MARLBORO — The Planning Board has granted preliminary approval for an eight-home subdivision on property behind Holly Hill Estates.
The approval was granted during the board’s March 4 meeting.
Holly Hill Estates is off Dutch Lane Road near Marlboro’s border with Colts Neck. The plan sought to connect the eight planned homes through the existing Yellowbrook Road.
The property where the homes would be built is in Marlboro’s R-80 zone (one home per 2 acres) and was previously used as farmland. The property is landlocked and shares a border with Colts Neck, according to engineer John Ploskonka, who represented the applicant, Antoinette Morello.
In the 1970s Morello’s late husband, John Morello, was awarded an 80-foot wide easement through the parcel which would connect to Yellowbrook Road so that his property would not become landlocked when Holly Hill Estates was built, Ploskonka previously testified.
Attorney Kenneth Pape, representing the applicant, told board members that direct testimony on the matter was concluded on his client’s part and that the applicant’s professionals were ready to answer questions from the public.
Resident Orin Cohen, who lives across from the location where a new intersection will be created, raised questions about the validity of the plans for the intersection. He said that in reading the plans, the road as indicated on the map would not work since it did not meet up appropriately.
Ploskonka said the existing road curves and he explained that with the construction the intersection would be reworked into a “T” shape. He said the applicant’s professionals could stake out the area in order to show how the site will work when the improvements have been completed.
Township Engineer Ernie Peters agreed that placing stakes on the road may help the current residents visualize the proposed road that will lead into the eight-home subdivision.
Mayor Jonathan Hornik, who sits on the board, said he would like to see a condition placed in the resolution of approval which will require the applicant to stake out the land before seeking final approval.
Pape said the applicant would agree to such a condition.
After hearing more of Cohen’s comments aiming for a denial of the application, the board’s attorney, Michael Herbert, said the courts are quite clear on the fact that a fully compliant application, such as the one submitted by Morello for the residential subdivision, really cannot be denied.
“What the board’s responsibility here is to condition the application to make sure that there is no negative impact upon the neighbors, as much as one can be stopped. You can’t sit here and state ‘well, it doesn’t work’ and have no expert testimony of your own to back that up,” Herbert explained regarding the land use laws.
During his comments, Pape addressed a suggestion about access to the Morello property that was made during a previous hearing. It was suggested that a road be built through Colts Neck to reach the land where the eight new homes would be built. That option would have required Morello to demolish her home in Colts Neck to make way for the new road.
Pape said that in discussing the matter with Colts Neck’s professionals, he was told that option would not be accepted by Colts Neck. He explained that 30 years ago John Morello sued in Superior Court for access rights through Colts Neck and had been denied.
Issues had been raised concerning property which Morello purchased to be used as the access way. The land in question had originally been set aside for a homeowners association to maintain for the residents of Holly Hill Estates. No homeowners association was ever formed and the lot belonged in the possession of the developer until later being sold. Morello had agreed to use 30 feet to form the access road and said the rest would be left undisturbed.
Cohen went on to question what means were used to move product off the land when the Morello family used it for farming purposes.
Planning Board Chairman Larry Josephs said he understood Cohen’s frustration and said it was important that he had come to the meeting to express those concerns since the board could now include some of those concerns as conditions when the applicant returns for final site plan approval.
Josephs asked Pape to continue to research the question of whether there are any means of alternate access to the Morello property instead of breaking through Yellowbrook Road.
Lorie Geiger owns a home which the Morello property backs up to and her property abuts where the easement is placed. Geiger said her family is concerned about the change in the quality of life they will face, as well as her children’s safety.
“I have seen the plans by Morello and it is evident that they show removal of many trees on the easement property, including the clearing of 30-foot tall pine trees that border my property. The proposed small bushes and the shrubs are not even close of replacement of the important trees, vegetation to this area,” Geiger said, adding it is cheaper for the builder to simply clear the larger trees.
Councilman Frank LaRocca, who sits on the board, asked Peters if there was a landscaping plan in place. Peters said the plan included supplemental plantings, but it could be that those pines would be cut down.
Pape said the applicant’s professionals, the township’s professionals and the residents could meet between preliminary and final approval to come up with a satisfactory landscaping plan for the residents who would be impacted.
Geiger also noted that the homes in Holly Hill Estates are on a septic system and said her leach field was adjacent to the easement area. She also noted that she has retained an attorney in regard to the Morello application.
Another homeowner, Johnna Pomasan, retained attorney Rick Brodsky to represent her in the matter. Brodsky provided his cross-examination at a prior meeting.
“We’ve put a myriad of conditions on this and so far everything we’ve asked for Mr. Pape has agreed to without even a hesitation on behalf of his client. We will be restrictive and we will make sure that when this goes forward we do protect you as much as we are able. There are, however, just certain things that are outside our control and we ask that you understand that,” board member Josh Pollak told Geiger.
Resident Karen Dombrowski questioned possible toxins entering into the housing development’s well water from the asphalt that would be laid down for the new road.
Peters suggested that tests of the water’s toxin levels could be conducted before, during and after construction in order to determine if any changes had occurred.
Pape was asked if his client would consider not building anything on her property for three years. Morello agreed with the request that preliminary approval (which lasts for three years) be granted with two one-year extensions of time.
As a condition, Morello asked that within the last two months of the threeyear period, work on the culvert could commence, as the state permit allowing that work is non-renewable and lasts for a period of five years.
The permit was issued by the Department of Environmental Protection in January 2008, Pape said, noting that his advice to clients is always to have at least a year’s time for work on a project. Final approval on the site plan would have to be obtained prior to the date of work commencing.
In the end, preliminary approval was granted for the Morello application with the long list of conditions. Board members voted 7-2 to approve the application, with Hornik and LaRocca casting the dissenting votes. Both men said they had issues with the application in regard to environmental factors, as well as the location of access point of the road to the proposed homes.
Contact Rebecca Morton at [email protected]

