Resident says project will harm local parish
My wife and I are very concerned about the impact the proposed Chelsea Commons project will have on our neighborhood and the school and church community of St. Veronica. This huge project is not a good fit for the land involved and should be fought vigorously by St. Veronica's and the entire church community, as well as the Candlewood neighborhood.

The key to success for this greedy group of developers is access to St. Veronica's entrance/exit road. Without the approval of Father Brendan Williams, the project would be very unlikely to move forward as presently proposed.

I have personal experience with several of these types of projects where I work in Piscataway and would be happy to provide any help possible to fight this proposal

Again, at stake is the very fabric of our neighborhood, as well as the safety of the school children, parishioners, and all visitors to various church functions.

Every St. Veronica parishioner and parent of students should be made aware of the size and scope of this large project:

• 126 housing units for agerestricted tenants (elderly). People per unit?

• 245 to 252 parking spaces. This will create enormous parking and traffic issues for everyone. This is an extremely large parking area.

• Significant numbers of workers, support staff, visitors, transient tenants will now have access to parish grounds. This is not good with hundreds of students nearby.

• A huge retention/detention pond will be necessary to handle the enormous water runoff. This is a significant danger to school children. Numerous deaths and drownings have occurred in New Jersey and throughout the country. No builder can guarantee safety. Lawsuits are common. They are also always an eyesore and can never adequately be hidden (look around Howell).

• Traffic - It will be horrendous no matter how the builders try to gloss over this fact. With school buses and cars loaded with children trying to reach school, this is a significant threat to the lives of all children and parents.

• Building height - At 50 feet high, this project will tower above everything in the area. Remember, a proposal for a 5- foot variance (as requested here) was recently denied for the building of a local hotel/motel further up Route 9. Why does

this project warrant a special variance?

It is my opinion that this project will never move forward without Father Williams' approval to grant use of the parish entrance/exit road.

Keep in mind, no matter what is promised by the builders, they rarely keep their word once the project is completed. Whatever financial incentives have been offered - money, road/building improvements, etc. - will be a very short-term gain for the parish, with longterm negative consequences. They will say and do anything upfront, then fold up their tents and walk away. You will never be able to fully collect.

This is not a true "residential" use of this property. It is a hideous, dangerous and greedy proposal designed to provide maximum return to the owners and developers. It will forever change St. Veronica's parish school and local neighborhood in a negative way.

I urge Father Williams to deny them access to our property. They may have certain rights to use their property but without Father Williams' help, this project cannot move forward. He should use his influence to mobilize the parishioners, school children's parents, PTA, etc., to force the zoning board to reject the builder's request for variances.

Let's make our voices heard this Aug. 11.
Neil J. Callahan
Howell