Proposal for Route 27 site to go before Planning Board on Wednesday.
By: Joseph Harvie
Residents of Kathy Street plan to pack Wednesday’s Planning Board meeting to voice their opposition to an office complex and drugstore proposed for Route 27.
Residents say they oppose the office complex because it would add to existing traffic problems on Route 27 and Finnegans Lane. The residents also say the complex could pose environmental problems because it is too close to existing houses. They are asking that the property be rezoned to increase the size of the buffer between the complex and the houses.
The plans call for construction of three buildings on the 12.69-acre site, a 14,690-square-foot Eckerd drugstore, a 9,000-square-foot office building and a 40,092-square-foot, two-story office building. The first floor of the larger building would house 29,092 square feet of commercial office space and the second floor 11,000 square feet of office space. The plan is proposed by Riya Finnegans LLC of Metuchen.
The proposed site of the building is at the intersection of Route 27 and Finnegans Lane and would have driveways on both roads, if approved.
A Dec. 15 Planning Board hearing was postponed because the applicant had not notified everyone with property within 200 feet of the proposed complex of the hearing, said Township Planner Craig Marshall.
The application is scheduled to be heard at Wednesday’s Planning Board meeting.
Kathy Street residents have formed a committee and hired attorney Allen Zublatt, a Brunswick Acres resident, to help in their fight against the proposed complex.
Natalie Abuschinow of Kathy Street said the complex would make the intersection of Route 27 and Finnegans Lane more dangerous and would also increase in traffic on Route 27.
She also said travelers may try to drive through Brunswick Acres on Kory and Oakey drives to find a way around the traffic. Kory Drive runs from Finnegans Lane to Oakey Drive, which intersects with Henderson Road. Henderson Road runs from Route 27 across Route 1 to Blackhorse Lane.
"As the traffic on our streets increases, the safety of our streets decline," Ms. Abuschinow said. "From what I’ve been hearing from some of the other residents is that they are concerned for their children, because they walk to the school because we don’t have a bus system."
Students living in Brunswick Acres live less than two miles from their school and are not bused to school.
Gordon Deal of Kathy Street said he is not opposed to development on the property. He just believes the project is too big and poses a threat to the safety of the residents of Brunswick Acres.
Mr. Deal and several Brunswick Acres residents attended the Township Council meeting Tuesday night and asked for time to speak with the mayor and council about the resident’s position to the matter.
At Tuesday’s Council meeting, Mayor Frank Gambatese, who also sits on the Planning Board, said Mr. Deal should attend the Planning Board meeting on Jan. 19 to outline his opposition to the project.
Mayor Gambatese also advised Mr. Deal to bring as many residents as possible to the Planning Board meeting so the board can have an understanding of how residents feel about the proposed project.
"One thing I can say about next Wednesday is we are going to need more chairs," Mr. Deal said.
Mr. Deal said he would like to see the land be rezoned to prevent the buildings from being so close to the Kathy Street residents’ back yards.
"We are going to suggest that this piece of property be rezoned from neighborhood commercial to office professional," Mr. Deal said. "Neighborhood commercial requires a 30-foot buffer from our properties and office professional requires a 200-foot buffer."
Other residents said they were concerned that the township and the applicant have not taken into account the impact that the loss of trees in the wooded area would have on their community.
They said that when the trees are removed and the buildings and parking lots are constructed, rain runoff from the parking lot will carry contaminants into Oakey Brook, which runs through the development parallel to Oakey Drive.
On Jan. 6, Susan Volner, a 20-year resident of Kathy Street, said her back yard was flooded after two days of rain. She said if the proposed project is constructed it could make the flooding worse.
"Basically we are trying to have him downsize everything," Ms. Volner said. "It is just too much for that small place."

