small commercial mall
at Route 33 location
Howell planners
hear proposal
for adult homes
Proposal also includes
small commercial mall
at Route 33 location
By kathy baratta
Staff Writer
HOWELL — A developer who pitched his "upscale" adult community idea to the Township Council 18 months ago presented his proposal to the Planning Board for the first time at a recent meeting.
Developer Terry Sherman of the Crawford Group told a previous Township Council about his idea for Crawford’s Corners, a development of 500 single-family homes on Route 33 near Colts Neck Road, in November 2001. At the time it had been favorably received.
Sherman told current Planning Board members on March 20 that his planned adult community conforms with the Monmouth County master plan. The area had been designated "suburban settlement" in a 1994 county growth-management guide.
A special zoning designation called Planned Retirement Community (PRC) was put into effect by the Township Council a year ago in order to accommodate age-restricted adult communities for people 55 and older. The rezoned area includes Sherman’s Crawford’s Corners.
The 334-acre site is along Route 33 near the Flame Motel, Colts Neck Road and Cranberry Road near the Wall Township boundary. Sherman plans to raze the Flame Motel in order to build the adult community.
The immediate area surrounding the property is zoned for highway development and commercial use.
Sherman said his company, which includes his two sons and partner Anthony Spalliero, a well-known western Monmouth County developer, are contract-purchasers, which mean their purchase of the property is contingent upon their getting Planning Board approval for the project.
Sherman is seeking a waiver for a 75-foot buffer where a recent township ordinance now requires a 100-foot buffer.
Under the current plans, Sherman proposes to plant 500 extra trees — one on each lot — in addition to replacing 6,100 trees. Another 300 trees will be planted along the stream corridor. Also, 41 acres would be dedicated to recreation — 19.2 acres for active recreation and the remainder to be used for walking and jogging trails, Sherman said.The Crawford Group has developed similar communities in other parts of New Jersey and New York, he told the board.
The adult community he described would have two entrances and exits on Route 33 and one each on Cranberry Road. A road intended for emergency access only would be built onto Colts Neck Road for responding police, fire or first aid vehicles.
Sherman also plans to dedicate about 5 acres to commercial development along Colts Neck Road in the form of a strip mall which would feature small boutiques and convenience stores.
He said the prices of the mainly two-bedroom homes in the adult community would range between $250,000 and $300,000 on 7,600-square-foot lots.
Sherman described the concept for the development as an "active, upscale adult community based on the changing demographics of aging baby boomers in New Jersey."
In addition to the jogging and walking trails, planned amenities for the community include an outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts, bocce courts and an 18,000-square-foot clubhouse with an indoor pool.
Public water is already available in the area, Sherman said. He said a forced main sewer connection would be run to the site through the Crystal Creek development.
In his council address in 2001, Sherman had said the Manasquan River Regional Sewerage Authority and the New Jersey-American Water Company have both said they can meet the capacities needed for the proposed community.
Sherman said there would be some lots that would have rear yard easements.
In response to Deputy Mayor Peter Tobasco’s concern about residents being able to build decks in their back yards, Sherman said there would be room for deck construction even in the yards with easements.
During the public hearing, Deanna Russell of Colts Neck Road asked Sherman why the entrance and exit for the commercial component of the community was being planned for Colts Neck Road instead of Route 33.
Sherman said it was better to be near the corner for traffic reasons.
Planning Board Chairwoman Pauline Smith said she had concerns regarding the Colts Neck Road intersection with Cranberry Road, saying it was a "very bad intersection."
Smith, noting the state Department of Transportation has the last word on traffic, said, "I don’t know if we have any prerogative to dictate, but I see problems." He added the community might meet state standards for a traffic light on Route 33 at Colts Neck Road, which could ease traffic problems.
Wendell Nanson of Yellowbrook Road asked if the potential noise nuisance for the people who would live there had been considered. He said he was referring to Anchor Concrete and Stavola Contractors operating in the area.
Sherman said he didn’t anticipate a problem because those companies were 1,500 to 2,000 feet away. Also, due to the natural wetlands in that vicinity, additional buffer zone plantings were planned for the entire western side of the adult community. The next hearing of the proposal is scheduled for June 19.