on 50-acre tract
Developer will preview plan for townhomes
on 50-acre tract
By elaine van develde
Staff Writer
The next owner of the Laurino farm in Tinton Falls will not be weighing the merits of planting green beans instead of watermelons.
According to Borough Administrator Anthony Muscillo, developer Sterling Properties, Livingston, has a contract to buy the Laurino property.
"The developer’s proposal is to rezone and put luxury townhomes on the property," Muscillo said.
Before seeking a needed rezoning from the Borough Council or a variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment, professionals with the company will present a conceptual plan for the site and be available to answer questions at a special meeting of the Borough Council on Tuesday. The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Monmouth Regional High School, Tinton Avenue.
"Mainly it’s to solicit input from residents," Mayor Ann McNamara said of the forum. "Public input is critical. We like to get feedback and provide information about things like this coming to the table."
Muscillo noted that the meeting will allow the council "to gauge public feeling on any anticipated rezoning that may come with this development."
The purported price tag for the roughly 50-acre tract at Hance and Sycamore avenues is estimated to be somewhere in the $14 million range.
Under the existing borough land-use plan, about two-thirds of the property is zoned IOP (industrial/office/professional), with the remainder zoned residential.
Residents of the area have made it clear that they oppose any type of development that will further burden area roads.
Those sentiments were vocally expressed about two years ago when a developer came forward with a plan for a vast office complex for the site.
"The idea of office space on the property inflamed people," said Councilman Peter Maclearie, who chairs the open space committee.
"Traffic studies showed that if an office complex was built on the site, it could have generated an additional 600 cars at peak traffic times in the area," the councilman said. "There was a 1,200-spot parking capacity for a building of the size that was proposed. People would not have been able to exit or enter the side streets in the area, and the semi-rural character of the Hance Avenue/Sycamore area would have drastically changed."
Calling the initial idea of office/industrial development a catastrophe for quality of life in the north end of the borough, Maclearie said he’s anxious to see the new plans for the Laurino property.
"I think this is a much more viable alternative," he said.
However, Maclearie added that he had hoped to glean needed information in the meeting, as he had not seen any proposals or plans for the site.
"I never saw any plans for the commercial development proposed two years ago, either. Meetings like this are good for clearing up misconceptions that can be generated from lack of information," he said.
Maclearie said that with the information he has now, it appears that the residential townhouse community is a concept that will minimize traffic flow and is much preferable to "the alternative presented with IOP development that would funnel 600 extra cars through the area at peak times."
He added, "We’ll have to hear all the particulars; I hope people come to listen to everything before judging, as I plan to."
A group comprised of residents in the Green Meadow Drive oval of properties across from the Hance Avenue side of the farm has formed to strengthen their voice on the proposal.
Group member Dave Rosenthal said the reason for formulating the group was to "preserve the community that the (nearby) residents bought into."
Ideally, Rosenthal said, most would like to preserve the tract. If that’s not possible, he added, his group would like to make certain that whatever is on the horizon for the parcel is not too high density or traffic generating.
Rosenthal shared Maclearie’s traffic concerns and said he keeps an open mind for what might come to the table at this meeting but won’t stand for any plan to funnel more traffic through the area.
"We want to be rational and have all the information before us before making a judgment," Rosenthal said. "We just want to make sure they’re not trying to build huge $700,000 homes, like on Willowbrook Farms, on a smaller piece of land."