Planning Board OK’s duplex and houses

The Planning Board approved applications for a duplex unit on Eggerts Crossing Road and houses on Hoover Avenue.

By:Lea Kahn Staff Writer
The Lawrence Township Planning Board approved four new residences — a duplex unit and two single-family detached houses — in separate neighborhoods Monday.
   The duplex unit is planned for 359 Eggerts Crossing Road. The applicant, A&R Financial Services Corp., based in New Brunswick, plans to tear down the vacant house and replace it with the two-unit building.
   Attorney Gary Backinoff, who represents A&R Financial Services, said his client is demolishing a house that is falling down and will replace it with the two duplex units containing about 2,000 square feet. Each unit will be priced between $200,000 and $300,000, he said.
   At the Planning Board’s Sept. 19 meeting, the board had asked the applicant to revise the architectural details, after some board members and neighbors commented that it resembled an apartment house. The revised design was presented to the board Monday.
   The revised plans are an improvement over the original plans, said Philip Caton, the township’s planning consultant. The new plan shows bay windows and three dormers on the third floor.
   Although the new plans reduce the height of the building from 35 feet to 31 feet, the structure is still too tall for the neighborhood, Mr. Caton said. He suggested reducing the pitch, or slant, of the roof to reduce the height of the building.
   Architect Roger Winkle, who designed the house for A&R Financial Services, told the Planning Board that his client would remove the dormers and lower the pitch of the roof, making the building more compatible with the rest of the neighborhood.
   The Planning Board voted unanimously to grant minor subdivision approval to the applicant.
   In other business, the Planning Board approved an application to subdivide a 14,550-square-foot lot into two lots at the corner of Hoover and Glenn avenues. Applicant Jozef Wiacek plans to build one single-family house on each lot.
   One of the two lots will contain 7,500 square feet and the other will contain 7,050 square feet. The larger lot will be on the corner of Hoover and Glenn avenues, and it will contain a 2,700-square-foot house. The second lot will contain a 2,500-square-foot house. They will be priced in the $400,000 range, Mr. Wiacek said.
   The application called for placing the driveways to the new houses on Hoover Avenue, but Hoover Avenue resident David O’Neal objected. He said there would be seven driveways within 100 feet of the intersection of Hoover and Glenn avenues, which could be hazardous to the young children in the neighborhood. He suggested placing one driveway on Hoover Avenue and the second driveway on Glenn Avenue.
   Hoover Avenue resident Laura Schreibersdorf said she did not like the sizes of the houses that are being proposed for the lots. The neighborhood is made up of smaller houses, including ranch houses and Cape Cod-style houses, she said. The new houses will tower over the existing ones, she said.
   George Salt, who lives on nearby Hughes Avenue, agreed with Ms. Schreibersdorf that the proposed houses are too tall. He said he would like to see the new houses conform to the existing ones. The neighborhood is made up of small houses on large lots, he said.
   Architect Roger Winkle, who designed the houses, said the height of the building could be lowered from 32 feet to 29 feet by lowering the roofline. Adjusting other architectural details, such as replacing a half-round window on the second floor with a square one, would make the houses seem less imposing, he said.
   The Planning Board voted unanimously to grant minor subdivision approval to the applicant.
   In other business, the Planning Board briefly reviewed a draft version of the Housing Element of the Lawrence Township Master Plan. A public hearing on the final version of the Housing Element is planned for the board’s Dec. 5 meeting.
   The updated housing element, prepared by Mr. Caton, is needed to comply with the state Council on Affordable Housing. COAH has told the township that it must provide 285 affordable housing units between 2005 and 2014. That number is in addition to the 944 already required by COAH to have been built.
   The township has exceeded its 944-unit requirement by 199 units, according to the Housing Element. The surplus units could be applied toward the 285-unit requirement, Mr. Caton said.