HOWELL – Representatives of a company that is proposing to establish an asphalt manufacturing facility on Yellowbrook Road in Howell are expected to continue presenting testimony before the Zoning Board of Adjustment on Aug. 27.
L&L Paving, 89 Yellowbrook Road, Howell, is proposing to remove an existing concrete manufacturing facility and to develop a bituminous (asphalt) concrete manufacturing facility at its property in a Special Economic Development (SED) zone.
L&L Paving is seeking a use variance to develop the property as a bituminous concrete manufacturing facility with improvements consisting of the removal of a portion of the existing concrete manufacturing facility, the rehabilitation of an existing storage building, the construction of a quality control building and weigh station, the installation of an office trailer and the removal of approximately 13 acres of impervious coverage and its replacement with landscaping.
On July 9, owner Lance Redaelli testified before the zoning board. Redaelli said he worked for his father from 1984-91. He said his father lost the business in 1991. Redaelli said his family has one skill, “paving.”
“My brother went to work for a company, I went to work for a company. It was a short stint, maybe six months, and my brother said, ‘Listen, why don’t we just try it ourselves?’ He sold his prized motorcycle, I sold my motorcycle, that is what we did and that was our money. We borrowed money from friends, we borrowed equipment from people and that is how we started,” Redaelli said.
“We drove around in a pickup truck. We did patch work, we did seal coating, we picked up concrete from somebody who was ripping out a job. We did whatever we could to survive. That is what we did and that grew,” he testified.
Redaelli said he and his brother eventually purchased 6 acres in Tinton Falls for a business which had grown to more than 20 employees. He said L&L Paving purchased the Yellowbrook Road property in Howell in 2016. Redaelli called the land a “pretty special piece” of property and said the company now employs 55 people.
“This is what we do and we are here now because we think this is a chance of a lifetime. Not only for us, but for anybody else that is in our type of business that needs another supplier in this county. There is one supplier of this material in Monmouth County and he no longer sells to us because we put this application in a year ago,” Redaelli said.
He said their employees drive to Ocean County and Middlesex County every day to acquire material they need.
“We are here now not only because we think it is the right fit and the right piece of property, but (because there is) an absolute need not only for us, but other buyers like us that would really like another option,” Redaelli said.
He explained why he believes the Yellowbrook Road property is the right fit for an asphalt manufacturing operation.
“(The property) is 35 acres, it is cleared. There are very few trees on this property, we are not cutting trees down, we are actually taking out 11 acres of pavement and putting in grass,” Redaelli said.
He said there is an existing concrete manufacturing facility on the property and L&L Paving “just wants to bring it up to 2018, not 1962. We want to do that in the best way, not only for us, but for the town. (The proposed facility) is going to be brand new, it is going to be clean, it is all of the great things that could be in that spot and we are slowly turning the corner on that piece of property. (The property) is in the SED zone, it would be a great spot … we would love to build our office building on that piece of property overlooking our (proposed facility).”
Regarding the property’s location and access, Redaelli said Yellowbrook Road runs north and south along the front of the tract. Cranberry Road runs east and west and intersects Yellowbrook Road. The company is proposing a have a two-way driveway on Yellowbrook Road, in line with Cranberry Road.
A truck driver will enter the site and have his truck loaded with material. After the truck has been filled, the driver will go around a loop and back to the driveway. Redaelli said drivers will be encouraged to use Yellowbrook Road, and not Cranberry Road.
“That is going to be part of what we tell our employees. Nobody uses Cranberry Road unless it is an emergency situation. (Employees) are going to use Yellowbrook Road heading to Route 33 or Route 524,” Redaelli said.
The zoning board’s vice chairman, Michael Sanclimenti, asked why the company does not want anyone using Cranberry Road.
“The No. 1 reason is that there are a few existing contracting companies on that road right now and we feel that using Yellowbrook Road is a direct route to Route 33 and a direct route to Route 524,” Redaelli said.
He testified that no trucks will idle on Yellowbrook Road.
The manufacturing facility’s proposed hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The L&L Paving hearing is expected to resume on Aug. 27.