Politics & Government

Residential, Retail Site Plan Hearing to Continue in January

The plan proposes a 469 unit apartment complex, residential buildings and a 130-room extended stay executive hotel.

The Planning Board hearing on a proposed 469-apartment complex, 20,000 square feet retail space and a 130-room extended stay executive suite hotel for a 50-acre property on Route 206 will continue Jan. 5.

The intent is that the applicant, Route 206 Enterprises, will be able to continue talks with township and county traffic specialists and resolve questions about the traffic generated by the proposed buildings. The site is located on Route 206 North between Partridge Road and Valley Road, and one proposed entrance is opposite United Rent-All, according to the site plan. The current plan includes a full-turn access onto Route 206 on the southern part of the plan and a right-turn in, right-turn out at the northern entrance.

Should the traffic discussion continue past the January meeting date, William B. Savo, lawyer representing Route 206 Enterprises, intends to bring architecture and clean-up experts instead of the traffic experts.

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The plan included variances for tree removal, encroachment into buffer area for its trash area, a sign waiver and a fence height waiver for fencing that is on top of a safety wall, however, the applicant eliminated many of the variances.

In addition, Route 206 Enterprises is requesting an economic hardship waiver for tree mitigation and a variance for driveway aisle widths for the non-residential section.

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“We consistently have 25-foot-aisles, even in the area of the retail and the area of the executive suites.” Project Engineer Robert Heibel said. “I believe, in that case, that your ordinance governs.  You ordinance has a 30-foot width for the aisle with the 10 by 20 foot parking spaces. Traditionally, you’ve never required that except for child care centers.  .  . I do believe we technically need a waiver for the 25-foot aisles in a non-residential area.”

It’s likely that the project will exceed the number of trees that can be removed, while also necessitating a payment to the township for its tree mitigation ordinances.

But the ordinance does not include mixed-use projects in its scope, instead having sections for residential development, where an applicant can take down 20 percent of existing trees, and commercial development, where applicants can remove 60 percent of the trees. About 80 percent of the plan is residential and 20 percent is non residential, Heibel said.

The site has about 3,500 trees on 35 acres of the lot, and the plan would propose removing 75 percent of the trees, exceeding the allowable number of trees that can be removed, Heibel said.  The town’s tree mitigation ordinance would require the applicant to replace about 805 of the trees.

The site plan has about 500 trees proposed on the site, leaving a shortfall of 300 trees—about $107,000 dollars, which the applicant has agreed to pay.

 “No matter what we say, we may not believe it’s a variance for the number of trees,” Heibel said. “We do believe that this application, as well as any other application, is obligated to meet the tree mitigation portion of the ordinance. .  .Even though we have 500 some-odd trees, any approval that this board would grant to this applicant, the applicant would be subject to the payment to Hillsborough and the tree mitigation fund a sum in excess of $107,000.”

Of the apartments, 352 would be market-rate apartments and 117 would be affordable housing units. The apartments would be in 24 buildings that are two to three stories tall, and a swimming pool and recreation area is proposed for the center of the property. Residential buildings can be a maximum height of 48 feet, according to the Green Village zone ordinance.

The extended-stay hotel—there is no vendor to claim the buildings at present—would occupy eight buildings in 120,000 square feet. The retail space would comprise two buildings that are 10,000 square feet.

“The overall density of the project is in accordance with the ordinance,” Heibel said. “It does not exceed the allowable density. .  .as far as the overall planning, the number of units, the location of units are in total compliance with the requirements of the Green Village Zone.”

A branch of Roycebrook is located on the property, as well as a flood plain and a 110-foot Delaware and Raritan Canal buffer, Heibel said.

“That area will ultimately be placed within a conservation easement,” he said.

In addition, the property has three drainage basins, located between the entrance roads on Route 206, and two near the stream corridor on the northwest corner of the property. The basins will outlet into the flood hazard area, meaning Heibel will need to submit a permit to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for the outlet pipe.

 

The plan elicited only a few comments from residents, including questions about whether the affordable housing units would be separate from the market-rate rent units, the number of apartment buildings and concerns about traffic from the complex, particularly regarding an access road to the Gateway at Sunnymead development nearby.

“Being that traffic is going to be a big issue with this site and I’m going to be directly affected by it, that access .  .  .why is that not going to be a cross-access into Gateway,” Michael Molio, owner of United Rent-All, said. “Traffic’s going to be an issue here. It’s another avenue to move traffic in and out of the site.”

Since Gateway at Sunnymead is an age-restricted, gated community, an access road is not practical, Savo said. Instead, the access will be for emergency vehicles only, as requested by Chief Fire Marshall Chris Weniger.


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