MANALAPAN – As testimony regarding the proposed Manalapan Crossing development concluded at the Nov. 29 meeting of the Manalapan Planning Board, the panel’s chairwoman and other members gave voice to a previously unexpressed view.
“I like stucco, but not the Mediterranean terra cotta look. We are not in Florida, we are in the northeast,” the board’s chairwoman, Kathryn Kwaak, said, as other members nodded in agreement. “We’re doing this once. We’re going to do it right.”
Addressing her comments to representatives of Cardinale Enterprises, Kwaak suggested a more appropriate look for the northeast. An architect had previously displayed proposed buildings with a color scheme and appearance not generally found in a municipality which was the site of a Revolutionary War battle.
Cardinale Enterprises has proposed developing Manalapan Crossing at the corner of Route 33 and Millhurst Road, Manalapan. The project would include the 280-home Four Seasons at Manalapan Crossing 55-and-over community, retail space, medical office space, a bank, a convenience store with a gas station, and 58 non-age restricted apartments designated as affordable housing and/or housing for individuals who have special needs.
During the Nov. 29 meeting, attorney Salvatore Alfieri, who represents the applicant, presented his final witnesses to the board. Testifying on various aspects of the plan were landscape architect Tom Bauer, planner Ian Borden and engineer William Stevens.
Bauer described the hundreds of trees that would be planted on the streets throughout the adult community, landscaping and a buffer around the buildings that have the apartments, a buffer to be created around an existing solar energy facility on the property, and berms along the project’s Route 33 and Millhurst Road frontage to shield parked cars from the view of passing motorists.
Borden described the 24-acre commercial area and said the size of that tract complies with the requirements laid out in a local ordinance. He said the proposed number of parking spaces would also comply with local regulations, as would the type and number of signs that are proposed.
Borden said the developer is seeking relief from certain setback requirements in the commercial area and he described the reasons why that relief is being sought.
One waiver is being sought so the developer may provide apartments of slightly more than 800 square feet, where 900 square feet is required in certain apartments.
A discussion among the board’s professionals and Alfieri indicated there may be a question as to whether the smaller apartment would comply with U.S. Housing and Urban Development regulations. The issue may be the subject of additional discussion when the public hearing on Manalapan Crossing continues.
Borden said he has met with Manalapan fire officials and said the applicant would accommodate all requests, i.e., being able to accommodate all types of trucks and getting ladders to the roof of any building that contains apartments.
During his testimony, Stevens described the project’s storm water management plan. He said a series of grass swales in the adult community would help to filter out sediments before water reaches a detention basin. Two detention basins on the property will discharge water to Manalapan Brook.
Brian Boccanfuso, the board’s engineer, said his office reviewed the storm water management plan and he confirmed Stevens’ assertion that the plan complies with regulations established by Manalapan and by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
In response to a question from Mayor Jack McNaboe, who sits on the board, Stevens said no storm water from the Manalapan Crossing property would be directed to the neighboring Four Seasons at Manalapan adult community.
During public comment, resident Frank Damadeo posed questions about an existing buffer between the Four Seasons at Manalapan and the Manalapan Crossing property. He also asked about and discussed a detention basin and the discharge of water from Manalapan Crossing.
Borden said the buffer that is owned by the Four Seasons at Manalapan would not be touched by the developer of Manalapan Crossing.
Steve Pine, a retired architect and former member of the Planning Board, addressed the planned Four Seasons at Manalapan Crossing, saying, “I think the plan is poor. It is a gridiron plan. There should be some streets with curves and passive recreation areas. The aesthetics of the plan are poor. It is an attempt by the developer to squeeze as many homes as possible on the land that has been set aside for residential uses.”
Although traffic and road conditions associated with Manalapan Crossing were not discussed that evening, McNaboe told the applicant, “We’re not done with traffic. This thing is about traffic, traffic, traffic.”
McNaboe’s comment was followed by Kwaak’s statement about the Mediterranean design of the buildings on the commercial portion of the property. The applicant did not offer an immediate response to Kwaak and the meeting was adjourned at the three-hour mark.
The Manalapan Crossing application is expected to continue at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24 at the municipal building, Route 522.