BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer
HOWELL — The members of the Planning Board’s master plan subcommittee recently heard a proposal from an applicant who is seeking an unspecified zoning change for a 76-acre parcel in the southern end of Howell on Route 547.
The site in question is across from an identified target of concern in a post-9/11 world, a concern not lost on the members of the subcommittee.
The property is across the street from an LNG (liquefied natural gas) plant that is owned by New Jersey Natural Gas. The tank contains natural gas that has been liquefied by reducing its temperature to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a spokeswoman for NJNG.
The pitch that was presented to the subcommittee members in May was for residential construction in an area currently zoned ARE-6 (one unit per 6-acre lot).
The unidentified applicant seeking the zoning change was represented by Frank Kryskowiak, the property leaseholder, who told the subcommittee members that the unidentified individual wants to be permitted to build about 25 homes in a cluster zone.
In return, the applicant proposed to give Howell the remainder of the property to be used for the installation of three fields for Pop Warner youth football.
The master plan subcommittee is chaired by Pauline Smith, whose husband, Donald, addressed the committee regarding safety concerns in constructing homes at that location.
Donald Smith is a member of the Howell Environmental Commission.
He told the master plan subcommittee he is privy to security information regarding the site that he would not publicly disclose. He said this has been an ongoing priority for public officials; so much so, that following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and with other security warnings, there have been several occasions when police have been called upon to post officers to guard the site.
As to the viability of constructing homes across the street from an identified “target,” Smith said, “A density bonus is not wise here.”
According to Smith, Al Sauer, the chairman of the environmental commission, has done extensive research and knows all the “strengths and weaknesses” of the gas company’s facility.
Smith said the environmental commission has always been concerned about the potential “blast area” of the site. He noted that concern for the safety and integrity of the tank was not limited to the possibility of deliberate human sabotage, but included the potential for the tank to be ignited by a spark or chemical accelerant.
Once started, said Smith, “It’s a fire that cannot be fought — it just goes.”
Pauline Smith said she, too, thought the proposal was imprudent.
“I’m against anything in the shadow of the LNG tank,” she said.
Subcommittee member Paul Schneider said he wanted to hear from a gas company expert about the volatility potential of the tank and the possible dangers it could pose to the surrounding community.
He and the rest of the subcommittee members agreed it would be a good idea to ask New Jersey Natural Gas to send a representative to listen and address the concerns of the subcommittee members and the Planning Board as a whole.
Schneider said the board should ask the mayor and Township Council to pursue investigating the safety issue with the gas company.
Subcommittee member Marlene West opined that there would likely be a lot of pressure from local sports groups to accept the proposal that carried the promise of additional playing fields.
Resident Sally Swinford, who attended the meeting, gave the subcommittee members her thoughts on the proposed zoning change for ball fields proposal.
“I’m against setting a precedent for [giving something and] getting something in return,” she said.
In recent weeks, the master plan subcommittee heard concept presentations from two separate entities which want zoning accommodations in order to construct age-restricted communities.
One presentation was from AST Developers, which is seeking to construct a mixed-use community on 31.5 acres on Route 9 in the vicinity of White Street on property now known as the Cutler-Rubenstein Egg Farm.
AST Developers is also proposing a commercial component to complement the construction of four-story buildings that would hold 11 units per acre. The project would ultimately consist of 296 residential units that would be for sale and an additional 56 rental apartments.
There would also be 40,000 to 50,000 square feet of commercial space included in the application.
The egg farm site is presently zoned HD-1 (highway development) with the HD area consisting of about 17 acres and the rest of the parcel consisting of ARE-2 zoning (agricultural-residential).
The applicant would like the zoning changed to Planned Retirement Community (PRC).
Another PRC proposal for the board was from an entity called Boulder, LLC, which wants to develop a PRC project on two sites in an HD-2 zone on Route 33 near Route 34 at the Wall Township border.
The first site is a 45-acre parcel across from the Hungry Puppy pet food store on Route 33. The concept for this proposal is 112 to 120 age-restricted townhouses and 28 to 30 affordable housing units with some professional office space worked in.
The second location is a 9-acre parcel on Tinton Falls Road near Asbury Road. The concept proposal here was for 150 low- and moderate-income rental units to be built as a PRC community. The Tinton Falls Road property is presently zoned HD-2.
No decisions have been made and the master plan subcommittee members said they will reserve all comment until all presentations have been represented by the applicants as having been completed.