units must now get
approval from Marlboro
Birch Hill site approved
for adult community
Plan for 285 age-restricted
units must now get
approval from Marlboro
By sue m. morgan
Staff Writer
OLD BRIDGE — A developer who wants to construct an upscale age-restricted community on the site of the Birch Hill entertainment complex has cleared the first hurdle toward realizing that vision and must now seek approval from Marlboro officials.
East Brunswick-based Kara Homes received two use variances zoning board to build Birch Hill Estates, a 285-unit age-restricted community, on the 55-acre site now occupied by a nightclub, swimming pool, picnic grounds and other recreational facilities. The site is between Route 9 southbound, and Texas and Marlboro roads.
One of the two use variances granted by the zoning board’s 6-1 decision will allow for the age-restricted community in the township’s commercial office industrial (COI) zone. The other use variance will allow for the density of the units, which the board determined is not to exceed five units per acre.
Also, the applicant’s agreement to provide water and sewer connections now lacking at the Birch Hill site and near several homes along Texas and Marlboro roads was another condition of use variance approvals.
The developer expects to have a preliminary and final site plan ready for submission to the board within 30 to 45 days, said Robert McGowan, an executive vice president and attorney for Kara Homes. At about the same time, the developer also expects to submit a use variance application to zoning officials in Marlboro, McGowan said.
Because 5 of the 55 acres on the Birch Hill site are in Marlboro, the developer must also receive use variances and site plan approval from that township as well. Other approvals must also come from Middlesex and Monmouth counties, McGowan has said.
The Old Bridge zoning board approved the use variance for the density based on an agreement between the applicant and the township that the total number of units would not exceed five units per acre. That agreement was reached even though the township, unlike some neighboring towns, does not have a planned adult retirement community zoning ordinance in place, Zoning Board Director Kiran Desai said.
"In the absence of the proper zoning for active adult housing, this board has come to the conclusion that five units per acre should be the guideline for this type of development," Desai said before casting his affirmative vote.
However, board member Jim Galante, who cast the sole dissenting vote, disagreed with his colleagues.
"I feel [this development] is a little too dense for this area," Galante said.
Of the 285 age-restricted units, 180 will be three-story townhouses and the remaining 105 will be mid-rise houses, according to John Truhan, a civil engineer and licensed professional planner who has testified on behalf of Kara Homes.
A 7,500-square-foot recreational center, as well as a swimming pool, a putting green and two tennis courts are also included in the plans, Truhan said.
In accordance with the federal government’s guidelines for age-restricted housing, prospective buyers and residents would have to be at least 55 years old, according to McGowan. No one under the age of 19 would be permitted to live in the complex and none of the units will be available for rental, he added.
Unit prices in the community would range from $220,000 for the smaller condominiums to $300,000 for the townhouses. There will be no so-called affordable housing units in the community, although the developer will make a donation to help Old Bridge meet its state Council On Affordable Housing obligations, McGowan has said.
If constructed, Birch Hill Estates would have an assessed value of $95 million, amounting to a $3 million tax benefit, according to Roy Deboer, a Monroe Township planner who testified before the board.
Sale of the property by Birch Hill’s owner, longtime nightclub impresario Art Stock, is dependent upon the applicant’s receipt of all required approvals from Old Bridge and Marlboro, as well as Middlesex and Monmouth counties and other entities, McGowan has noted.