Engineer redesigns storm water system

Wildflower at Marlboro has adult community and family apartments

BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

MARLBORO – A discussion of a storm water management system took center stage at the most recent Planning Board hearing on the Wildflower at Marlboro application.

The application was heard on June 16. Orleans Home Builders is proposing to construct 168 age-restricted, single-family detached homes and two three-story buildings containing a total of 50 non-age restricted apartments. The apartments will be rented to people under New Jersey’s affordable housing guidelines.

The Wildflower property has frontage on Church Lane, Tennent Road and Route 79 in the Morganville section of Marlboro. The parcel is in the vicinity of the Marlboro Little League complex.

The project will be built on two pieces of property: a 21-acre parcel that will contain 50 age-restricted homes and the two apartment buildings with the affordable housing units, and a 54-acre parcel that will contain 118 age-restricted homes, a clubhouse, pool and other amenities. The Henry Hudson Trail divides the two parcels and there is no road planned to connect them.

After hearing the board’s concerns about the applicant’s storm water management plan during a previous meeting, attorney Kenneth Pape, representing Orleans, said engineer Gary Vecchio had revised the plan.

The revised storm water management plan was submitted on June 13, but Marlboro’s professionals were not able to review it by the June 16 hearing date. As a result, engineer Ernest Peters requested two weeks to allow time to review the new plan.

To move forward, Pape had Vecchio provide an overview of the new storm water management system, which included the conversion of storm water ponds to dry infiltration basins.

Vecchio said he performed a field investigation and viewed the current conditions of pipes running along Tennent Road. He described the pipeline as being under a Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) easement and running along homes on Tennent Road. The piping along the homes is not flowing at full capacity, Vecchio said, as the pipe size is decreased from 36 inches by the JCP&L property to 12 inches by the homes. The pipes are also in need of cleaning because they are filled with silt, Vecchio said.

The engineer said he believes that if the pipes are cleaned and maintained it will help with some of the flooding issues that residents who live in this part of Marlboro face on a regular basis.

Pape said Orleans is willing to de-silt the lines subject to the homeowners’ agreement allowing them access to their property.

Based on the concerns of board members about spillways from the wet ponds that were originally planned on the Wildflower property, Vecchio said the decision was made to change the large pond in the 21-acre part of the property to a dry basin. Three of the four proposed ponds on the 54-acre parcel will also become dry.

Drywells were also included in the original plan, but Vecchio explained that they had been removed and incorporated into the detention basin design.

Board members had expressed concern about who would maintain drywells that would be placed at the single-family homes.

The new storm water management system will be examined in detail after the township’s professionals have an opportunity to review it.

The June 16 hearing also covered issues related to the proposed affordable housing units. At previous meetings board members questioned whether the apartments would have double exposure as required in township code. William Feinberg, the architect representing Orleans, said the units have been revised to allow that double exposure.

Planning Board Chairman Larry Josephs noted that Marlboro’s ordinances require the placement of exposure to provide thorough ventilation for each unit. Josephs questioned whether the applicant’s redesign would provide what the ordinance intends.

Pape said his client would await the township planner’s review.

The two buildings will contain a total of 50 apartments, 24 and 26 units, respectively. Feinberg explained that the first floor of the 26-unit building would have 10 units, with the four corner units already having double exposure. For the six interior units the living room and dining room area was expanded, Feinberg said, extending the face of the building to allow for double exposures. A similar extension was provided on the remaining two floors.

Richard Cramer, the township’s planner, said he would like the opportunity to go back and review the ordinance pertaining to the double exposure in order to ensure that the modifications meet the code.

Board members noted the lack of an elevator in the two apartment buildings and expressed concern that would conflict with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Feinberg testified that in New Jersey, buildings with less than four stories do not require an elevator under the Uniform Construction Code.

Pape said installing an elevator in the apartment buildings would create a longterm expense which would be a difficult element for buildings of this size.

Josephs questioned the plan, pointing out that only the first floor would be ADA compliant.

All the first floor units will be built in a way to allow conversion to become handicap accessible, Feinberg said. The architect went on to say that between the two buildings, 18 units would be handicap accessible.

Members of the Planning Board had previously posed the question of secondary access to the 21-acre parcel. As designed, the only access to this part of the Wildflower project is from Tennent Road.

Vecchio discussed a potential emergency access road to connect with the other portion of the Wildflower development. The emergency access road would go through the JCP&L easement and cross the Henry Hudson Trail, he said.

Pape noted that though the applicant could potentially receive approval from JCP&L for the use of the utility’s easement, it might not prove so easy to get permission to cross the Henry Hudson Trail, which is used by pedestrians and bicycle riders.

“That’s something that would be problematic,” Pape told board members.

Traffic engineer David Horner testified that the current design of a boulevard entrance to the smaller section of the project meets New Jersey Residential Site Improvement Standards.

Pape informed board members that throughout the years this application has been around, the entrance had always been a boulevard and it was also stipulated in an agreement that had settled litigation relating to the site.

Previously the board had asked if the applicant would post a bond for the money it is paying for a regional contribution agreement (RCA) which will transfer some affordable housing units to another municipality.

Pape said Orleans would not post a bond, but would enter into a developer’s agreement with Marlboro. The cost for the RCAs is $35,000 a unit. Orleans will pay $2.275 million toward affordable housing units that will be built in another town.

Mayor Jonathan Hornik, who sits on the board, asked if the RCA would even be available since pending legislation in Trenton would eliminate the transfer of affordable housing units from one town to another.

Pape said because this agreement has been memorialized by the state Council on Affordable Housing, the units will still be available.

The Wildflower at Marlboro application will continue to be heard on June 30 at a special meeting of the Planning Board.