JACKSON — The Planning Board has voted 8-0 to permit New Jersey Natural Gas to place a substation on Clearstream Road between Brewers Bridge and Hope Chapel roads in Jackson.
The substation is used to maintain the temperature of natural gas, according to testimony presented at a recent meeting of the board.
The substation will be placed in a 110- foot-by-87-foot gravel surface compound area with an 8-foot-high chain-link fence around the area.
The board’s engineer, Doug Klee, said the project meets all setback and height requirements. The substation is a conditional use in a residential zone. No site lighting was proposed.
Engineer David Eareckson, testifying on behalf of the applicant, described the property where the substation will be placed. He said the site was cleared in 2007 and a landscape plan showed all improvements on the site.
“The south side of the [tract] slopes from south to north and there will be trees planted on the top of the hill,” he said. “The site is [actually] 8 feet below the level of the south side of the property and will be hidden from view.”
On the west side there will be an additional berm and plantings, on the north side there will be a berm and plantings, and along Clearstream Road there will be a buffer composed of 300 feet of woods, he said.
Eareckson said the only clearing that will be done will be a few trees in the southwest corner of the property.
Township Councilman Ken Bressi, who sits on the board, said he was concerned with the view people will have as they drive by the site and the fact that a natural gas substation is being placed in a residential area.
The board’s planner, Anna Wainright, asked how the application will impact the neighborhood.
“I don’t know if anyone else has seen the site, but I think you are going to be able to see this facility from the road,” Wainright said.
Eareckson said the applicant could provide additional buffering with additional plantings on either side of the driveway and in front of the facility.
Attorney Nancy Skidmore, representing the applicant, agreed to the additional plantings.
Eareckson said there are two structures on the site and there are pipes and valves, with a heater on the west side and a filter on the south side. He noted that the transmission line for the natural gas goes down the driveway to Clearstream Road. All of the pipes and minor electric service lines are underground, and the gravel driveway has a heavy-duty base to support construction vehicles and New Jersey Natural Gas vehicles.
When asked who owns the property, Skidmore said the property is under contract.
“We are purchasing the property subject to approval,” the applicant’s attorney said.
Board member Dan Burke asked if there were any plans for lighting and security at the location.
Eareckson said there were no plans for lighting at the site. He said there will be an 8- foot-high fence around the facility to provide security.
New Jersey Natural Gas senior engineer Robert Doig showed the board a design of a typical substation, noting that there is a catalytic heater that is used to maintain the temperature of the gas.
“The heater makes no noise, and there are no emissions,” he said.
Also representing the applicant, Jennifer C. Beahm, director of planning for Birdsall Services Group, said the facility is far away from the property lines and she said there will be an adequate 8-foot-high fence.
“There are no additional uses for this property,” Beahm said.
Clearstream Road resident Scott Milne said the area is wide open, there are sinkholes on the property and there is run-off on the property. He said he does not believe there is any need for the project, except that there may be plans, which he said he hypothetically surmised, to build on the Lakewood Hotel and Land property on the other side of Clearstream Road.
— Dave Benjamin