Locals say proposed warehouse is wrong for rural area.
By: Joseph Harvie
Residents on Davidsons Mill and Fresh Pond roads are upset with a proposal that could change the zoning of a 220-acre parcel of open space to allow for the construction of a warehouse.
The Planning Board was scheduled to discuss the rezoning Wednesday. The board could make a recommendation to the Township Council regarding the parcel’s rezoning following Wednesday’s meeting.
The land on Davidsons Mill Road is bordered in the east by the N.J. Turnpike and to the south by Pigeon Swamp State Park. It is zoned rural residential, which allows for one house per 2 acres. The zoning allows for only septic systems.
Residents who live near the farm said they found out last week that the owner of the property, Walter Pulda of Piscataway, wants to rezone the property so the Joe Morris Co. of Rutherford can build a warehouse there.
Mayor Frank Gambatese said Tuesday that Mr. Pulda has an agreement to sell the land if it is rezoned for an industrial use.
Mr. Pulda could not be reached for comment on the agreement and calls to the Joe Morris Co. were not returned.
Residents in the area said they expected to attend Wednesday’s Planning Board meeting.
Jean Dvorak of Deans Rhode Hall Road is concerned that rezoning the parcel could encourage more developers to seek similar changes. The area west of the Turnpike has been reserved by the township for residential use, while the area east of it has been designated for warehouses.
"Everyone living as a resident in the rural residential zone is at risk once this gets opened up," Ms. Dvorak said. "If they were to change the zoning in one section, that immediately makes all the other areas at risk for developers to gather up several lots or a few large lots and go to the township and ask for a change in zoning. It would set a precedent."
Bill Klimowicz, a retired school teacher who has lived on Davidsons Mill Road his entire life, said residents on Davidsons Mill, Deans Rhode Hall and Fresh Ponds roads have been promised in the past that warehouses would not be built west of the Turnpike.
"Our former mayor, Roger Craig, always assured us that the Turnpike is a magical line," Mr. Klimowicz said.
Ms. Dvorak said there is no reason to change zoning west of the Turnpike because developers may view the space east of the Turnpike as limited.
"Township policy is that the zoning of warehouses in this area will not go beyond the Turnpike," Ms. Dvorak said. "We have already given up all those lands and now they are trying to move across the Turnpike."
Mayor Gambatese, who sits on the Planning Board, said that if the zoning is changed a warehouse could bring added tax revenue to the township without putting children into the school system. Under current zoning, 110 houses could be built on the property, which could in turn bring 220 to 250 students to township schools, Mayor Gambatese said.
The mayor said local schools already are crowded and that adding more children would not help this problem.
The residents are also trying to preserve a 309-year-old historic farmhouse and a cemetery on the property. The property is still being farmed.
"This is not just a warehouse but the destruction of a 300-year-old historic farm with some of the best farmland that has been farmed for 300 years," Mr. Klimowicz said. "The farm is well documented from 1711 until 1955, when the Van Dykes moved out. That’s very unique that an original family stayed in same house for that long."
Mr. Klimowicz said there are several cemeteries on the site, one of which had been moved in the past when the Turnpike was widened near Deans Rhode Hall Road.
He said the construction workers unearthed a skull that belonged to a British soldier buried in the cemetery. Mr. Klimowicz said the soldier possibly died on the way to the Battle of Monmouth and one of the local farmers buried him there.
He said an American soldier may have also been buried near the Van Dyke House.
"There was a rumor in the neighborhood when I was a kid that a hero in the American Revolution is buried there," Mr. Klimowicz said. "We are trying to dig records up there, and there is a man buried there that fits in the time period."
Mayor Gambatese said he would like to see the Van Dyke house preserved. He said the house is on a township inventory of historic houses that should be saved.
He said if the property is rezoned, he would like to see the house moved to another location. He said the township would like to ensure that the house is not destroyed.
Residents also say they’re concerned about the environmental impact a warehouse might have. The property is located on an aquifer that supplies groundwater for wells in the area. Ms. Dvorak said that impervious surfaces like parking lots and buildings pollute run-off and can redirect it away from the main aquifer recharge areas.
But Mayor Gambatese said retention basins can be used to control run-off. "They can design retention basins so water from rain runs directly into them instead of permeating through the soil," he said.
The residents said they are just hoping to maintain the way of life they have enjoyed their entire lives.
"This area was like an oasis in South Brunswick," Mr. Klimowicz said. "I’ve lived here for over 50 years and it doesn’t change very much. A few houses popped up here and there, but overall the area has remained the same."

