Housing is in path of Rt. 92
A developer wants to build a retirement community on property that
was all ready to become a proposed Rte. 92.
By: Joseph Harvie, Staff Writer
South Brunswick Post, 06/02/2005
A developer is seeking a variance to
build a retirement community on property slated for proposed Route 92.
Centex Homes will go before the Zoning Board of Adjustment tonight
(Thursday) to seek a use-variance to
build an age-restricted community on Perrine Road that includes
72 single-family dwellings, 216 condominiums in nine buildings, and a
10,000-square-foot clubhouse.
The property is zoned office research. The office research zone usually
contains scientific laboratories, corporate offices and high technology
labs.
In addition to the use-variance,
Centex is seeking a variance to construct the buildings 55 feet high.
According to the current application, which is on file in the Planning
Department, there is a 35-foot height restriction on residential
buildings in the township. According to the application, Centex is
requesting a use variance to extend that height to 55 feet.
In a memorandum in the application, Centex said since the community
would be built in the office research zone, where the building height
restriction is over 50 feet, the 35-foot height restriction that
applies to residential properties should not apply.
In addition, the developer must
contact the N.J. Turnpike Authority because part of the proposed parcel
is in the right-of-way of Route 92, a proposed 6.7-mile limited
access toll road that would run from the N.J. Turnpike at Exit 8A to
Route 1 at Ridge Road.
According to the township tax Web site, the property is owned by the Providence
Corporation of Monroe.
A letter in the application from the N.J.
Turnpike Authority stated that they have not been contacted about
building on the land. In addition, the applicant has been
instructed by the zoning board and the Planning Department to contact
the Turnpike Authority.
The application states that Centex is
offering the township a 64.26-acre parcel as dedicated open space, which
is required when building a planned adult retirement community in South
Brunswick. The property is near Broadway Road but is not accessible
from that road.
According to the application, the Planning Department advised the
Zoning Board of Adjustment that the
township has paid money to the county to maintain the land and already
has it dedicated as open space. The department also said the
land is owned by the township.
According to the application, there also are concerns about pedestrian
traffic in the proposed retirement community. According to a memorandum
included in the application, bikeway and pedestrian walkways were not
included in the application and need to be included in the proposal.
In a memorandum in the application, the Environmental Commission is
recommending that buffer zones be added to the west, northwest and
northeast portions of the parcel and should be planted with trees. The
commission said the proposed height of the buildings could be an
"eyesore."
According to a letter from CME, the township's engineering firm, an
environmental study should be done on the parcel because of pesticides
that may have been used when the land was used for farming and because
of oil tanks that were buried on the property.