MANALAPAN – Members of the Township Committee have approved what the municipal attorney described as technical changes on a property that has been the subject of discussion in Manalapan for several years.
The parcel at the corner of Route 33 westbound and Millhurst Road is Manalapan’s Village Commercial zone. Most recently, developer Vito Cardinale has proposed housing for people age 55 and over, housing for individuals with special needs, and retail uses. The project Cardinale has described has not come before the Planning Board.
On April 11, municipal officials amended the ordinance that describes the uses permitted on the property. Township Attorney Roger McLaughlin said the committee was making “technical modifications in the zone” to comply with federal and state regulatory changes pertaining to housing for individuals with special needs. He said the special needs units may occupy the second and third floors of a three-story building that will have a commercial use on the first floor.
McLaughlin said the potential developer of the site is working with Quick Check to bring a convenience store with a gas station to the location. He said certain changes in the ordinance would now match an approval Quick Check received at another location in Manalapan.
McLaughlin said municipal officials were pleased to learn Quick Check could be a tenant at the Route 33 site because the company seeks to provide employment opportunities for individuals with special needs, and could employ residents who live in the special needs units at that location.
Gasoline filling stations with convenience stores are a permitted use in the VC zone, provided that no direct access to or from a state road or a county road is provided. Township Engineer James Winckowski said access to the businesses at the site is expected to be provided from a new road that will run through the property between Route 33 and Millhurst Road.
In two proposed changes from the existing ordinance, the permitted size of the convenience store has been raised from 3,500 square feet of gross floor area to 5,500 square feet of gross floor area, and the convenience store and the gas station would be permitted to operate 24 hours a day, seven days per week.
Other permitted uses in the VC-MUI zone include single-family homes for individuals age 55 and over; special needs affordable housing residential multifamily units; hotels with a minimum of 100 guest rooms, which may contain restaurant, meeting, banquet, fitness and other guest service facilities; medical research facilities; urgent care facilities; outpatient surgery centers; fitness/health clubs; retail stores; personal services; supermarkets; indoor athletic, exercise or recreation facilities; pharmacies; funeral homes; banks; restaurants; professional, business and medical offices; municipal facilities operated by Manalapan; a post office, library and similar public buildings; child care centers; and adult day-care facilities.
The maximum permitted number of detached single-family age-restricted residential units is 280 homes. The revised ordinance eliminates a requirement for a walking trail to be developed around the age-restricted community.
In response to a question from a resident as to whether the individuals who have special needs will live in housing that is staffed, McLaughlin said a company will operate and staff that housing. He said the development of the property would bring between $7 million and $10 million worth of improvements to the intersection of Route 33 and Millhurst Road.
Committeeman David Kane said Manalapan is required by the state to provide opportunities for the construction of affordable housing and said with the special needs housing, “we are trying to get affordable housing that is a benefit to the community.”
Mayor Jack McNaboe noted that the development of 500,000 square feet of retail space is currently permitted at the site. With the development of an adult community at the location, the retail space would be reduced to about 200,000 square feet, he said.
McNaboe said residents of the neighboring Four Seasons at Manalapan adult community preferred an adult community to be constructed between their homes and the retail portion of the VC tract.
McNaboe, Kane, and Committeeman Kevin Uniglicht voted yes on a motion to amend the VC ordinance. Committeewoman Susan Cohen recused herself from the issue and Committeewoman Mary Ann Musich was absent.