Plan for 41 houses gets preliminary OK

Georgetown Estates could be on the horizon

By: Stephanie Brown
   MONROE — The Planning Board gave preliminary approval to plans for the construction of 41 houses and a passive recreation park to be built on Disbrow Hill Road.
   The plan allows Georgetown Estates, LLC, of Morganville, to build more densely on a portion of the site, and dedicate the remainder, which is mostly wetlands, to the township. A variance was required to allow the developer to dedicate more wetlands than permitted by township ordinance.
   Board members said the variance would mean less of a disturbance to neighbors already living in the area and better protect wetlands.
   Georgetown Estates presented the board on Oct. 26 with two designs for a single-family development on Disbrow Hill Road also known as Etra Road.
   Both plans depicted 41 single-family residences on 99 acres in an R-30 zone, which allows for a minimum lot size of 30,000 square feet.
   The plan that the board approved showed a U-shaped road with one access point on Disbrow Hill Road. That main road would end in a cul de sac and two additional new roads would stem off it.
   This proposal took advantage of the township’s cluster zoning option, which allows for the lots to be a minimum of 20,000 square feet in exchange for building the units on one portion of the land. In return, the developer will give the remainder of the land to the township for municipal use.
   Under the cluster-zoning ordinance, 40 percent of the open space dedicated to the township is allowed to be wetlands.
   The applicant proposed three lots totaling almost 66 acres to be dedicated to the township. The lots, which contain over 70 percent wetlands, would be turned into a passive recreation park.
   One design was in compliance with the R-30 zone. It showed a U-shaped road with two access points on Disbrow Hill road, and another road that extended off the top of the U. The applicant also proposed three open space lots totaling approximately 60 acres to be dedicated to the township for municipal purposes.
   Members of the public questioned the need for the variance.
   "Basically, we’re looking at a major variance, in my mind, of our ordinance which states no more — it clearly states — no more than 40 percent should be wetlands, and we’re taking it up to 73.5 percent," Tom Nothstein, of Nathaniel Street, said.
   Board member John Riggs, who is also the township’s environmental protection manager, said the cluster plan was in the best interest of the township.
   First, the variance would put more wetlands under the protection of the municipality. While 40 percent could be accomplished by making some of the lots larger to include wetlands, he said the parties involved decided not to place wetlands under private ownership.
   Secondly, since the cluster plan reduces the amount of area being built on, it also reduces the amount of soil being brought to the site for leveling the foundation.
   Project Engineer Lorali Totten of Crest Engineering Associates said the conforming plan called for approximately 185,000 cubic yards of fill or about 12,000 truckloads but the cluster plan requires approximately 25,000 cubic yards of fill or about 2,000 truckloads.
   "We thought that would be detrimental to the residents of Disbrow Hill Road, detrimental to people on Butcher Road because they already endured (construction)," Mr. Riggs said.
   Some residents questioned the developer’s plan to fill in some of the isolated wetlands within the development. Disbrow Hill Road resident Ed Matthews read into the record Monroe Township’s wetlands and wetland buffers ordinance.
   "It seems as though this is a nonconforming use here that seems to go against what the town has in the very bylaws," Mr. Matthews said.
   Mr. Riggs said the developer could fill isolated wetlands provided he has obtained a general permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
   Mr. Riggs said that wouldn’t mean wetlands would be lost, though because of buffer averaging.
   Buffer averaging, he said, allows footage from one buffer to be transferred to another area as long as the net area comes out the same.
   "So if they appeal to the DEP and the DEP says ‘yes, the wetlands are still protected by your proposal,’ they have to sign off on it," said Mr. Riggs. "We do not have control over that."
   Ms. Totten said there was less impact on the wetland buffer in the cluster plan than in the conforming plan; 23,300 square feet compared to 35,500 square feet.
   Mr. Matthews also asked if the development would make the flooding problem on Disbrow Hill Road worse.
   "What assurances do we have that the road’s not going to flood over more?" he asked. "It literally crosses the road with the rain we’ve seen."
   Township Engineer Ernie Feist said that the developer was subject to state stormwater management regulations, which require developers to reduce the amount of water coming off the site.
   "So it should get better as opposed to getting worse," Mr. Feist said.
   In addition, Ms. Totten said the developer plans to replant the wetlands and build stormwater management systems that could handle a 200-year storm.
   "At a minimum, this design should not make the situation worse," Ms. Totten said. "In the best scenario it’s going to help a little because it’ll be revegetated, which should help trap the water and we’ve way, way overdesigned the retention basins."
   Disbrow Hill Road resident Christopher Parker cited several concerns with the new development —from the increased number of children who would walk along rural Disbrow Hill Road to the ability of school buses to make turns in the development’s cul de sacs.
   However, he said he felt the cluster plan was the best option.
   "Personally, I’m happy to see this development coming in versus the previous one," he said. "As far as moving forward with this, if we’ve got to do something, this one doesn’t seem to be a bad choice, as far as I’m concerned."