HOPEWELL BOROUGH: Empty Somerset dwellings cause anxiety

In addition to possible threat to property values, there is potential for teens to break into houses and use them as hangouts, resident said

By Aleen Crispino, Special Writer
   Hopewell Borough Planning Board heard concerns from Elm Street residents at its November meeting regarding five vacant houses on the south side of Somerset Street.
   Ann Wohl, of 38 Elm St., said she represented the Hopewell Woods Homeowners Association, particularly those homeowners on Elm Street whose properties lie adjacent to the empty houses at 29, 33, 37, 39 and 45 Somerset St.
   ”We’re real concerned,” she said. “They’re sitting there. There’s a neighbor on the street trying to sell their house.” She and her neighbors would like the buildings to be demolished, said Ms. Wohl.
   ”The quickest response we can get keeps the borough’s housing prices where they should be,” echoed Beth Young, of 32 Elm St.
   In addition to the possible threat to property values, Ms. Wohl said, there is the potential for teens to break into the houses and use them as hangouts, although she said she had not heard of any incidents.
   ”As far as a health hazard, all it takes is someone to light a cigarette,” she said.
   The borough has been told by Arcadis BBL, the Cranbury environmental engineering firm hired by the properties’ owner, Rockwell Automation of Milwaukee, Wis., that Rockwell’s intention is to demolish the houses, said Borough Administrator/Clerk Michele Hovan.
   The state Department of Environmental Protection has named Rockwell responsible for air, soil and groundwater contamination with volatile organic compounds, primarily trichloroethene (TCE), in the area surrounding its former plant at 57 Hamilton Ave., now the Hopewell Center, as well as a 1.16-acre vacant lot at 62 Somerset St., and ordered it to clean up the surrounding area.
   After applying for and receiving Planning Board approval to demolish the houses, which it purchased from the former owners in late 2007 and early 2008, Rockwell plans to “plant some trees and landscaping and maintain them as residential properties until the (groundwater) treatment is finished,” said Councilman David Mackie after a telephone conference call with Arcadis BBL representatives in July.
   The firm has obtained demolition permit applications for the five houses, but has not yet submitted a completed application to the borough for any of the properties, said Ms. Hovan.
   In addition to the five vacant houses, Rockwell had previously purchased houses at 19 and 21 Somerset St. and razed them in a process completed November 2007 to make room for an approximately 60- by 40-foot Cape Cod-style water treatment building planned for 21 and 29 Somerset St.
   Jennifer Elder-Brady, Arcadis BBL project manager, said Friday the demolition permit applications would be ready to submit “very soon,” but she could not say it would be before the next Planning Board meeting Dec. 3.
   During the summer, Arcadis BBL surveyed the five buildings for asbestos and lead-based paint in preparation for their demolition, and she is still waiting for the results before filing the applications, she said. If either asbestos or lead-based paint is found, “they would be removed and disposed of properly” before demolition occurs, said Ms. Elder-Brady.
   IN OTHER BUSINESS, Jarod Machinga, of Hopewell Township, owner of 64 E. Broad St., formerly Sun National Bank, asked the board to review his plan to add a second floor with two apartments and rent the first floor to a retailer. He would like to add a wraparound porch and remove the driveway to the teller window, said Mr. Machinga.
   Apartments are allowed in the BR business zone, said Borough Planner Carl Lindbloom. Mr. Machinga will have to obtain the approval of the borough Historic Preservation Commission for the proposed changes and then submit a site plan to the Planning Board with an application for a lot coverage variance, said Mr. Lindbloom.
   Also, in other business, Mr. Lindbloom reported that all New Jersey municipalities must submit a new “third-round” affordable housing plan to the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) by Dec. 31. He will draft an amended affordable housing plan and submit it for the board to vote on at its next meeting.
   Under new rules effective June 2, COAH recalculated the number of affordable units a municipality must provide as its “fair share” obligation over the next 10 years, based on COAH’s own projections of housing and job growth. Prior to that time, municipalities calculated their own projected growth.
   According to Mr. Lindbloom, COAH has added an additional 21 units of affordable housing to the 10 units from the borough’s unmet second-round obligation, for a total of 31 additional units required by 2018. Based on insufficient vacant and developable land capacity, the borough will request an adjustment to limit its third-round obligation to its prior unmet need of 10 units, said Mr. Lindbloom.