MARLBORO — An engineer recently described details of the site plan for the proposed Northpointe residential development off Lloyd Road in Marlboro.
Testimony on the Northpointe project is expected to resume tonight, May 2, at the Marlboro Planning Board’s 8 p.m. meeting in Town Hall.
The property in question is in Marlboro, on the border of Aberdeen Township.
Ohad Associates, the applicant, is proposing to construct 300 units priced at market rates and 85 units priced in accordance with state affordable housing guidelines, according to the application. The development would consist of 20 three-story buildings, a clubhouse and a pool.
The applicant’s site plan engineer, Christopher Rosati, discussed the proposed storm water management strategy, parking accommodations, soil remediation efforts and several other issues at the April 18 board meeting.
A greater amount of impervious surface on the parcel is expected to significantly increase storm water runoff, Rosati said.
To control runoff, designs call for three management facilities: a large retention pond near the market rate units; a smaller pond near the units priced below market rates; and the restoration of an existing detention basin, he said.
The large pond, which would collect water from 25 acres, and the detention basin would flow into the nearby Gravelly Brook, Rosati added. He said an outfall source is still needed for the smaller pond, which is set to cover almost 10 acres of the property.
Board members would have to allow the applicant leniency for the smaller pond because of an issue with the amount of acreage it serves, Rosati said.
Plans call for 4-foot-high chain link fences to surround the ponds, he noted.
The board’s engineer, Laura Neumann, recommended that the applicant plant “hostile vegetation,” such as bushes with thorns, in the area to discourage children from scaling the fences.
The drainage outlets must be made to handle storms of varying levels of intensity, Rosati said.
Areas farther downstream would not be negatively affected by runoff from the Northpointe development, he said, adding that the designs are well in compliance with regulations regarding the heaviest storms.
The previously discussed elimination of the Thorton Avenue extension would strengthen the neighborhood’s storm water management system, Rosati said.
Board member Josh Pollak said he believed that without an effective storm water management plan, powerful rains, even if they only lasted a few minutes, could wreak havoc on neighboring homes.
Some residents who live along Gravelly Brook already face problems with storm water, Pollak said.
On another topic, parking for the residential units would be provided in front of each building, Rosati said. He said the development would contain 832 parking spaces for residents and 18 spots at a community clubhouse.
The applicant altered the residential parking design from a plan that was shown in an earlier settlement agreement, Rosati added. He said the new layout would build a better sense of community and provide tenants with easier access to their vehicles.
“The pedestrian movements (of the original concept plan) are not as fluid as what we are proposing,” Rosati said.
He noted that in creating the new parking plan, he considered the den of some two-bedroom units to be a bedroom and thus incorporated parking for the additional rooms.
The applicant’s new design does not meet Marlboro’s standards, Neumann said.
Attorney Henry Kent-Smith, who represents the applicant, said the issue could be resolved through a 15 percent deviation allotted to Ohad in a prior settlement agreement.
Kent-Smith said he would make his case for several use variances at a future meeting.
Although the applicant has a site remediation expert to deal with contaminants on the property, Rosati detailed some measures that will be taken to clean the site.
A number of trees will be removed near the tract’s border with Aberdeen Township, he said. New trees and shrubbery will sit atop a series of berms along the border, Rosati added.
The 6- to 8-foot-high berms will conceal and contain the contaminated soil, which will already sit under 2 feet of clean soil, he said.
In addition, the berms will serve as privacy buffers for the nearby Aberdeen residents whose backyards lead directly to the Northpointe property, Rosati added. There would be a 6-foot-high chain link fence at the property line, he said.
Several board members said they would like a guarantee that vegetation, specifically trees, would be replanted because in the past some developers neglected to do so.
Northpointe would have amenities available to all of its residents, Rosati said. He said the neighborhood would include a community clubhouse with rooms for gatherings, a pool, and proper lighting and sidewalks that would run throughout the complex. Every building will have a fire suppression system inside.
Of the 300 proposed units, one unit would be designated for an onsite manager who would handle the daily operations of the property, Kent-Smith said. If the board deemed the unit inappropriate, the firm would not hire a manager, he said.
“It is something my client would like to provide,” Kent-Smith said. “It is not an essential component.”
About 20 residents from Marlboro and Aberdeen attended the meeting, many of whom aired their concerns during the public comment portion.
One Aberdeen resident said he found it “disturbing” that contaminants could spill into his neighborhood and possibly cause health problems. Other people echoed that sentiment.
Several people expressed concern about Northpointe’s impact on Gravelly Brook and potential problems related to the berms.