Months after its application for the Northpointe housing development was rejected, Ohad Associates returned to the Marlboro Planning Board to propose a new development in the same location.
At the Sept. 3 meeting, members of the board heard Ohad Associates’ proposal for Regent Park, a development consisting of 14 three-story apartment buildings.
The 48-acre property is at Lloyd and Nolan roads in Marlboro, near the border of Aberdeen Township. Ohad Associates’ Northpointe application was rejected last year due to the applicant’s failure to meet the criteria of a municipal law that governs storm water management procedures.
The Northpointe plan had been on the drawing board in Marlboro for almost 30 years and had been the subject of litigation between the developer and the municipality.
In its new application for Regent Park, Ohad Associates is proposing to build 285 rental units, consisting of 222 market rate units and 63 affordable housing units dispersed throughout the development. There will not be any age restrictions at Regent Park.
The Northpointe application called for the construction of 299 units.
Christopher Rosati, the applicant’s engineer, informed the board of additional changes from the previous application. According to Rosati, the most significant change is that there will no longer be any development planned on the south side of nearby Gravelly Brook. Rosati said the detail he was most pleased to inform the board about is that the project is 100 percent compliant with storm water management regulations.
“We comply with the peak flow reductions, we comply with the infiltration requirement for the [Department of Environmental Protection],” he said.
The Regent Park application proposes the construction of a traffic light at the intersection of Thornton Avenue (the development’s road) and Lloyd Road.
Because Lloyd Road is a Monmouth County road, the traffic light falls under the county’s jurisdiction.
The board also heard testimony from Jack Raker, the project’s architect, and John Rea, the project’s traffic engineer.
Board members expressed concern to Rea regarding issues involving school buses traveling to and from the Marlboro Memorial Middle School on Nolan Road.
According to Chairman Larry Josephs, the Marlboro K-8 School District Transportation Department does not want school buses going down a street that is perceived as a cul-de-sac or a dead end such as Thornton Avenue, which is the only proposed access for Regent Park.
The issue regarding school buses was not resolved during the meeting.
During public comment, Andrew Schueller, an Aberdeen Township resident who lives on nearby Warren Drive, said Lloyd Road — which connects Route 79 and Route 34 — is currently operating at a level service grade of “F” and he said that any additional traffic would only make things worse.
“During rush hour it’s a nightmare getting through … and this [Regent Park] development is definitely not going to help that situation,” Schueller said.
The Regent Park application will be continued at the board’s Sept. 17 meeting.