According to today's paper, no.

ROCKAWAY TWP. - A traffic engineer hired by the township is expected to testify when the planning board holds a public hearing tonight on Christ Church of Montclair's "mega-church" building plan.

The hearing, the 15th on the controversial proposal since Dec. 2003, will begin at 8 p.m. at the Copeland Middle School.

Board chairman Mort Dicker said that the engineer, Scott Kennel, will discuss the 5,000-member church's potential impact on Green Pond Road and other streets in the area.

Christ Church has a $14 million purchase agreement for the 107-acre, former Agilent Technologies site on Green Pond Road.

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A traffic engineer hired by Christ Church, Karl A. Pehnke, testified at the last two hearings about how the church's 2,512-seat sanctuary, private K-5 school and other plans might affect traffic flow.

Residents who oppose the building plan have charged that the roads would not be able to handle the traffic influx, while the church maintains that the increase would be manageable.

According to the township planning department, a new local zoning ordinance impacting the church's plan is not planned for discussion because the township's planner and engineer had not completed their assessments as of last Wednesday.

The zoning ordinance was adopted by the township council March 1 to clarify standards for conditional uses, such as churches, and tighten environmental rules throughout the township.

Christ Church has charged that the ordinance was aimed at derailing its proposal - a point disputed by council members. The church has claimed that the ordinance is unconstitutional.

The ordinance, if unchallenged by Christ Church, would not necessarily derail its sanctuary or school but would likely force a restructuring of its 304,000-square-foot building plan.

Approximately 85 people attended the last hearing, the smallest turnout yet for a Christ Church hearing. More than 1,000 people attended the first hearing on Dec. 15, 2003.