by So. Brunswick council
Members agree with panel’s decision despite objections
By charles w. kim
Staff Writer
SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Despite some apparent reservations, the South Brunswick Township Council upheld a March Zoning Board decision that will allow almost 2 million square feet of warehouse space to be built on Dunhams Corner Road on the border of East Brunswick.
"This is certainly the lesser of two evils," Mayor Debra Johnson said as she cast her vote to affirm the board’s decision.
The council voted unanimously to uphold the Zoning Board’s ruling after two residents filed an appeal of the decision.
The property on Dunhams Corner Road will produce three warehouses for K&K Developers.
The developer’s attorney, Thomas Kelso, said that the project will cost an estimated $80 million.
"This was a difficult situation for the council. We are pleased with the outcome," Kelso said following the hearing at the municipal building Tuesday night.
K&K won approval for a zoning variance on the land in March. The Zoning Board voted 5-2 in favor of granting the variance to allow the warehouses in the rural residential zone.
East Brunswick resident Richard Walling and township resident Jean Dvorak appealed the decision.
Walling, who serves on the East Brunswick Zoning Board, said that the parcel is part of an environmentally sensitive area and should not have this kind of development on it.
"The property is immediately adjacent to a 1,400-acre conservation area," Walling told the council Tuesday.
Walling said, prior to the proceeding, that while he does not live in proximity to the proposed development, he opposes the plan.
"It will change the character of the area," Walling said.
Dvorak, who lives on nearby Deans Rhode Hall Road, said that she travels Route 535 daily and that the proposed warehouses will tie up traffic even worse on that busy county road.
"I’ve watched Barnes & Noble trucks pass my house. I would never claim, as the applicants have, that these roads will not be impacted by this development," Dvorak said.
Township Attorney Don Sears strongly cautioned the council to not accept any new evidence during the hearing.
"You may only consider what is part of the record (of the Zoning Board meeting)," Sears said.
The council, Sears said, could take one of three actions at the conclusion of the hearing.
The panel could affirm the Zoning Board approval of the variance, reverse it, or remand it back to the board.
Sears also said that the council could take any of the actions with conditions if it chose to do so.
Dvorak said residents could not prepare in time to dispute the testimony offered during the March Zoning Board meeting.
"We never had a chance to bring in expert witnesses. We are making our case on the fly," Dvorak said.
In the end, council members acknowledged some problems existed, but upheld the board’s decision.
"There are some negative impacts," Deputy Mayor Frank Gambatese said. "I do see that the area has changed. It is more beneficial to approve [the warehouses] than homes."
Councilman Edmund Luciano cited several reservations that he had with the approval, but also said that he had to vote to uphold the board.
"I feel bound and constrained. I have to choose between 500 homes or a warehouse," Luciano said, commenting that he also felt the traffic in the area would be impacted by the development.
Walling and Dvorak said they may appeal the council’s decision if they can get legal help.
"There are public advocacy groups that could help," Walling said.