Planners give close review to 315-home development
Adult community planned for parcel on S. Hope Chapel Rd.
BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer

JACKSON - Many aspects of a proposed age-restricted community were discussed at a recent meeting of the Planning Board.

Testimony on an application for a 322- lot subdivision that was filed by Diamond Developers is expected to resume at the March 3 meeting of the Planning Board.

The age-restricted development is proposed for a location on South Hope Chapel Road near Ridgeway Boulevard and Jackson's border with Manchester Township. The adult community would have 315 homes, five open space lots, one lot for a sanitary sewer pump station and one lot for a clubhouse.

The board's engineer, Douglas Klee, said certain conditions must be met for the board to hear the application. He said the proposed development must be served by public sanitary sewer with an adequate capacity to accommodate the project, the development must not adversely affect traffic patterns and the proposed lots must be consistent with the township's master plan.

If these conditions are not met, the board would not have jurisdiction over the application.

The application is also subject to the Residential Site Improvement Standards and therefore on street parking will be restricted.

Klee said there should also be testimony regarding curbs and sidewalk improvements along Hope Chapel Road.

"Sidewalk instillation is restricted by wetlands, although these environmentally sensitive areas do not preclude the installation of curbing," Klee said. "An environmental impact statement has been submitted and it appears it was submitted without the inclusion of adjacent lots as it references 266 building lots, where the current proposal is 315."

The engineer said that has to be updated.

Klee also noted that the major issue the Pinelands Commission has with the application is with the storm water management plan and he said the Jackson Township Municipal Utilities Authority will require an easement for the pump station.

"With respect to density, the maximum density is 4.5 units per acre and the applicant proposes 3.27 units per acre," the board's planner, Alan Dittenhofer, said. "This is a conditional approval and the conditions for the reduced lot sizes include the sewer service and the traffic impact."

Dittenhofer said 35 of the 315 homes would be designated, marketed and sold as affordable housing units.

Affordable housing units are sold or rented at below market rates to people whose income meets a regional qualifying guideline established by the state Council on Affordable Housing.

The applicant's engineer, Graham J. MacFarlane, said the site has been predominantly cleared and had been used as a horse farm for a considerable amount of time. There are two single-family residences on the 101-acre property.

He said there are wetlands in the center of the property and the applicant has provided a 300-foot buffer around the wetlands.

"There are also three small open space preservation areas and there are active recreation components within the project," MacFarlane said. "That includes a clubhouse, a swimming pool, tennis courts and bocce courts."

"The site is accessed by two roads," the engineer testified. "One is in the north and one is in the south. The north entrance is about 150 feet from the north boundary and the south entrance is a couple of hundred feet from the southern boundary."

A primary cul-de-sac sits at the southwestern corner of the property and is there in the event a connection is to be made to Breeder's Walk, a non-agerestricted development that has been approved, but has not been built at the present time.

MacFarlane said there are 24 acres of open space with wetlands and the buffer and that maintains about 24 percent in the project.

When questioned by board members about the development's age restrictions, MacFarlane said at least one resident of a home must be 55 or older. A spouse may be younger than 55.

Board member Eileen Tobasco said many adult communities allow children who are at least 19 to live in the community, but do not permit children younger than 19 from living in the community.

MacFarlane agreed to put that in the public offering.

A disclosure will also be placed in the offering by Diamond Developers which will state that the Earle asphalt plant is across the street from the applicant's property.

Attorney Michael Lombardi, representing the Earle Companies, said he represents the two facilities which operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There are bulk deliveries and heavy traffic, Lombardi said.

It was noted during testimony that trucks exiting the plant weigh about 80,000 pounds.

Lombardi said there are serious concerns regarding motor vehicle traffic in that area.

Environmental engineer Greg Bury, representing the Environmental Department at neighboring Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, requested that the public offering and the deed also include language which indicate that the applicant's property is in a noise zone.

Prospective buyers will be in proximity to the Navy's operational and noise zones, Bury said.

Board member Robert Hudak questioned the applicant's tree save plan and noted that 90 percent of the trees are being removed.

"To remove over 90 percent of the trees is unacceptable," Hudak said. "I think they should come back with a plan that includes open space and [more trees saved]. I'm asking you to save some of these trees. This is not a tree save plan."

Board Chairman Kenneth Bressi said the only trees that are being saved are the ones the applicant has to save.

Attorney Denis Kelly, representing the applicant, said that issue will be looked into. Traffic engineer John Rea, representing the applicant, said traffic counts have been made and it was noted that Hope Chapel Road carries about 9,500 vehicles per day with peak hours between 7:30- 8:30 a.m. and between 4:15-5:15 p.m. in this area.

Counts were also made at the intersection of South Hope Chapel and Whitesville roads and at an unsignalized intersection just south of the project, but north of theManchester border, Rea said.

Rea said the 315 age-restricted homes will generate about 95 vehicles on South Hope Chapel Road during the peak hours. He said he expects his figures to be correct until 2012, when the project is completed.

Rea said there is proper geometry at both driveways and said traffic will operate safely and consistently.

Tobasco said she travels these roads frequently and said Ridgeway Boulevard is used as a shortcut by people from Leisure West and Renaissance going into Jackson.

"Additional traffic could be a major disaster," Tobasco said.

Something could be done with the intersection to make that movement safer, Rea responded.

"But that's up to the county," he added.