EAST BRUNSWICK — The Planning Board will soon hear testimony on a proposed new housing development off Dunhams Corner Road.
Clark Family Enterprises is seeking preliminary and final subdivision approval for 12 new residential lots, as well as a storm-water lot and another for a farm/residence. The proposal includes the creation of a new cul-de-sac, and the homes would front on that road, Lantern Lane and Stage Coach Road, according to documents on file with the township.
The development is proposed on about 4 acres, a small section of a property that otherwise consists of about 80 acres near the Crystal Springs Aquatic Center. Much of the property is farmland, and Ireland Brook runs though it in an east-west direction. The farm and an existing house on the property would be maintained.
Since some of the site is heavily wooded, the proposal calls for about 1,800 trees to be removed, according to a township staff report.
Planning Board Chairman Shawn Taylor said he could not comment on the application because it has yet to come before the board. The planning office said the application was on for the Aug. 7 meeting, but that meeting was canceled. A new hearing date may be scheduled for some time this month.
The proposal calls for lots ranging in size from 15,000 to more than 30,000 square feet. One lot is proposed to front on Stage Coach Run; five others on Lantern Lane; and the other six and the water management lot on the proposed cul-de-sac, which would be 500 feet in length and connect to Lantern Lane.
The property is zoned for residential use.S
urrounding uses include Heavenly Farms park and Crystal Springs to the north; single-family dwellings and a church to the west; and existing singlefamily dwellings to the northeast.
While “the mother lot” remaining an active farm with the existing single-family home, about 24 acres of that lot would be part of a conservation easement to be given to the township.
The portion of the property to the north of the brook is heavily wooded, and includes wetlands and flood plains, the township report said. The development would encroach into the floodway and flood hazard limit of the brook, requiring that the wetlands and buffer areas be filled in, according to the report. The tight squeeze means that nine of the lots would have backyards of no more than 25 feet, which will limit what owners can do in terms of adding pools and decks, the report said.
The report also stated that the applicant’s traffic report did not mention the impact of traffic stemming from the proposed improvements at the Stage Coach Run/Lantern Lane intersection, or the need for traffic signage.