Jones Lang LaSalle


Old Bridge seeks balance that developers promised (Alfieri/Metropark South)
Sunday, May 21, 2006
BY NAWAL QAROONI
Star-Ledger Staff

During the 1980s, when Old Bridge was still dominated by farms and wide swaths of undeveloped land, township officials approved plans for major developments, hoping to create a mix of housing, retail and commercial space during the next 20 years.

But those plans never fully materialized as the officials envisioned.

Instead, the developers -- who promised everything from retail to office space, train stations and road improvements -- built only housing.

Now township officials are trying to put the brakes on any further housing developments where they can, hoping to force developers Michael Alfieri and Atlantic Realty to live up to their end of the bargain.

"They promised the sun and the moon and the stars," Mayor James T. Phillips said. "But all we got was very high-density housing and not one stick of commercial or retail ratable for the township."

Barbara Cannon, who was mayor from 1992 to 2000 and chair of the planning board in the early 1980s, said it makes sense for current officials to approach development with more caution.
"In the'80s, the thinking was, with smaller-lot zoning, we'd get affordable housing," Cannon said. "We were a developing community that wanted balanced growth of commercial and housing."
But the balance never came.

Edison-based Alfieri's general development plan, which was approved in September 1985 for Metropark South, along the Laurence Harbor near the Garden State Parkway's Exit 120, included housing, a train station, a seven-story hotel, 2,605 parking spaces, 800,000 square feet of office space and 10,000 square feet of retail. Alfieri was also to fund nearby road improvements as part of the agreement.

Since the approval of Alfieri's original plan, however, only Bridgepointe, a high-end development consisting of hundreds of townhouses, has been built.

Alfieri, who did not return calls for comment, requested variances for additional housing and parking spaces on his general development plan this past February, arguing there hasn't been a market for commercial or retail.

But the township's zoning board, citing pressing new environmental factors and an expired overall plan, rejected the requests.

"For the past five years, our zoning board goal has been straight and clear," said Kiran Desai, board chairman. "If a developer who was approved with a large-scale plan in the'80s comes back with modifications, we're looking more critically to see how we can stop additional single-family units from being built."

Furthermore, Desai said, Alfieri's general development plan had expired. State law gives developers a 20-year window to complete their plans after a general development plan is approved.

Atlantic Realty's comprehensive plan for hundreds of units off Englishtown and Texas roads was approved in October 1989, with conditions to improve the county roads and add thousands of square feet of retail after 500 certificates of occupancy were issued, said Planning Board Chairman Larry Redmond.

Although it has not expired yet, Township Council President Patrick Gillespie said he is looking for a way to throw out Atlantic Realty's general development plan for Woodhaven Village.
More than 300 units have been built, but road improvements have not been made, township officials say. The Middlesex County Planning Board stepped in last month when they asked the township to stop issuing building permits. The state Department of Environmental Protection has issued violations for wetland encroachment. But Atlantic Realty is still requesting approvals for an additional 700 units.

Redmond said it's going to be tough for the developer to get additional approvals when the environment is at stake.

"We inherited these large development plans from previous generations," Redmond said. "There are wetland concerns that in today's world, just won't work. We just can't handle the volume or density that they approved back then."

Ellen Ritchie, who was hired for a newly created position in July as director of community development for the township, said she has been given specific instructions to ensure that developers actually follow through with phasing in their large development plans.

"It's a more measured approach," Ritchie said. "We're definitely moving toward more commercial and retail, office space, and light manufacturing warehouses. I'm supposed to keep up with the phase conditions and make sure they aren't overlooked."

Brunetti Enterprises, another developer that received a general development permit in the'80s, has proposed building 1,384 residential units, 138 affordable housing dwellings and 600,000 square feet of commercial and retail space over 433 acres off Route 9.

So far, nothing has been built, but township officials say they will make sure every phase condition is met as the development moves forward, to ensure the long-term viability and quality of life in the township.

"The township's more aggressive approach seems progressive and we applaud it," said Michael Fitzgerald, counsel for Brunetti. "We've been cooperating and voluntarily accelerated the commercial phasing so housing isn't done first."

Officials say holding the developers to their agreements will result in a more balanced community.

"The key to our future is smarter growth," said Gillespie, who was appointed by then-Gov. Richard Codey as the state ombudsman for Smart Growth from 2005 to 2006. "It's a more conservative approach, where we certainly want less residential that isn't going to be a positive revenue generator."

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