old Route 33
near Raceway Mall
Tract is along
old Route 33
near Raceway Mall
By linda denicola
Staff Writer
A public hearing on a land use ordinance drew a number of residents to a Township Committee meeting and a plea to members of the Freehold Township governing body to reconsider the action.
The ordinance as adopted in late December amends three land use sections of the general ordinance that pertains to architectural requirements, front yard depth, building height and frontage on cul-de-sacs and rezones property on the north side of Business Route 33 west of Route 9 from R-40P (Residential Professional Office) and another section from R-E (Rural Environ-mental) to CMX-3 (Corporate Multi-Use Development).
The ordinance states that the architectural design requirements for commercial and industrial development for all buildings must be finished on the front and sides with brick face, or its equivalent. In addition, the ordinance requires that the minimum lot footage on a cul-de-sac or street with a curved alignment having an outside radius of 500 feet or less may be reduced to not less that 75 percent of the required lot frontage.
George Craig, a Bradley Drive resident whose street abuts the property in question, said he and his wife opposed the change because the owner plans to develop the property into an office park. He was concerned about additional traffic since Route 33 is a two-lane road in that vicinity and because office buildings would not preserve the residential character of his neighborhood.
Craig also wanted to know why township officials changed the master plan to allow this kind of development.
According to Deputy Mayor David Salkin, a part of the property was rezoned from R-E because that zoning designation was not appropriate.
"Unfortunately that piece is not an environmentally sensitive area," Salkin said. "The only environmentally sensitive areas (in the township) are (south of) Route 524. If the owner had decided to take us to court, it (the R-E zoning) would not have been defensible in court."
Salkin said the property off Route 33 is a former chicken farm with old chicken coops still there.
"It’s run down and dilapidated. This will give us an opportunity to get it cleaned up," he said.
Assistant Township Adminis-trator Doug Sanders said, "The committee worked on a procedure whereby we could have some more say about what can be done with the property. The committee heard quite a few plans for developing the property, but they worked with the land owner to come up with a solution that maintains the character of the area. It could have been used for a research laboratory, but that’s not compatible to the neighborhood."
Mayor Eugene Golub said during the public hearing, "This is a well thought out ordinance. The proposed development will consist of a series of office buildings, reasonable in size, with a considerable buffer."
Committee members agreed that without the rezoning there could have been extensive development on the 46-acre property that runs along Business Route 33 in the area west of the Route 9 intersection.
Committeeman Ray Kershaw said that the frontage on Route 33 is in the R-40P zone, as is a lot of the rest of the property. It is already zoned for offices.
"(One) proposal would put a small office on 2 acres. We kind of like that idea, rather than putting one house on 5 acres," he said. "Each building will have 3,000 square feet on the first floor and the same on the second floor. These aren’t big buildings."
"The buildings will look like large houses with a Williamsburg style and trees as a buffer," Golub said.
Salkin explained that the developer plans to use a lot less of the property than the ordinance would allow.
"It will look residential. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather see trees than development, but that’s not real life," he said.
One resident at the meeting asked about noise from alarms that go off during the night and lights that might come into bedroom windows.
Golub said there are stringent state regulations about noise, especially near a residential area.
Salkin asked the residents to trust the committee.
"With the new architectural standards these are going to be pretty. They will be residential looking buildings on well landscaped properties. It will be more aesthetically pleasing than it is now. This has been looked at very carefully. I think if you trust us on this one, you will be happy," Salkin said.
Kershaw reminded residents that there will be more opportunities for them to voice their concerns. The next step is an application before the Planning Board. He recommended that the residents come back when the application is heard.
Neil Grossman, the property owner, told the committee members during the public hearing, "I’m not going to let you down, nor any of my neighbors. Freehold Township is my hometown. This is where I grew up."