Renovations needed faster
By: Lacey Korevec
The Township Committee said Wednesday that it will put more pressure on K. Hovnanian, developer of the Four Seasons of Cranbury community, to complete repairs in a timely fashion.
It was standing room only as Four Seasons residents took the microphone one by one and voiced their frustrations with the developer. Among their complaints are that the developer needs to fix poor drainage, address flooding issues, finish roadways and replace dead shrubbery.
Four Seasons of Cranbury is an adult living community on Old Trenton Road. Mayor Thomas Panconi said he invited residents to the meeting to talk about what they can do to help move the repair process along.
Four Seasons resident John Rinaldi said he and his fellow residents are sick of hearing excuses about why the work is taking so long to complete.
"Every time it rains of any consequence, all the sewage gets flooded and we’re all running through floods," he said. "It’s a pain in the neck dragging that mud and dirt into our driveways, into our garages and into our house."
K. Hovnanian is required to make the improvements as part of the approval it received from the Planning Board in 2000 to build the development.
The township holds a $1 million performance bond on the development. A performance guarantee bond is money a developer gives to a township to insure that the work it promises to complete gets done. If a developer doesn’t meet its requirements, the township can use the $1 million to make the improvements.
Township officials said they would send a letter to the developer requesting a schedule of completion.
"We want a compliance schedule from them that says, ‘By these dates, we’ll do these actions,’ and if they then don’t do those actions by those dates, we can take the next step," Committeeman David Stout said.
Township Engineer Cathy Marcelli said it would not be in the Four Season’s best interest to have the bond pulled.
She said pulling the bond would take a long time and might prolong completion of the repairs, adding that the developer has said residents can expect the roads to be repaired and paved this winter pending the weather.
"If you start pulling the bond, you’re not going to see another contractor out there for another year at least," she said.
K. Hovnanian Homes spokesperson Doug Fenichel said Thursday that the company has been in contact with the Cranbury Four Seasons’ Home Owners’ Association. He said pipes that were damaged during construction are already being worked on by engineers. He also said the roads will be repaired within the next month.
"We have a long standing history of standing behind our homes and standing behind our communities," he said, adding that drainage and landscape issues are currently being worked on. "This one is no different and we have a lot of people working on the issues in this community."
He said anyone with other problems, including leaks or electrical problems, should contact the K. Hovnanian Homes Service Department.
Mayor Panconi said he is glad so many community members showed up and that the committee values the Four Seasons and wants to help rectify the situation.
"One of the reasons we had you here was to show you that we do support you," he said. "And this has gone on long enough."
President of the Four Season Home Owners’ Association Jane Elias said the problem has been ongoing since the development was built three years ago and, though the residents are frustrated with the situation, they are pleased to know they have support from the township.
"It’s really out of the hands of the Township Committee at this time but we were appreciative that they at least listened to us and we know at this point there’s very little that they can do other than support us," she said.
The K. Hovnanian Homes Service Department can be reached at 1-800-290-3997.

