Jones Lang LaSalle
Tewksbury residents plan to fight proposed 175-unit age-restricted housing
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
BY CATHY BUGMAN
Star-Ledger Staff
Plans for what would be Tewksbury's first age-restricted adult community will be the focus of a public hearing tomorrow night -- and neighbors plan to show up en masse.
"I think a lot of neighbors have concerns," said David Vernieri, a Matheson Road resident who's lived in town for seven years.
Vernieri said he and others intend to show up at the first of the planning board's public hearings on the plan at 7:30 p.m. at the meeting hall at 60 Water St. in the Mountainville section of the township.
K. Hovnanian, the Edison- based home builder, is under contract with property owner Bellemead Development Corp. of Roseland to purchase a 121.75-acre parcel straddling Route 523 (Oldwick Road) just south of Route 78.
The plan is to put up a 175-unit development consisting of 101 townhomes, 48 duplexes and 26 homes for low- and moderate-income families on what is now mostly woodlands, fields and wetlands, bordered to the west by Rockaway Creek.
The site sits along a highway corridor that the state has targeted as a growth area, but Hunterdon County is trying to have it reclassified as environmentally sensitive to preserve the rural character of the land.
Neighboring residents, including Gerard Souza of New Bromley Road, are concerned that the size of the development could negatively affect the ecosystem.
"Around here, we have a lot of deer -- they'd have to be relocated, exterminated or move," he said. "It's likely they'll be forced on the street and there'll be more fatalities."
He said there was a recent sighting of an otter on the property as well as rare fish in the waterway.
Other concerns voiced by neighbors include the size of the development and its traffic impact.
Township Committeeman Thomas Kenyon said he anticipates the controversial development plan will generate considerable discussion.
"I would expect five or six board meetings on this," he said. "It's very complicated."
According to the developer and a report assessing the impact of the development on the community, the rental cost for the state- mandated affordable housing units are estimated to be $1,190 per month, including utilities, for the two-bedroom units and $1,375 per month, including utilities, for the three-bedrooms. The price of the townhouses would range from $730,000 to $770,000 while the duplexes would run from $818,000 to $895,000. The townhouses and duplexes are designed for three or four bedrooms and would be in 53 buildings.
All except the affordable housing units are for occupants who are age 55 and older, and all except the occupants of the affordable housing units can take advantage of the site's clubhouse for recreational activities.
The site was previously approved for 800,000 square feet of office space, but a glut in the office market contributed to the reason why those plans never reached fruition, officials said.
Had those offices been built, it would have meant considerably more traffic and significantly more affordable housing units under the formula used by the state Council on Affordable Housing to calculate the township's fair share of low- and moderate-income dwellings, Township Committeeman George Tauber said.
The zoning was changed last year to the Rockaway Village District, which permits residential development, Township Land Use Administrator Shana Crane said.
According to the community impact report, prepared by Art Bernard of THP Inc. of East Brunswick, the adult community is anticipated to bring in 267 adults. The affordable housing is conservatively projected to bring in an additional 76 residents, including 15 school- aged children.
As of 2000, nearly 26 percent of the township's population of 5,541 was over 55, according to U.S. Census statistics. And the state Department of Labor is projecting Hunterdon County's population will increase by 25,711 people by 2020 and of that increase, 93.6 percent will be people over 55.
Cathy Bugman works in the Somerset County bureau. She may be reached at cbugman@starledger.com or (908) 429-9929.
© 2006 The Star Ledger
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
Tewksbury residents plan to fight proposed 175-unit age-restricted housing
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
BY CATHY BUGMAN
Star-Ledger Staff
Plans for what would be Tewksbury's first age-restricted adult community will be the focus of a public hearing tomorrow night -- and neighbors plan to show up en masse.
"I think a lot of neighbors have concerns," said David Vernieri, a Matheson Road resident who's lived in town for seven years.
Vernieri said he and others intend to show up at the first of the planning board's public hearings on the plan at 7:30 p.m. at the meeting hall at 60 Water St. in the Mountainville section of the township.
K. Hovnanian, the Edison- based home builder, is under contract with property owner Bellemead Development Corp. of Roseland to purchase a 121.75-acre parcel straddling Route 523 (Oldwick Road) just south of Route 78.
The plan is to put up a 175-unit development consisting of 101 townhomes, 48 duplexes and 26 homes for low- and moderate-income families on what is now mostly woodlands, fields and wetlands, bordered to the west by Rockaway Creek.
The site sits along a highway corridor that the state has targeted as a growth area, but Hunterdon County is trying to have it reclassified as environmentally sensitive to preserve the rural character of the land.
Neighboring residents, including Gerard Souza of New Bromley Road, are concerned that the size of the development could negatively affect the ecosystem.
"Around here, we have a lot of deer -- they'd have to be relocated, exterminated or move," he said. "It's likely they'll be forced on the street and there'll be more fatalities."
He said there was a recent sighting of an otter on the property as well as rare fish in the waterway.
Other concerns voiced by neighbors include the size of the development and its traffic impact.
Township Committeeman Thomas Kenyon said he anticipates the controversial development plan will generate considerable discussion.
"I would expect five or six board meetings on this," he said. "It's very complicated."
According to the developer and a report assessing the impact of the development on the community, the rental cost for the state- mandated affordable housing units are estimated to be $1,190 per month, including utilities, for the two-bedroom units and $1,375 per month, including utilities, for the three-bedrooms. The price of the townhouses would range from $730,000 to $770,000 while the duplexes would run from $818,000 to $895,000. The townhouses and duplexes are designed for three or four bedrooms and would be in 53 buildings.
All except the affordable housing units are for occupants who are age 55 and older, and all except the occupants of the affordable housing units can take advantage of the site's clubhouse for recreational activities.
The site was previously approved for 800,000 square feet of office space, but a glut in the office market contributed to the reason why those plans never reached fruition, officials said.
Had those offices been built, it would have meant considerably more traffic and significantly more affordable housing units under the formula used by the state Council on Affordable Housing to calculate the township's fair share of low- and moderate-income dwellings, Township Committeeman George Tauber said.
The zoning was changed last year to the Rockaway Village District, which permits residential development, Township Land Use Administrator Shana Crane said.
According to the community impact report, prepared by Art Bernard of THP Inc. of East Brunswick, the adult community is anticipated to bring in 267 adults. The affordable housing is conservatively projected to bring in an additional 76 residents, including 15 school- aged children.
As of 2000, nearly 26 percent of the township's population of 5,541 was over 55, according to U.S. Census statistics. And the state Department of Labor is projecting Hunterdon County's population will increase by 25,711 people by 2020 and of that increase, 93.6 percent will be people over 55.
Cathy Bugman works in the Somerset County bureau. She may be reached at cbugman@starledger.com or (908) 429-9929.
© 2006 The Star Ledger
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 11:58 AM
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