Public comment finished on Hovbilt application
Planning Board members will have say on 965-unit condo project on Feb. 26
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

Jackson

JACKSON - With 52 members of the public testifying a total of 118 times during 11 meetings, the public portion of the Hovbilt application has drawn to a close.

When the Planning Board meets on Feb. 26 it will be time for the members of the board to address the plan that calls for 965 age-restricted condominiums to be built as a project called Jackson Valley in the Cassville section of Jackson.

The property slated for development is in the vicinity of Cassville Road (Route 571), Perrineville Road and West Veterans Highway (Route 528).

Feb. 5 marked the final night of public input on the Hovbilt application.

Resident Mark Lesko said he was against the application and suggested the developer put a proposed connector road through the Hovbilt property to link the northern and southern sections of the project.

"Traffic can enter and exit by Route 528," he said. "Put the connector road through your own property at any

and all expenses."

The connector road as proposed would link Route 571 and Perrineville Road and provide access for Jackson Valley residents to Route 571.

Resident Janet Gearman said she wanted the board to request a current natural heritage database record within one mile of the site. She said previous records were made from one to three miles out. Gearman said she is opposed to the construction of Jackson Valley.

Theresa Lettman of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance said the Hovbilt site is within the Pinelands National Reserve.

"I believe the proposed development violates the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 and the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan which designates this site as forest area," Lettman said.

She said she does not believes all environmental issues have been adequately addressed.

"The applicant's proposal will not protect environmentally sensitive areas of the site or protect the downstream environmental features of Jackson by just giving them to a homeowners association," Lettman said. "Many of the new residents moving into Jackson Valley when encountering a pine snake will kill it. They're not aware that the species poses no harm."

Lettman said a homeowners association made up of residents will not enforce rules that protect open land, animals and plants. She suggested that open space within the borders of the Jackson Valley project be deed restricted and placed in the hands of the New Jersey Natural Lands Trust or a nonprofit group that understands the long-term management of threatened and endangered species.

"Are you proposing that open space be deed restricted?" Planning Board attorney Gregory McGuckin asked Lettman. "The board doesn't have the legal authority to have someone other than the homeowners association."

Resident Peter Quinto said he is opposed to Jackson Valley and believes a traffic study prepared by the applicant is skewed. He said he believes traffic counting devices were put in places that minimized the number of vehicles passing by.

"The numbers in the traffic study are grossly inaccurate," he said. "I think the board should treat this study as a work of fiction. I don't think Jackson has a need for overpriced senior housing. I know my parents can't afford to live there and neither can my in-laws."

Corrine Washik, a member of the Ocean County Sierra Club, said the land where Hovbilt wants to build Jackson Valley is environmentally sensitive. She said the development would not improve residents' quality of life. She said the destruction of pristine wildlife areas and the pollution of waterways will be this plan's legacy.

Resident Sam Magno said, "Right now I look out my window and see 650 acres of woods. I like to see the animals over there, the sunset through the trees, the snow. I don't want to see houses on top of houses."

Elayne Leighton said owls who live on the tract require more than a buffer of 1,000 feet when they are nesting.

"One thousand feet is too small," she said. "I [also] object to the water issues. Swamp pinks (plants) will be affected. The trees in the woods will be affected. I think that's wrong," she said.

In comments at the meeting, Jackson zoning officer Richard Megill said he attempted to contact Jersey Central Power and Light to discuss previous testimony which indicated there are problems with electrical outages in the area where Hovbilt plans to build Jackson Valley.

Megill said he could not get an answer from the person he spoke with at JCP&L. He said he will attempt to reach a JCP&L official who can address the situation.

In other business at the Feb. 5 meeting, a hearing on Leigh Realty's application to build Jackson Mews, a 2,531-unit development on West Commodore Boulevard, was moved from Feb. 5 to April 16.