JACKSON – Plans to build more than 500 homes on a Perrineville Road property in Jackson came into focus when testimony regarding Jackson Parke was offered during the June 17 meeting of the Planning Board.
No decision on the Jackson Parke application was reached that evening and the hearing was carried to the board’s Aug. 5 meeting.
In April, board members approved a General Development Plan for Jackson Parke. The applicant has proposed constructing 551 single-family and multi-family units on a 226-acre “north section” off Perrineville Road, and 549 single-family and multi-family units on a 129-acre “south section” off West Veterans Highway.
Testimony presented at the time indicated that 20 percent (220 units) of the proposed 1,100 residential units would be designated as affordable housing, with 120 affordable housing units in the north section and 100 affordable housing units in the south section.
Affordable housing is defined as housing that is sold or rented at below market rates to individuals and families whose income meets certain guidelines. The remaining 880 units to be constructed at Jackson Parke would be available at market rates.
Attorney Jason R. Tuvel and engineer Daphne Galvin represented Jackson Parke on June 17. The applicant is seeking preliminary and final major subdivision approval for 551 lots on the north section, and preliminary and final site plan approval for the north section.
The north section fronts on Perrineville Road, with a primary access drive on that road. Testimony indicated that single-family homes, townhouses and apartment-style buildings would be constructed on that parcel.
Galvin described a proposed connector road that would link the north and south sections of Jackson Parke.
“The connector road is in between the southern limits of the project and the intersection of Cassville and Perrineville roads,” she said. “The acreage associated with the two lots of the connector road is 4.25 acres.”
Galvin said the 226-acre property that is proposed to be the north section of Jackson Parke is primarily a wooded site with sparse uplands and wetlands. She said 122 acres of the parcel would be developed.
“To the west, to the south and to the east are undeveloped properties, all wooded; to the north and across Perrineville Road and a little farther south is mostly residential,” Galvin said.
She said the highest point of the property that is planned to be developed is near the center and she said water would drain in a southeast direction toward the wetlands.
“With the single-family homes we have a long cul-de-sac and two shorter cul-de-sacs along Perrineville Road,” she said. “Near our main entrance we have a majority of single-family homes in the westerly portion of the site. There are 217 lots for single-family homes, with an average lot size of 9,000 square feet.”
The remaining 334 housing units to be constructed on the north section will be a combination of what Galvin described as traditional townhouses and stacked townhouses.
According to the website fortressrealdevelopments.com, a “traditional townhouse is one that typically has three or more houses lined up next to each other with shared walls on either side. Stacked townhouses share a sidewall like traditional townhouses, but are also stacked vertically with two or three units on top of each other, and they have both a front and a back.”
Planning Board member Jeffrey Riker asked how the topography of the property would affect drainage and at what elevation the applicant plans to build the project.
Galvin said the elevations will vary throughout the site.
After some discussion in regard to the impact the project could have on the Perrineville Road property and in the surrounding area, Riker asked “at what cost?”
“My point to you is, at what cost to accomplish this project? … It just seems to be ludicrous the amount of impact to the town and its character,” Riker said.
Planning Board member Richard Egan expressed concern about the ground water, the topography of the project and potential flooding.
Jackson’s township administrator, Terence Wall, who sits on the board, questioned the applicant’s assertion there would not be any negative impacts as a result of the development.
“You testified there are no negative impacts, so what I am trying to understand is what material are you using for ‘no negative impacts’ and I am specifically looking at the adjacent lot and to what extent does it meet your testimony of no negative impact?” he said.
Wall asked the applicant to define what an English basement is since it is mentioned in the plans, but not defined.
Galvin described an English basement as a building that is sitting a little higher than what might traditionally be constructed.
“An English basement sets the building a little higher, such that less of the basement is underground,” she said.
The Jackson Parke application was carried to the board’s Aug. 5 meeting.