South Brunswick zoners OK Dallenbach expansion
Real estate deal now hinges on approval from East Brunswick boardBy CHARLES W. KIM
Staff Writer
SOUTH BRUNSWICK — The township Zoning Board of Adjustment finally voted to approve a local mining company’s expansion Thursday night.
Board members unanimously approved a use variance which will allow the Dallenbach Sand Co., Deans Rhode Hall Road, to expand its operation into a neighboring lot.
"It is obvious we don’t need a recount," joked board Chairman Robert Southwick as the 6-0 vote was recorded.
Dallenbach submitted its application in September of last year to expand its sand-dredging operation to the neighboring Local 825 Heavy Equipment Operators Training Site.
The company, which has operated from the site for more than 60 years, uses the sand it takes from the site to make several building products.
According to the company, the sand is removed, washed, then mixed with other material to create products used in sanding roads and creating building materials.
Approximately 40-60 percent of the components in those products are imported to the site for the mixing operation in line with state requirements, according to the company.
The company replaces the mined sand with water, creating a lake.
Hearings on the application stretched over eight different meetings during the last year, including several postponements and hours of expert testimony.
"It is good to have this behind us," Dallenbach President Jack Whitman said following the meeting.
Although it turned into a long process, Whitman commended board members for the way they handled the application.
"They are a very professional board," Whitman said.
In the end, members favored getting a 54 acre tract on the property for the township to use as passive open space in return for allowing the expansion.
"I think Forest Lake is worth saving," member Charles Carley said in supporting the application.
Other members echoed that sentiment, commenting that the expansion will remove some of the truck traffic from Fresh Ponds Road.
Southwick said that in his view, the many issues raised by residents regarding the environment and traffic had been addressed "properly" by Dallenbach.
Resident and Deans Rhode Hall Road neighbor Jean Devorak said that she was very disappointed with the board’s decision.
"I am very disappointed, I can understand the board, but Forest Lake is not such a great deal," Devorak said following the vote, adding, "I’m not looking forward to another 15 years of mining."
Whitman offered the township use of that parcel known as Forest Lake, containing a 28-acre lake, which lies on the western edge of the property along Fresh Ponds Road.
Whitman said that he will relinquish his rights to mine that lake and instead will allow the township to use it as a recreational area.
Despite gaining approval in South Brunswick, the saga may still be far from over.
In order for the deal to be completed, the heavy equipment training site still needs the approval of the East Brunswick zoning board to move to its new location.
That separate application is still pending there.
Neighbors there claim that the site will pollute the land that the training site plans to move to.