Builder wins OK for homes;
Millstone to get open space
MILLSTONE — The Planning Board has approved the construction of a 32-home development to be built on a 110-acre tract on Charleston Spring Road.
As part of the approval process, Millstone will receive a donation of 23 acres on Charleston Spring Road from developer Gerald Baldachino. The land will be used for recreation activities.
According to plans presented at the meeting, Monmouth Meadows will be built in an area zoned R-130, requiring building lots of 130,680 square feet (about 3 acres).
Under Millstone’s cluster option, which permits development on lots of 87,120 square feet (about 2 acres), the granting of three variances was necessary for Planning Board approval to be granted.
Monmouth Meadows is proposed to be built under the cluster option.
Two of the variances sought by the applicant were bulk variances due to the lack of conforming usable area on certain lots, as explained by project attorney Kenneth Pape. The third variance was for the shortage of the open space dedication Baldachino is required to make to the township.
Under the applicable municipal ordinance, an applicant who chooses to develop a project under the cluster option is required to donate land to the town based on the size of his development.
Under Millstone’s present zoning ordinance, 32 acres would had to have been dedicated to the municipality for the Monmouth Meadows project to be approved without a variance, according to information presented at the Nov. 8 meeting.
As proposed, the parcel being dedicated by Baldachino to Millstone will come in at about 23 acres — approximately 9 acres short of what is required — according to Planning Board attorney James Cleary.
The proposed open space parcel fronts on Charleston Spring Road and, according to an agreement discussed at the meeting, will be used for a ball field as well as a running track and a bike track.
Mayor Cory Wingerter, who sits on the board, said he wanted a berm with trees built around the perimeter of the property to shield the prospective homeowners from the activity at the park.
Recreation commission member James Kronenthal was at the Planning Board meeting and enthusiastically welcomed the project’s approval and land dedication as it was offered.
Noting there are no environmental limitations on the land, Kronenthal observed that the deal was "the opportunity to get a $1 million piece of land for free," adding, "We need the land now."
Deputy Mayor Evan Maltz, who also sits on the board, agreed, saying, "It’s a great piece of recreation land that far outweighs the three variances."
As part of the approval for Monmouth Meadows, Baldachino agreed to grade and landscape the berm on the open space tract as well as to remove an existing structure from the property.
— Kathy Baratta