539/195 development, ‘My Farm’ suggested
By Jessica Ercolino, Staff Writer
UPPER FREEHOLD — The township is focusing on two options to fulfill its third-round affordable housing requirements and will hold a public hearing next month.
Township Committee and the Planning Board held a joint meeting last week to discuss strategies for fulfilling Upper Freehold’s 185-unit Council on Affordable Housing obligation.
Officials met publicly last month to discuss options within the township, and have since then determined two potential solutions: a “My Farm” permanent supportive housing community and a mixed-use “center.”
”My Farm,” which officials said is their preferred option, would be an active farming community for disabled people with special needs, built and run by a nonprofit organization. Residents would be offered training and employment in farm management, and the design would create the appearance of a traditional farm.
”You have an agricultural community built within an agricultural community that, relatively speaking, will have little impact on the environment,” said Upper Freehold’s COAH Planner Richard Coppola. “I can’t imagine a better product for the overall community.”
My Farm — a concept developed by New Jersey consulting corporation Just Jamie Inc. — would be located on 45 acres along Breza Road and would fulfill the township’s total COAH obligation, Mr. Coppola said. That piece of land, however, is currently earmarked for a preservation project and also would require a new sewage treatment plant or connection to a neighboring plant. Additionally, the concept would require special approval from COAH because it does not exactly fit the council’s mold of “family housing,” he said.
For those reasons, township officials developed an alternative plan, tentatively being referred to as “Lakeside Village Square Center.”
The center, which would be located on about 56 acres between Interstate 195 and Route 539 in the township, could include business and medical offices, retail shops, restaurants, a hotel or conference center. A portion of the land (about 37 acres) would be privately developed with 78 market-rate units and commercial uses; the rest of the property, Mr. Coppola said, would be donated to the township to fulfill its obligation.
Planned third-round COAH rules were scrapped in January 2007 after the state Appellate Court deemed them insufficient. The COAH has now determined the need for more than 115,000 affordable housing units to be made available between 1999 and 2018 throughout the state, more than double the previous estimate of 52,000.
Of the township’s 185-unit obligation, 43 are from the township’s prior round obligation, and the remaining 142 units — considered Upper Freehold’s “Growth Share” obligation — are calculated from the projected residential unit growth and nonresidential job growth. The township also has a rehabilitation share of nine units.
Municipalities are required to submit a housing element to COAH by Dec. 31. If a township does not comply with third-round rules, it could be subject to a builder’s remedy lawsuit. Essentially, Mr. Coppola said, the lawsuit would be a “no-win situation” that would cost Upper Freehold time and money, but it would still not be considered in compliance with its obligation and be subject to further litigation.
The planner added that including the alternate “center” plan in the township’s housing element would be a “safeguard” against builder’s remedy and objectors — those who file a motion to oppose the plan within 45 days of COAH receiving it.
Potts Road resident Michael Renzulli said that while he felt the My Farm plan was an excellent concept, he would file an objection to the plan if it were to jeopardize the preservation of the tract.
”Many of you know that I have been behind the preservation on Breza Road for a long time,” he said. “I just don’t believe this should go here because this property should be preserved and it’s in the best financial interest of the town to have it preserved.”
Mayor Steven Alexander disagreed. “At the end of the day, you might get your wish because if it’s preserved, it’s preserved and we move on to another alternative,” he said to Mr. Renzulli. “We felt that regardless of the position that Breza Road was in, the My Farm concept was in the best interest of the township, and there was no other agenda other than meeting an obligation that — quite frankly — went unaddressed over the last three years.”
Mr. Coppola said the My Farm concept could not work on other properties in the township due to lack of sewer capacity. Other areas eyed for Upper Freehold’s COAH obligation were Princeton Nurseries on Polhemustown Road and the village of Imlaystown, but environmental and sewer constraints would not allow for it. Spreading the obligation throughout the town would not work either because there are too many different landowners, he said.
A number of residents stood in support of the proposed My Farm development. “I think (My Farm) speaks to Upper Freehold Township’s agricultural base, the face of our community and the heart of what this town is about,” said Burlington Path resident David Horsnall. “Our interest in bringing help and work to people who could use it and meeting our obligation for COAH in that manner, I think it speaks a lot to Upper Freehold and the people who live here.”
Mr. Coppola stressed the plans presented were conceptual. The construction of either plan might not start until 2010, as that is when townships would likely receive third-round certification.
Last year, the township created a COAH task force to address its increased obligation. Mayor Alexander, Mr. Coppola, Township Administrator Barbara Bascom, Planning Board Chairman John Mele, Planning Board Vice Chairman Doug Raynor, Committeewoman Lori Mount, Township Engineer Glenn Gerken and Township attorneys Granville D. Magee and Granville M. Magee all sat on the Task Force and worked on the proposed plans.
A public hearing on the matter will be held Nov. 25.

