U.F. hears 3 plans for Breza Rd. tract
Conceptual plans include golf-course, adult communities
By charlette sause
Correspondent
Three conceptual housing plans, two with 18-hole golf courses, were presented last week for a 288-acre tract off Breza Road in Upper Freehold.
About 80 percent of the tract for the proposed Indian Run development is located in the northwest corner of the township. The remainder is in Allentown and in Washington Township in Mercer County.
A standing-room-only crowd was on hand for the Aug. 28 Upper Freehold Planning Board presentation by the Somerset Golf Development Corp., but no public comment was permitted. The meeting also included further discussion of master plan revisions.
Deputy Mayor William Miscoski and Planning Board Chairman Richard Stern stepped down before the presentation began, due to conflict of interest. Miscoski owns a golf course and Stern farms the Breza Road property.
Somerset Golf Development representatives Richard Schott and Robert Eidel presented three conceptual plans: Plan A would be a single-family community with no golf course; Plan B, a single-family community with an 18-hole golf course; and Plan C, an adult community with an 18-hole golf course.
Plan A would include 114 single-family dwellings. Lots would range from one to five acres, with an average lot size of three acres. The property would be zoned agriculture-residential use.
Plan B would include 64 single-family homes and an 18-hole golf course straddling all three municipalities. This plan would require an on-site sewage treatment facility and the property would have to be rezoned.
Plan C would include a 220 age-restricted dwellings with a mix of housing types, with parking in the rear and an 18-hole golf course. Spray irrigation is possible. This plan would also require an on-site sewage treatment plant.
Spray irrigation of the golf course is possible in plans B and C.
After the presentation concluded, Township Planner Richard Coppola pointed out possible zoning changes that might be necessary for the Planning Board to make, depending on how the 288 acres are developed.
A 100-foot setback would be required for golf courses, he said, and since mixing two uses, single family homes and golf course, is not a permitted use, a zoning change would be required for plans B and C.
Due to the present setbacks, he said the developers could not build a golf courses and the 114 residential units proposed in Plan A.
Commenting on the adult community plan, he noted that permitting age-restricted communities without maintaining a balance to attract a variety of age groups, can affect the fabric of a whole community over time.
After Coppola concluded his comments, several residents attempted to comment. Before he was silenced, one called out that he has 100 dogs next to the proposed development site. He said that he gets complaints now about the dogs barking and couldn’t help but wonder what would happen when the site is developed.
"This was not a formal application, just a presentation," Coppola emphasized, noting that he wanted to get the information out early so that he could follow through during the next six to eight months."