The bad news is that the committee has reduced the project to 870,000 sf. With less building space on more acreage, the committee is aiming for less density. The remaining 32 acres, which Mountain Hill wanted to develop completely, would ostensibly remain as open space. A return to the planning board is the next step for the proposal.

The project remains highly controversial, even in its new reduced form. Concerned Citizens of Middletown, a grass roots group, remains adamantly opposed to any develop on the tract, even though the township's master plan has long had the site designated for mixed-use development.

According to officials, the proposal probably won't come through the planning board study without further changes. At a committee meeting yesterday, township committeewoman Rosemarie Peters expressed the view that "additional changes in the zoning may result."