HAMILTON TOWNSHIP — The township Planning Board passed two agenda items last week encouraging the Township Committee to make a greater effort to pursue development.

The township has a Mill Complex Redevelopment Plan, which includes the former Wheaton Glass Factory, also known as Wheaton Plastics, on Old Harding Highway. No development has happened at the site in decades, and a fire gutted three of the nine buildings on the site in 2007.

Cotton Mill Associates LLC, based in Weehawken, Hudson County, has owned the property since 2009. The Township Committee asked the Planning Board to amend the plan to give the committee the authority to start the eminent domain process over the Wheaton property at some point. The Planning Board agreed to recommend that this change take place.

Eminent domain is the taking of private property for public use.

The Planning Board also decided to conduct a preliminary investigation into establishing a non-condemnation redevelopment area at the township’s Industrial Park off Harding Highway.

During the meeting, it came up that there have been very few land sales in the Industrial Park in decades.

The Industrial Park study area includes a post office, the Atlantic County Special Services School District, the George L. Hess Educational Complex, Atlantic County Institute of Technology, a Motor Vehicle Commission inspection station and the Hamilton Township Municipal Utilities Authority, Planning Board member Wayne Choyce said.

The governing body wants to commission a study looking at all the properties in the Industrial Park. The Planning Board authorized for it to do that.