HOWELL — The Howell Zoning Board of Adjustment has unanimously denied the application of Chelsea Commons.
Testimony on the proposed residence for senior citizens was heard before the board on various dates over the past 10 months.
Safety hazards were at the core of the board’s May 11 decision to deny a variance for the development of proposed age-restricted housing on Route 9 north at Salem Hill Road.
The board’s vote was 5-0 to deny the variance. Applicant and owner Marvin Kornmehl was seeking permission to place a residential use in a zone where that use is not permitted.
“Certainly traffic and safety are major concerns,” said board member David Sirna. “But overall it’s too far a deviation from the zone plan and the master plan to isolate this property for a residential use that has no connection and no sense of place for the neighbors.”
Kornmehl sought approval for a 111-unit senior apartment complex beginning in July 2008.
Initially, plans called for 126 one- and two-bedroom units, a central courtyard and 243 off-street parking spaces on the 7.8-acre lot. The applicant petitioned for a height variance for the three-story building and a use variance that would give Chelsea Commons permission to construct residential units in a Highway Development (HD-1) zone.
Plans also stipulated that the entrance and exit road to the apartment building would share access with St. Veronica’s parish on Route 9 north.
In order to withdraw the request for a height variance, Kornmehl reduced the number of apartments from 126 to 111 and thus downsized from a three-story to a twostory structure. However, no further changes were made.
The proposal had drawn opposition from residents who live in a neighborhood behind the property. They testified to their belief that Chelsea Commons would have created more traffic in the area and result in an unsafe situation for the St. Veronica congregation and students at St. Veronica School.
However, St. Veronica Parish Administrator Leonard P. Weg said the church favored the age-restricted residential development over the types of commercial businesses for which that property is zoned.
Attorney Gerald Sonnenblick, representing the applicant, cited the church’s approval while making his last argument before the zoning board.
“I am aware, based on the responses I’ve seen over the past year, that this is not an application that is so favorable for you,” Sonnenblick said. “If perhaps there is any magic dust I could throw out there, it’s to think about this very carefully and hopefully change your mind. I would look for a positive vote because, at the end of the day, it’s 8 acres on Route 9 zoned HD-1. The church will be affected to a greater degree by commercial use than by an adult community. That’s why the church was in favor of the adult community.”
Before the vote, Chairman John Van Noy questioned whether the board should proceed since members Stephen Meier and Rick Ryan were absent and members Neil Callahan and Charles Chirico recused themselves. The application needed a five-vote supermajority in order to be approved.
However, Sonnenblick declined to prolong the application.
“I was advised by my client that he didn’t want to spend any more money on me or at least on this board,” he said.
Ultimately, the board members deemed safety and traffic to be problematic, citing various scenarios in which the application would be detrimental to the citizens of Howell.
“The speeds are high and tension is on Route 9 around that exit area,” board member John Armata explained before casting his vote. “I researched the reaction time of senior citizens and it’s not good. From eyesight to hearing to reaction to all the rest of it, it’s what the police call ‘an accident waiting to happen.’ ”
Van Noy agreed.
“It’s dangerous,” he said. “And I think that’s why all along this was a difficult property to start with. The way it is now, in this context, is a danger to Howell citizens.”
Sonnenblick said his client would most likely compose a new plan in accordance with HD-1 uses and present it to the Howell Planning Board.
“We’re zoned commercial,” he said. “And the applicant will be appearing before the Planning Board sometime for a use that is obviously going to have more traffic than the use that was proposed.”