HOWELL — The Howell Planning Board has unanimously approved an application proposing the construction of an age-restricted community on Route 33.
The board took the action on June 18.
In March, representatives of the applicant, Boulder Ridge, appeared before the board seeking approval to construct an active adult community consisting of 141 residential lots and a required commercial development of 56,400 square feet on Route 33 west.
The property is about 1,350 feet west of the intersection of Route 33 and Route 34.
The rear of the property is used as active farmland and there are wetlands toward the center of the site. Naval Weapons Station Earle is to the north of the property and the Angle Inn mobile home park is on the western side of the parcel.
The application received approval in May 2010 for 171 lots and a larger recreation area, according to the board’s attorney, Ron Cucchiaro.
Following the initial approval, the applicant sought and received approval to convert the homes from age-restricted to non-age-restricted.
In March, the applicant returned and converted the project back into an age-restricted community.
At the June 18 meeting, attorney John Giunco, who represents Boulder Ridge, presented a revised plan that eliminated the commercial space.
Engineer Mark Zelina, representing the applicant, previously testified that no units designated as affordable housing will be built in Boulder Ridge. He said the developer will make a payment to Howell’s affordable housing fund to satisfy the affordable housing obligation.
With the elimination of the commercial space in the southwest corner of the property, the property totals 57 acres instead of the previously stated 72.5 acres, according to the testimony. The elimination of the commercial space allows for an increase from 141 to 154 single-family age-restricted lots.
A smaller clubhouse and a smaller recreation area are included. The clubhouse, which has been relocated to the southwestern corner of the property, will be a 4,300- square-foot building. There will be an outdoor pool, tennis courts and patios, and 45 off-street parking spots at the recreation center, where 14 parking spaces are required.
The adult community will not be a gated community.
According to Zelina, there has been a reconfiguration of homes in the western portion of the development which came about as a result of the board’s request for a 400- foot buffer from Route 33.
The homes will be connected to a public sewer system and a pump station will be constructed on site, the engineer said.
“There will be two wet ponds for storm water management. They will be connected to recharge basins which will carry water to onsite streams,” Zelina said.
Boulder Ridge shows two proposed access points off Route 33, according to Zelina.
“The roads within the community will be a looping road network resulting in no cul-de-sac. The streets are 30 feet wide to allow space for adequate parking,” he said.
Several board members raised concerns about motorists exiting the development and making a left turn onto Route 33.
Board member Tom Boyle said that as a resident of an adult community, he would feel apprehensive driving in the area if there was no traffic signal at Route 33 and the entrances/exits to Boulder Ridge.
“I would not live in a development off a highway that has a speed limit of 50 mph which almost nobody follows,” he said.
Traffic Engineer James Vena, representing the applicant, said, “We will speak with the state Department of Transportation (DOT) about the importance of making the access signalized since we understand … there has been a history of accidents (in this area). However, it is unlikely this property will meet the requirements for a signalized intersection.”
A sidewalk along Route 33 is being negotiated with the DOT.
The development will be constructed in multiple phases, according to Zelina.
“We will not be constructing 154 lots all at once and construction will not be in order. The only phase of the project that cannot stand on its own will be the phase including the pump station,” he said.
Board chairman Stephen Johnson, Vice Chairman Paul Schneider, Mayor Bill Gotto, Deputy Mayor Robert Nicastro and board members George Gravatt, Arthur Fankhauser, Robert Nash and Thomas Boyle voted to grant Boulder Ridge amended preliminary and final major subdivision/amended preliminary and final major site plan and woodlands management plan approval.
— Taylor M. Lier