MANALAPAN – Several residents of Millstone Township who live on the border of Manalapan are asking the Manalapan Planning Board to reject a proposal submitted by an applicant who wants to construct warehouses in a zone where warehouses are a permitted use.
An application filed by Joseph Skeba was discussed during the board’s Sept. 27 meeting. Skeba is seeking preliminary major site plan approval. No decision was reached that evening and the application was carried to the board’s Oct. 25 meeting.
Attorney Kenneth Pape presented the application on behalf of Skeba. Pape described the site as a 97-acre parcel that has 1,500 feet of frontage on Route 33 eastbound and 1,500 feet of frontage on Smithburg Road (Route 527). There is a traffic signal at the intersection of Route 33 and Smithburg Road. Pape said no variances are being requested as part of the application.
“There is some arsenic on the site, which we will investigate and remediate if required,” Pape told the board, noting the property has been farmed by Skeba for many years.
Engineer Mark Lescavage of Maser Consulting, who is representing the applicant, said the project calls for the construction of two warehouse buildings where no manufacturing activities will take place. Building A would total 300,220 square feet and Building B would total 652,000 square feet.
Lescavage said the property is in Manalapan’s SED-20/W zone (Special Economic Development/Warehouse) and said warehouses are a permitted use in the zone.
He said two access points are proposed to the site; the access on Route 33 will only permit right turns in and out, and the access on Smithburg Road will be a full movement driveway. Lescavage said Route 33 is a state highway and Smithburg Road is a county road. He said the applicant is working with both jurisdictions to obtain all necessary approvals.
According to the testimony, each warehouse would be 42 feet tall and would include office space. The applicant is proposing to provide 107 parking spaces for Building A and 236 parking spaces for Building B to accommodate the estimated 165 to 200 employees who would work at the site.
Lescavage said a new internal road on the property would be able to accommodate large tractor-trailers, firefighting vehicles and trash removal vehicles. He said said he is working with the Manalapan Environmental Commission and Shade Tree Commission to address issues of concern to those bodies.
Mayor Jack McNaboe, who sits on the Planning Board, expressed concern about the possible impact on an area where homes are serviced by wells and septic systems.
“There is a downside to development, but also an upside” if public water and sewer service can be brought to this area, he said.
Pape said each warehouse is expected to have between two and four tenants. He said no tenants or owners have been signed. The attorney said he would identify tenants at the time final approval is sought from the board.
Pape said the two buildings will not be what is referred to as a “fulfillment center” such as the ones operated by Amazon. He said Skeba is willing to work with officials in Manalapan’s Fire District No. 2 to help fund a pre-emptive signal system on Route 33 that would allow firefighters to use a piece of equipment that would change a red light to a green light when they are en route to a call.
When the meeting was opened for public comment, three residents of Millstone Township came forward, all of whom live on Timmons Hill Drive, which intersects Smithburg Road opposite the property where Skeba is proposing to construct the warehouses.
Smithburg Road is the border of Manalapan and Millstone Township.
Virginia Schlegel asked if any consideration was given to preserving the 97-acre tract as a farm.
“This (warehouse proposal) is just overwhelming for us who live here. It’s a huge change,” she said.
Pape said Route 33 and Smithburg Road are defined for development and said preservation of the Skeba parcel was not considered.
McNaboe explained that Manalapan officials compete with developers for farms to be preserved and/or developed and said “that is tough to do in a hot economy.” Generally speaking, he said, farms that municipal officials seek to preserve are in the interior portions of the municipality.
Ron Schlegel said he is concerned that trucks coming to the warehouses will cause pollution and leak fluids that will find their way into nearby wells.
“That is not something I want to drink,” he said. “It’s going to pollute our well water. This is a residential area. This (application) does not belong in a residential area. Put it up and down the New Jersey Turnpike. Please don’t put this in our town.”
Joe Teston said, “This (proposal) is 100 percent revenue (for Manalapan) and that is why I don’t think you will deny it. One million square feet of warehouse space is detrimental to my family’s quality of life and safety, and to the value of my home.
“You are building Raritan Center (in Woodbridge) in the middle of a neighborhood. There will be truck traffic in and out all day and night. I stand to lose everything I’ve worked for while Skeba and Manalapan make out like bandits,” Teston said.
The board’s attorney, John Miller, told Teston that the impact of proposed development on the value of nearby homes and/or property is not permitted to be reviewed by board members during their consideration of an application.