JACKSON — The zoning board has unanimously approved an application filed by Faraday Associates LLC to expand the Eagle Ridge Golf Course in Lakewood from 18 holes to 27 holes by permitting the use of a former airport on Faraday Avenue and Whitesville Road in Jackson.
The airport, which was on land zoned for light industrial use, had come on the market about a year or two after its original owner died in an accident involving an ultra-light aircraft, according to Michael G. Jacobus, an engineer and vice president with Lake Ridge Development Corpora-tion, Whiting, which is the parent company of the applicant Faraday Associates.
"We closed title to the property about two years (after it) came onto the market," Jacobus said in a subsequent telephone interview. "From day one, we knew we wanted to expand Eagle Ridge."
Despite its favorable consideration of Faraday Associates’ application, the board’s approval was conditional pending receipt by the township engineer of a satisfactory environmental impact study since the golf course itself is built on top of the former Lakewood municipal landfill on Cross and Faraday streets.
Jacobus testified before the board that there would be no migration of any contaminants into Jackson’s water system if the golf course was approved for expansion, but he agreed to provide the study, which he said is part of the ongoing Coastal Area Facility Review Act approval process for the state Department of Environmental Protection.
He also said that Ault Clark Associates in Maryland, which designed the original 18-hole golf course in Lakewood, will design the nine-hole addition to it.
Included in the design will be a 4-acre artificial lake constructed with a polyurethane liner and white sand covering. The sand will protect the artificial membrane for at least 20 years from any possible damage due to exposure from the sun. Jacobus said the lake would include fountains that would serve to aerate the course as well as act as a storage area for the course’s irrigation system.
The only structure to be built on the course will be a 5,000-square-foot to 10,000-square-foot one- or two-story office building to be built on a 2-acre lot.
Jacobus said the Lakewood Planning Board had already approved an application to expand the Eagle Ridge pro shop and The View restaurant. That work is currently under way.
The restaurant will be expanded from 7,000 square feet to 24,000 square feet. A banquet room and an additional dining room will be added to the one that is presently used at the restaurant, enabling the seating to be increased from 125 persons to a total of 400 persons. The banquet room will seat 250 persons.
By enlarging the pro shop, Jacobus said, an additional 450 lockers could be added to the men’s and women’s locker rooms so that every member can have a locker and fully enjoy the facilities available.
That is also the premise behind increasing in the size of the golf course, according to Jacobus.
"We’re taking a successful operation and bringing it to the next level," he said. "I play golf, too, so I think I understand the golf mentality and this (expansion) should suit everyone’s expectation."
— Joyce Blay