meet to discuss
potential impact
on sensitive areas
Environmental concerns raised
in Pinelands development plans
Developers must
meet to discuss
potential impact
on sensitive areas
By joyce blay
Staff Writer
The Jackson Environmental Commission has asked representatives of three separate properties with applications to build in the Pinelands to appear before a joint meeting of the Environmental Commission, the Shade Tree Commission and the Jackson Township forester.
The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. July 1 at the municipal building.
In a letter dated May 27, which Environmental Commis-sion member Richard Borys sent to Property Development Ser-vices of Toms River, the engineering firm handling the applications, Borys insisted on the meeting to answer concerns regarding the environmentally sensitive area in which the developments are proposed to be constructed.
"This is the first time we’ve requested a special meeting with an applicant over an environmental as well as a cultural resource, but we have concerns," Borys said at a recent Planning Board meeting.
The properties in question are: Pine Knoll Manor, a 17-lot subdivision owned by Castellar Properties Inc.; Cassville Estates, a 27-lot subdivision owned by JRJ Properties; and Maplewood Estates, a 13-lot major subdivision owned by DVT Enterprises.
"The Pine Knoll Manor site appears to be located in the center of another proposed development and is currently landlocked," Borys wrote in the letter. "The commission has concerns regarding the 13 acres of vegetation proposed to be removed. … Additional concerns include the tree plan, access to the property, wetlands delineation and the relationship between Pine Knoll and WoodAir Estates."
The applicant for WoodAir Estates has since removed it from consideration by the board, Zoning Officer Richard Megill said.
Testimony had begun at the June 10 Planning Board meeting on the application by one of the properties, Cassville Estates, which is on Route 571 (Toms River Road), near Benz Lane. Experts Ian Borden, William Stevens and John Rea were present.
The 42-acre subdivision has received a certificate of filing from the Pinelands Commission, according to Ray Shea, the attorney representing all three properties. However, the board members remained concerned over the location of the development in the ecologically sensitive Pinelands area.
"Those issues have to be addressed," board Chairman James Casella said.
Residents continued the debate over the proposed development in the Pinelands during the meeting’s public forum, where several people told of endangered species sightings.
One woman who said she lives near the Ozark Hunting Lodge said the fire trail there was the only thing standing between her home and the 27 homes that would be built if the Cassville Estates application is approved by the Planning Board.
Another resident also expressed disappointment with the proposed development being built in the Pinelands, where he lives.
"I had to get a lot of variances before building my house with the understanding that no other homes would be built on the Pinelands," the resident said. "This is all for money. If they want to build a development, build it somewhere else, not in the Pinelands. We’re trying to save it, not develop it. The snakes, the deer, the flowers … the land is very sensitive. We can’t [allow them] to just bulldoze that over to make some money."
Still another resident, Jeanette Benz, told the Planning Board of her concerns and asserted that she had seen the northern pine snake, an endangered species, on the same land where the development would be built, as well as other animals that would be displaced by construction.
"Where are all these deer going?" she asked. "They’re being pushed out."
Rick Ragan, the township planner, said that transcripts of the residents’ testimony that evening would be provided to the Environmental Commission to document community concerns. However, many of the residents also told Borys they would come to the joint meeting on July 1.
Shea promised board members that he, too, would attend the commission’s meeting to address their concerns regarding all three properties.
"We have to follow the law and we’ve received our certificates of filing [from the Pinelands Commission]," Shea said. "That’s an expression from them that it would appear our designs conform with their management plan for threatened and endangered species."
The attorney also was skeptical that the move was being made for any reason other than to obstruct construction of the developments, which he said adhere to the letter of the law.
"This request for a meeting is not a surprise to anybody on my side of the aisle," Shea said. "We’ve come to the conclusion that Jackson is not objective when it comes to residential development proposals. There’s been a concerted effort to delay approvals and virtually every case made in court challenging the Planning Board’s denial has been overturned. It’s an enormous waste of taxpayer money."