Warehouse’s impact on area discussed

Traffic patterns, COAH requirements could be major sticking points for development

By: Purvi Desai
   UPPER FREEHOLD — Amid a much more subdued crowd of fewer people than the previous Planning Board meeting, officials Tuesday night testified why they think a warehouse development in the township will be detrimental to the area.
   Rockefeller Group Development Corp. plans to build a 1.8-million-square-foot, three-warehouse complex, called Commerce Park on Breza Road.
   On Aug. 22, Borough Attorney Ken Biedzynski, Borough Planner Tom Thomas and Andrew Feranda, a traffic consultant, discussed the impact the warehouse will have on their town and the surrounding areas.
   Mr. Thomas said the warehouse application is not consistent with the requirements of the state’s development and redevelopment plan of 2001, which states that certain rural areas are not eligible for development. Prior to formulating this plan, the state seeks input from municipalities and counties, he said.
   "Allentown is a designated rural area," he said. "A warehouse distribution complex is not consistent with a rural area like Allentown. It doesn’t fall in the state’s development plan."
   Mr. Thomas said development is encouraged by the state in rural areas, but there are certain areas that are designated as "permanent green areas."
   Mr. Thomas also said he discovered a list of goals and objectives that the Upper Freehold Planning Board made in 2004, which included supporting farmland preservation and agriculture, as well as placing zoning ordinances in effect to safeguard the environment. Mr. Thomas said these goals and objectives do not conform with their current decision to review this warehouse application.
   "This development is inconsistent with the state plan and the Planning Board’s 2004 goals and objectives," he said. "The state Planning Commission will have to review this application eventually." Mr. Thomas said the commission will be able to review any irregularities of this application in compliance with the state plan.
   Mr. Thomas said the general character of Upper Freehold Township would change drastically if the warehouse application goes through, as the town will seem as though it is open to development. "It will no longer be heralded as preserving farmland, but as chasing ratables like any other urban municipality," he said.
   In regard to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s sewer and water provisions,Mr. Thomas said the GDP for the town does not account for high-density development such as the warehouse.
   In addition, the construction of the warehouse will create more Council on Affordable Housing’s obligations for the town — approximately 24 new units — something that the township may not have accounted for financially, he said.
   According to the third round COAH obligations, for every eight new homes built in a township, one affordable unit has to be built, and for every 25 jobs created, another affordable unit has to be provided. According to Mr. Thomas’ calculations, the warehouse’s housing portion will mandate 13.5 new COAH units and the office portion another 10.65 units, totaling a little over 24.
   Mr. Thomas said although the Rockefeller Group has made the decision to donate a piece of land for the COAH units, other municipalities in the state require developers to actually build the houses. The total cost of the 24 units that could be mandated as a result of the warehouse development will be $3.6 million, Mr. Thomas said. Rockefeller has set aside 19 acres for COAH use by Upper Freehold Township.
   The rules of COAH state that the taxes on affordable units should be based on costs of the individuals occupying them, rather than the township’s average home values, Mr. Thomas said. The different factors of these COAH obligations will harm the township in the long-term, he said, because it will lower the tax base and the finances for supporting them will cause constraints to the town.
   "Upper Freehold should look seriously now that the impact is going to be assessed for COAH," Mr. Thomas said. "COAH sites should be suitable, accessible and approvable, which is not the case here."
   Overall, Mr. Thomas concluded that his findings relayed the warehouse application is "inconsistent with the state plan, Upper Freehold Township’s representations to the County of Monmouth and state planning commission for cross acceptance, COAH rules and regulations and waste water management."
   He also said that the $119,000 surplus revenue expected to be generated by the warehouse for the township would actually be reduced when police fees and school district expenses are factored in. Plus, another impact would be felt by emergency services in the area that may not be able to cope with increased demand, he said.
   Regional impacts include traffic patterns in the area, as certain intersections and roads are not equipped to handle commercial traffic, he said. Mr. Thomas said an unusual provision under the GDP not mentioned frequently is that no zoning changes can be made for a period of up to 12 years after it has been issued for an application.
   "It’s fixed in stone," he said. "Once approved, it is very hard to change in the future."
   Mr. Feranda, a professional engineer hired as a traffic consultant by Allentown Borough, related his findings on traffic emissions, surveys and reports to the Planning Board after Mr. Thomas completed his testimony.
   Mr. Feranda said he reviewed Monmouth County’s traffic studies and considered various intersections and roadways prior to compiling his report. He said Allentown likes to use Main Street for local events, causing closings during those functions. Additionally, there are avenues, he said, that allow traffic to avoid this area and make it past without having to come into the middle of town.
   Mr. Feranda said that bypass studies indicate that commercial development, such as the warehouse, is likely to increase driver frustrations, delays, and congestion. The current easterly bypass allows traffic, mainly including trucks, to avoid downtown Allentown, he said. With the development of a warehouse, the strain on the bypasses is likely to increase, and 100 percent of the trucks are likely to use the Interstate 195 at Exit 7 on Robbinsville-Allentown Road to reach the area, Mr. Feranda said.
   Presently, he said, there is no eastbound exit ramp on the interstate for traffic headed northwest out of Allentown on Robbinsville-Allentown Road, heading toward Washington Township. As a result, Mr. Feranda said trucks are likely to seek three alternatives, one of which will lead traffic down Main Street Allentown and two that lead it down borough and township back roads.
   "Twenty-five percent of the projected traffic is going to use the intersection of Church and Main streets to access 195," he said, adding that Potts Road — near the warehouse site — is not capable of holding substantial traffic, due to poor pavement and a narrow road. Breza Road, too, Mr. Feranda said, has a poor pavement, but a substantial cartway.
   Although the bridge on Main Street is currently unable to support more than 10 tons, in the next couple of years, it is going to be reconstructed, and heavy trucks will then be able to use it, he said. The reconstruction will mandate a two-year closing of the bridge, Mr. Feranda said, which is expected to add to traffic problems in the area itself, regardless of whether the warehouse is built.
   He also said that the Allentown area is unequipped to support commercial traffic with rest stops and fuel services. There are currently only two gas stations on Main Street, Mr. Feranda said, and depending on work shifts, and weekend traffic, congestion is likely to increase overall.
   Commerce Park is worth $82 million, and will occupy 254 acres, divided among three warehouses. The first warehouse would cover 1.72 million square feet, the second 550,000 square feet and the third 193,350 square feet. The largest of the buildings would be 1 million square feet and the smallest would be about 100,000 square feet.
   The remaining property encompassing 175 acres would go toward open space and conservation. The plan includes 1,173 parking spaces, 325 trailer spaces near the buildings, six drainage basins, it’s own sewage treatment plant, and new water, sanitary sewer, gas and telephone lines.
   In March, Rockefeller presented Part 1 of the plan, and answered questions from the public at a second meeting on May 11.
   In May, the Rockefeller group asked the township to enter into a General Development Plan (GDP), which differs from the typical site plan approval process. The plan allows the two groups to work out problems and concerns with the plans before a formal application is submitted. The GDP must be drawn by a professional engineer or land surveyor and should include a key map showing items such as boundaries, acreage, open space and traffic circulation.
   On June 27, a third meeting was held to hear Rockefeller’s response to public and official feedback. Allentown counsel had just started their presentation that night when time ran out.
   The next scheduled Upper Freehold Township Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. in the Allentown High School auditorium, where public hearings will continue. Rockefeller is also expected to cross-examine the findings of Allentown Borough’s counsel.