Planners nix revision in Master Plan

By: Sharlee DiMenichi
   The township Planning Board rejected a resolution that would have changed the township Master Plan to allow for the construction of warehousing and distribution centers on 140 acres of land at the intersection of Route 535 and Dunhams Corner Road.
   The board voted 6-2 May 21 against the resolution, which would have altered the Master Plan’s designation for the area, which borders East Brunswick, from rural residential to limited industrial/rural residential.
   Permitted uses under the new zone would have included a wholesale distribution center, warehousing, light industry and residential development. Only single-family houses are allowed under the current zoning.
   Master Plan designations offer non-binding guidance to the council in making zoning decisions.
   About 30 residents, including some from East Brunswick, attended the meeting last week.
   Last week the Township Council postponed a vote that would have rezoned the area from rural residential to limited industrial/rural residential. Council members said they wanted to wait for feedback from the Planning Board before voting. The council will consider the proposal at a date yet to be determined.
   Resident David Bastek, of South Brunswick, said he feared the new designation would result in increased light pollution and truck traffic. Mr. Bastek said he already finds trucks and illumination at nearby warehouses a nuisance.
   "I’m probably 500 feet, 700 feet in back of them. I hear the back-up alarms all night long, air horns at 3 o’clock in the morning," Mr. Bastek said.
   Others commented on the ecological fragility of the tract, which the state has designated as environmentally sensitive because it contains the headwaters of the Ireland Brook, a tributary of Farrington Lake, a source of drinking water for New Brunswick. The tract also serves as a recharge area for the aquifer that feeds township wells.
   "What makes an area unsuitable for a warehouse? Is environmental sensitivity at all considered in that decision?" said Charles Breitweiser, of East Brunswick.
   Township Planner Craig Marshall said Tuesday that county studies have determined that the tract is part of an aquifer recharge area.
   On March 7, 2002, the township zoning board approved a conceptual plan and use variance by K&K Developers to build three warehouses on129 acres of the property. A use variance requires developers to return to the township for approval before making significant additions or changes to their property. The buildings would occupy about 2 million square feet.
   If the council approves the rezoning ordinance, K&K would not have to seek approval before making changes to its complex.
   A dozen residents in the area appealed the use variance to the township, saying they object to the additional warehouse construction because trucks using existing warehouses in the area cause air and noise pollution.
   Steve Ruben, of Cy Ruben Real Estate, who represents landowners from whom K&K is buying parcels of the tract, said redesignating the area would encourage stable tenants to lease warehouse space in the township.
   "It’s very difficult to attract high-quality tenants if there’s not the proper zoning," Mr. Ruben said.
   Planning Board members who voted against the resolution to redesignate said changing the Master Plan could afford builders too much freedom to develop the area.
   "By supporting it, we lost control of that area," said Councilman Ed Luciano, who also sits on the Planning Board.
   Residents said they were pleasantly surprised by the board’s decision.
   One resident who filed the appeal and is involved in a lawsuit over the zoning change said she was pleased with the vote.
   "I believe that this board acted with a great deal of integrity and deserves a great deal of credit for their hard work," said Jean Dvorak, of South Brunswick.