for Northpointe apts.
BY LARRY RAMER
Staff Writer
MARLBORO — The Planning Board continued to hear testimony about a proposed housing complex that will contain 382 apartments, including 85 units of so-called affordable housing.
If approved, the Northpointe development would be located in Marlboro just south of the Aberdeen Township border near Lloyd and Nolan roads.
During its meeting on Oct. 1, the board heard testimony from William Feinberg, an architect hired by applicant Ohad Associates. Feinberg discussed the layout of the market value units and the affordable housing units that the applicant wants to build at the site.
The affordable housing apartments will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units, Feinberg said. They will be placed in 24-, 18-, 14- and 12- unit buildings, the architect testified.
Under state law, the affordable housing units would be rented or sold to individuals and families whose income meets regional guidelines established by the state Council On Affordable Housing (COAH). The affordable housing is sometimes referred to as Mount Laurel units.
Lorali Totten, a civil engineer representing Ohad Associates, said two of the buildings containing affordable housing units will be located at the south side of the site. The applicant has not yet determined where the other buildings containing affordable housing units will be located, she said.
Each three-bedroom affordable housing unit will be about 1,200 square feet, while two-bedroom units will be 1,122 square feet and one- bedroom units will be about 374 square feet, Feinberg said. The size of all the affordable housing units far exceeds COAH requirements, the architect testified.
Each market value unit (apartments rented or sold at prevailing market rates) will be 1,170 square feet and contain two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen, Feinberg said. There would be 12- and 24-unit market value apartment buildings in the complex, and the largest buildings would be 47 feet high, he testified.
Asked by Planning Board Chairman Mario Guidice why the affordable housing plans look different than the market value plans, Feinberg said the affordable housing buildings are not as symmetrical because they include one- and three-bedroom apartments, while the buildings with market value units contain only two-bedroom apartments.
Mayor Matthew Scannapieco, who sits on the Planning Board, said he believed COAH regulations require affordable housing units to be "somewhat indistinguishable" from market value units. He asked Feinberg whether the site plans for Northpointe meet the spirit and intent of this regulation.
"I think we’ll probably change the brick facade on the affordable buildings to stone (as in the market value units), and that’s the only material difference between the units," answered Feinberg, before affirming that he believes the plans do fulfill the requirement cited by Scannapieco.
In another matter involving the application, Peter Buchsbaum, the attorney representing Ohad Associates, said his client had not yet decided whether the apartments in Northpointe would be sold or rented. However, acceding to a strongly worded request by Guidice, Buchsbaum said he would eventually provide the board with an answer to that question.
After the meeting, several Aberdeen residents who said they live behind the proposed site for Northpointe expressed their displeasure toward the proposed development. The residents, who declined to give their names, complained that Northpointe would be too crowded.
One woman said seven people could live in a two-bedroom affordable housing apartment. In an obviously displeased tone, the woman predicted that people on public assistance would move into the proposed development.
Several people said Northpointe would reduce the value of their homes and increase traffic in the area. Finally, the residents agreed that the question of whether the apartments would be rented or sold is critical.
"People who own their apartments take pride in what they own. Renters are transient," a woman said.
The board will next consider the Northpointe application in a special meeting to be held on Nov. 25 at 8 p.m.