Neighbors concerned that Matrix plan will alter water runoff patterns near Route 130.
By: Paul Koepp
A group of residents has added to the voices of people concerned about a proposed warehouse complex to be built near the intersection of Route 130 and Friendship Road.
The Matrix Business Park at 8A would include four warehouses over roughly 1.3 million square feet to be built on the north side of Friendship Road, as well as two warehouses to the south of Friendship Road near Route 130, according to Hilary Budny, vice president of Matrix Development Group, of Monroe.
Lester Ray, who lives on Stony Path Drive in the Four Seasons senior community, said Tuesday that he was "shocked" when he learned in May that a 744,000-square-foot warehouse, the largest one in the complex, could be built on 68 acres 200 feet from his home.
Mr. Ray said he is worried that the development could exacerbate flooding problems, lower air quality, and produce significant noise pollution.
The site for the proposed warehouse is separated from the Four Seasons development by a narrow strip of woods, which contains Drinking Brook, also known as Devils Brook.
The site plan application for that warehouse is scheduled to come before the Planning Board on July 25. Matrix needs a variance for off-street loading on the east side of the proposed warehouse, off Route 130. The plan for the other three warehouses could come before the board in September.
Sixty-seven residents of the Four Seasons development, located near the intersection of Route 130 and Georges Road, signed a letter sent to the state Department of Environmental Protection in May outlining Mr. Ray’s concerns.
One resident who signed the letter is Dennis Weitz, who said Monday that he can already see the headlights from vehicles at the park-and-ride at the intersection of Route 130 and Friendship Road from his Paddock Court residence, and does not want to be faced with warehouse traffic that would be even closer.
"My concern would be the big changes to my environment as a retired person living right next door," he said. "They could do a better job of protecting our community by setting (the warehouse) back further and building a high berm facing the north of their property."
The warehouse plans do call for two earthen berms, but Mr. Weitz and Mr. Ray said they would not be high enough to block truck noise, and would do nothing to block noise from ventilation systems on the roof.
Mr. Weitz said the township is responsible for protecting the senior community, which is surrounded on three sides by industrial zones.
"It’s not necessary for them to develop to the extent that they are," he said.
Ms. Budny said Wednesday that Matrix always tries to be sensitive to community concerns. Matrix owns several other properties in the area, including two warehouse sites on Stults Road, one on Melrich Road and the CenterPoint business park near N.J. Turnpike Exit 8A.
She said the company’s plan to build on about 30 percent of the site, with a 200-foot buffer from Four Seasons, is "a very conservative development approach" and probably would not be altered, although Matrix plans to maintain an "open dialogue" with concerned residents.
The I-3 (General Industrial) zone, in which the complex would be built, sets the maximum site coverage at 55 percent. Ms. Budny also said the plan would preserve 100 acres of open space.
In addition, Matrix Vice President Patrick Connelly said the development would meet all DEP requirements regarding storm water management.
The site plan, filed in March, calls for a total of 168 truck stalls on the east and west sides of the warehouse, as well as 243 parking spaces that would extend to the north side of the building. Truck traffic would be concentrated in the early morning and late at night, according to the plans, another concern cited by residents who said those times would be especially bothersome.
There would be one entrance on Route 130 and two entrances on Friendship Road, and three retention ponds would be built to deal with storm water, according to the plans.
The proposal must be approved by the Delaware-Raritan Canal Commission, which will examine the drainage impact of the nearly 23 acres of impervious surface that would be constructed. A DRCC review, dated April 11, of an application for DRCC approval said the application was "incomplete," in part because there was no source provided for the site’s floodplain data. However, it also said the plan’s three detention basins, two underground recharge basins, and four swales met storm water management requirements.
The Environmental Impact Statement for the project, prepared by the engineering consulting firm Schoor Depalma, of Parsippany, and dated February 2007, states that there will be no negative drainage impacts on or off the site. The EIS also states there would be "no adverse impact" on wetlands and woodlands on the site, which is "already substantially disturbed" by its current use as farmland.
The township tax assessor, Keith Fasanella, said in his review of the site plan that when the warehouse is built, the township will impose rollback taxes. The property would be assessed at the rate for vacant lots for that year, as well as the previous two years, instead of its current assessment as "qualified farmland."
Matrix would also have to pay the township $33,480 in an "off-tract traffic contribution" and contribute $770,209 to the affordable housing trust fund, the equivalent of providing 8.2 units of affordable housing.
The DEP is considering four land-use permits related to the warehouse complex, according to spokesman Lawrence Hajna. Two general permits to build a storm water outfall structure and to fill a drainage ditch are pending, he said. Also pending are a stream encroachment permit and a permit for a wetlands buffer averaging plan, which would establish the border between the area to be disturbed by the warehouse construction and wetlands in the north and east portions of the site.
The proposal also requires approvals from the Middlesex County Planning Board, the Middlesex County Mosquito Commission, the Middlesex County Soil Conservation District, and the Freehold Soil Conservation District.
Documents related to the warehouse’s site plan application show that approvals have already been granted to allow preliminary work to begin on the site, although it does not appear that work has started.
A March 30 letter from the township informed Matrix that soil movement, which would involve bringing up to 100,000 cubic yards of fill to the site for grading and leveling, could start.
In a memo reviewing the proposal, township Health Officer Steve Papenberg said the site’s soil should be tested for pesticides due to its past and current use as farmland. The plans for the warehouse say there could be "some sedimentation" of Drinking Brook during construction.
In addition, a traffic report by township police included in the review indicates that the intersections of Route 130 with Friendship Road and Route 32 have "poor levels of service."

