MILLSTONE — The Monmouth County Planning Board (MCPB) does not want the applicant for Shelly’s School for Dogs to make improvements to the intersection of Burnt Tavern Road and County Route 571.
At the Jan. 27 Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting, Kenneth Pape, attorney for the applicant, Shelly Liebowitz, said the county does not want a “Band-Aid” approach to redesigning the intersection. In June, the township asked Liebowitz to pay for a redesign of the intersection as part of the application, and he agreed.
The board unanimously approved the application at the meeting. Liebowitz will be able to construct a 25,471-square-foot, one-story building on a 56-acre parcel on Burnt Tavern Road. The facility will provide boarding for dogs and cats, pet training, pet grooming and a pet-grooming school.
Board Attorney Gregory Vella said that Liebowitz should put the money for the intersection improvements in escrow with the township, but said the funds “could not be left there forever.” Vella said the township’s professionals should put a time frame on the escrow to be fair to the applicant in the event that the county does not do the work. The board decided that three years should be sufficient for keeping the money in escrow.
Pape said that the MCPB staff is very responsive, and that their design work is done in-house.
The applicant’s engineer, Peter Strong, had reported in June 2009 that vehicles traveling south on Route 571 must veer off to enter Burnt Tavern Road with no controls regarding speed. Drivers heading north on Route 571 that want to turn into Burnt Tavern Road encounter an island — some turning left on the north side of the island, and others turning left on the south side, according to Strong. At that time, Township Engineer Matt Shafai said the county would have to review any redesign because it has jurisdiction over routes 571 and 526.
At the board’s January meeting, Shafai reported that the county had placed the redesign in its capital improvements plan, and would do “a full-blown improvement.” He said the county was also planning to align West Squan Road with the new intersection, but would need to acquire additional right of ways. Shafai said that Liebowitz would have to contribute $15,000 to the improvements, and added that the county had not provided a time frame for the work.
“Taking right of ways takes some time,” Shafai said, noting that the county had not planned to improve the intersection until Liebowitz’s development application came forward.
The board also discussed and approved signage for Shelly’s School for Dogs. Strong said there would be a sign on either side of the driveway, with a gate that could be closed across them. The applicant would provide landscaping behind the signs and planters in front of them, he said.
Pape said the physical design of the signs complies with township ordinances, but having two signs requires a variance.
Pape also told the board that it would be prudent to gate the long driveway in the dark, lonely part of town.
Township Planner Richard Coppola said that the township and its fire department would have keys to open the gate in case of emergency.