By:Patricia Curran
Attention Hillsborough Township residents: The Planning Board has before them preliminary and final major site plan approval the sheep farmon Route 206 and Falcon Road. These acres have wetlands, high-tension wires and 75- to 100-year-old red oak trees.
On this land Mr. Krame wants to put 415,000 square feet of buildings, with a 52 percent impervious area. This means that 52 percent of the area will be blacktop.
The buildings will consist of three larger stores, the largest being a box shaped store that is 125,000 square feet; the smallest will have 12,000 square feet, with the middle at 59,700 square feet.
There is also a garden center that will be 25,000 square feet. This may not seem very large to you, but take a look at Bridgewater Promenade and you will get an idea. There is 23 acres of open space, but only 16 acres can be used. The other is the towers.
I have some questions for Mr. Krame and the Planning Board:
1) You state that this development will not have any effect on the traffic. You also state that it will make it a better flow. How can it be a better flow when the roads are so congested now?
2) Why are you planning to make Route 206 wider from Falcon Road to Route 206 and Amwell Road? How is this going to fit into the town center design?
Why do we need a four-lane highway and at times five lanes? After one of the work meetings most of the Planning Board did not think the traffic study was done to their liking. They called for a new traffic study. Has that been done to the liking of the Planning Board?
3) What is the danger going to be with the high-tension lines and the water fountains you want to put in?
I have been told that the volts between the towers are 250,000. What kind of problems will this bring with a severe lightning storm? We can get some pretty bad ones out here.
4) There were l2 beautiful red oak trees. These trees were between 75-100 years old. It is a crying shame that you took these trees down. What was the reason for the trees to be taken down? What happened to the beautiful wood? Please don’t insult me and tell me you didn’t know that they were being taken down.
5) To the Planning Board: How much would it cost to replace these trees? Mr. Krame should be held responsible for replacing these trees. And please don’t tell me that they had to be taken down. If we can put a man on the moon then you could have changed the line of pipes.
6) Mr. Krame, what are you going to do about the noise of the heating and air conditioning? How about the lights that will be on 24/7? How are you going to protect the houses from noise and lights?
7) The Historical Commission has taken a stand with the Abraham Whitneck house. They have pasted a resolution stating that it can’t be encroached upon, damaged or destroyed until review is done by both the Historical Commission and the Planning Board.
This house should stay were it was built. There are not many of the old farm houses left. They have been either lost to neglect or torn down for development. Let’s keep this one up and running.
8) During one of the work meetings with the Planning Board, your architect, I think, made a statement that this town has no set guidelines for the design of all new buildings. This statement is right.
But I take offense to the fact we would be grateful for what they gave us. I may not know much about designing a building, but I know what would fit into this town.
The design that you designed is made for malls that are not in our town. I would like to see something like Turntable Junctions at this development. That would suit this area.
9) How is the neighborhood going to deal with the lights on 24/7? What are the laws concerning the lights?
If this gets built the way Mr. Krame wants then you may as well kiss Hillsborough goodbye. Route 206 will look like Route 22 or Route 18. I don’t want to see Hillsborough turned into any of these roadways.
The dates of the public meetings will be on May 11 and 18 at the Municipal Complex at 7:30 p.m. Please let your voices be heard.
Patricia Curran lives on Hillsborough Road in Belle Mead.
