Builder gets board's OK to construct two homes BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer Jackson JACKSON - The Planning Board has given an 8-0 vote of approval for a two-lot subdivision to be known as Hyson Estates. The 3-acre parcel at the corner of Chandler Road and Genova Avenue in an R-3 residential zone will be divided into two smaller lots to permit the construction of two homes. Among the issues that were before the board during the Dec. 18 hearing was Genova Avenue, which is an unimproved road, and insufficient lot frontage. Planning Board engineer Douglas F. Klee said a variance is needed by the applicant because there is insufficient lot frontage on Chandler Road. He said 100 feet of frontage is required and 93 feet of frontage is provided. The subdivision would be on Genova Avenue, an unimproved road, Klee said. Builder Al Harrison said the price of the two homes he plans to construct will be in the range of $420,000. "It's in a 3-acre zone and there are two conforming lots except for the frontage on one of the lots," said project engineer John J. Ploskonka, of Concept Engineering, Manalapan. "There's not enough room to create the 100-foot frontage requirement. We're [about seven] feet short" on the Chandler Road corner lot. Genova Avenue "is a very long street, with over 1,000 feet," he said. "We need a 7-foot variance on one of the two lots." Ploskonka said Genova Avenue is a dirt road and there are two houses already existing on the road. "One [existing] house is back about 800 feet and the other is 1,000 feet back," he said. "That one is under construction. The first house has been there for a number of years." Pointing to an artist's rendering of the plan, Ploskonka said the Hyson Estates application is to create two houses with driveways. Attorney Steven Pfeffer, representing the applicant, asked Ploskonka if it was feasible to finish off a 500-foot portion of Genova Avenue from the first lot going to the second lot, and the engineer responded that it was feasible. "It can be done, although there are houses on the street," Ploskonka said. "It would be more appropriate to have some kind of guarantee if the town does the full job, instead of a piecemeal project." Pfeffer asked if the applicant would be required to pave just a small portion of Genova Avenue, would someone such as a municipal engineer have to design the entire road. Ploskonka said it would have to be designed and not just built. "You can't just pave a few hundred feet of the road," he said. "You should design it [because] there would be some drainage issues and [possibly] some water quality issues." Ploskonka said the applicant had approvals from the Bureau of Fire Prevention, the Ocean County Planning Board, the Board of Health and the Environmental Commission. "We will take care of the forestry report," he said. The applicant said it would pay its fair share for the road improvements. Several suggestions were offered, including the posting of a bond or money to be placed in an escrow account. Pfeffer said a bond has an end date and if the township never improves Genova Avenue why should his client have to write a check for a road that may never get improved. During the public portion of the meeting resident Kevin DiGesu said he lives on a dirt road and was told it would eventually be paved. "Homeowners are told that when they buy the house," DiGesu said. "It could be years down the road. So the builder should give some kind of contribution to get that road paved. These houses will be [at least] $400,000, not $150,000. There should be some provision to get the road paved." DiGesu said when someone lives on a dirt road they can't open their windows because the dust constantly flies in. He suggested having some kind of ordinance adopted by municipal officials to get the road paved. Resident Paul Mayerowitz said he believes taxpayers will eventually have to pay for the paving of Genova Avenue. "One way or another we'll have to pay for it," Mayerowitz said. "The developer is developing the property. He should find some way ... to fund it now." The board approved the variance for the insufficient frontage on Chandler Road and the builder will be responsible for paving half of Genova Avenue.