy Gianattasio and the town attorney. Gianattasio is checking the signatures to make sure they are those of registered voters in the town while the attorney determines how many signatures are needed and if it is valid for the PILOT agreement to be put to a referendum.
The town has 10 days from the date received to inform the petitioners as to whether the petition has been approved or rejected.
Omega Drive PILOT
The Vernon Township Council passed a PILOT agreement Dec. 29 with a developer planning a 27-unit four-story residential building on Omega Drive.
A PILOT agreement is a government-granted financial incentive that allows a property owner or developer to make a negotiated annual payment to a municipality instead of paying conventional property taxes. These programs are used to encourage development and revitalization in specific areas that might otherwise remain vacant or underutilized.
In New Jersey, such an agreement has to be approved by the Department of Community Affairs. Upon receiving approval from that department, the council approved a 30-year PILOT with a subsidiary of The O’Neill Group, a real estate development company headquartered in Hackensack.
The Vernon Township School District, according to estimates, could take on an additional eight students generated from the residential development. Per the PILOT agreement, about $3.7 million will flow into town coffers over 30 years versus what would have been $1.3 million from traditional property taxes, according to Vernon Mayor Anthony Rossi. The school district, however, will receive no money from the PILOT, compared to approximately $3.2 million it would have received via traditional property taxes.