Council adopts two ordinances to extend Forest Court into the Princeton Hills community.
By: Joseph Harvie
In a move opponents criticized as an open-space giveaway the Township Council adopted two ordinances Tuesday that pave the way for the extension of Forest Court into the Princeton Hills community.
When extended, the Forest Court cul-de-sac would provide access to a 7-acre lot on Pinter Lane zoned for single-family houses. The property is currently zoned for one house per acre.
The 7-acre lot is owned by Richard Spilatore, who plans on building six homes on the parcel and wants to extend Forest Court to gain access to the landlocked parcel.
One of the ordinances will grant an easement of about 2,000 square feet to Mr. Spilatore, which would allow Forest Court to be extended. The second ordinance would dedicate 1,500 square feet of land to the township which would remain as open space.
Residents of Forest Court are opposed to the extension of the road because they say it could open up nearby property to development, which would generate traffic. They also say the plan amounts to giving away open space.
Thomas Cafferty, attorney for Forest Court resident Nick Avillion, said Tuesday Mr. Spilatore has access to the property from Pinter Lane, a 12-foot-wide private gravel road that has 11 houses on it.
According to Councilman Chris Killmurray, Pinter Lane is a private road and the residents would have to agree to allow the road to be widened if the development were built.
Mayor Frank Gambatese said if Pinter Lane is widened the township would lose more open space than if the easement were granted. He also said the township would have to dedicate more right of ways from landowners on Pinter Lane than it would if the easement was granted.
Mr. Cafferty said on Tuesday that the 2,000-square-foot easement, would be a giveaway of dedicated open space to allow a use other than what would be found in its natural state.
Mr. Cafferty also said the extension would be built on a critical aquifer recharge area.
However, Mayor Gambatese said the entire Princeton Hills community is on an aquifer recharge area, because of the amount of sand in the soil.
Mr. Cafferty also said the deed to the property is not in the township’s name. He said the deed is in the name of the builders of the Princeton Hills development. He said the township should hold a public bidding process on the land so residents with property abutting the parcel have an opportunity to purchase the land.
Mr. Cafferty said the land was dedicated as open space to allow residents to have access to other parcels of open space that surround the community.
Mr. Spilatore and his engineer Frank Antisell of Kendall Park were in attendance Tuesday, but did not speak during the public hearing.
Mr. Antisell said during a public presentation in March that the property has been in the Spilatore family since the 1950s and that Mr. Spilatore’s family would occupy two of the six proposed houses.
Mr. Antisell said Mr. Spilatore would also connect water and sewer to the property as part of the agreement.
Mr. Antisell also said Mr. Spilatore would run natural gas to the site. He said the house on the property currently gets gas from an underground fuel tank.

