MANALAPAN – Attorneys who represent parties objecting to the proposed construction of two warehouses have had their first chance to question professionals who previously testified on the behalf of the applicant.
Countryside Developers Inc. is proposing to build two warehouses on an 86-acre property on Route 33 just east of Pegasus Boulevard in Manalapan. The project is known as the Manalapan Logistics Center.
During a meeting on Sept. 10, attorney Ron Gasiorowski, who represents residents of Astor Drive, and attorney Michael Lipari, who represents the Village Grande Neighborhood Association, cross-examined acoustic engineer Norman Dotti, applicant Terry Sherman and engineer Julia Algeo.
Dotti, Sherman and Algeo had previously described various aspects of two warehouses that would be 294,560 square feet and 302,250 square feet in size. Warehouses are a permitted use in Manalapan’s Special Economic Development zone.
Both attorneys asked Dotti about noise levels on Route 33 in the vicinity of the proposed development site, and Gasiorowski questioned Dotti about truck noise on the site if the warehouses are constructed.
Gasiorowski also asked Dotti about noise that would be produced by heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units that would be placed on the roof of each building, and specifically the warehouse that would be closest to the residential zone to the south of the property.
Dotti agreed with the attorney’s assertion that HVAC units produce a certain level of noise, but he said that with planned office space of under 10,000 square feet in each building, the HVAC sound would be “insignificant.”
“That noise is important to my clients,” Gasiorowski said.
Under questioning from Gasiorowski, Sherman acknowledged there are no tenants signed for the proposed warehouses and that the site could operate all day, every day. The two men went back and forth over the definition of a warehouse and a distribution center.
The Manalapan Logistics Center application was carried to the board’s Sept. 24 meeting. The meeting will be conducted remotely. Instructions on how to access the meeting will be posted on the municipal website.
The warehouses are proposed for a site approximately across from the Four Seasons at Manalapan adult community on Route 33. Pegasus Boulevard is an entrance to and an exit from Four Seasons.
The rear of the development tract is separated by a natural buffer from a residential development that includes Gramercy Lane and Astor Drive.
Countryside Developers is seeking preliminary and final major site plan approval from the Planning Board for the Manalapan Logistics Center.