Chairman Christian Jensen called the Planning Board meeting of April 4, 2002 to order at 8:00 p.m. announcing that this meeting had been duly advertised according the Chapter 231, Open Public Meetings Act. The meeting took place at the Municipal Building in the courtroom. ROLL CALL Chairman Christian Jensen Present Vice-Chairman Ken Wells Present Secretary Edmund Wysocki Present Mayor Joseph Tricarico Absent. Committeeman Robert Mack (1) Present Marian Fenwick-Freeman Present Robert Lawton Present William Pugh Present John Gelardi Present Valerie Chaucer-Levine - Present Lynn Winters Mineo (2) Present Also in attendance were Patrick Bradshaw, Esq., representing the Board, Charles Carley, P.E. of D & R Engineering, Planning Board Consulting Engineer for the Hillsborough Chase application, and Lucille Grozinski, C.S.R. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES ACCEPTANCE OF RESOLUTIONS CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCES Stream Corridor Protection Ordinance Mr. Wells reported that the Environmental Commission is presently working on the ordinance for presentation to the Planning Board and Township Committee. Ordinance 2002-10 Principal Permitted Uses Per Lot The ordinance will allow more than one principal use per lot for houses of worship. A motion to table the discussion of this ordinance was made Bill Pugh, seconded by Ms. Chaucer-Levine. Roll call: Marian Fenwick-Freeman yes Bill Pugh - yes Robert Lawton yes Ken Wells - yes Robert Mack yes John Gelardi - yes Ed Wysocki - yes Valerie Chaucer-Levine - yes Chairman Jensen yes Lynn Winters-Mineo - yes PLANNING BOARD BUSINESS OCTOBER 5, 2007 1
SPECIAL COMMITTEE REPORTS BUSINESS FROM THE FLOOR APPLICATIONS Hillsborough Chase - #01-PB-25-MJ Bill Savo, Esq. attorney for the applicant, Mitchel Ardman, P.E., Andrew Higgins, Michael Muller and Nicholas Braco, Jr. appeared and were sworn. Mr. Savo reported that this application involves 105 lot cluster subdivision which will save 216 acres of open space for Hillsborough Township. Mr. Ardman presented Exhibit A-1, Transfer Development Report Sending Areas, comprising five lots as follows: Block 13, Lot 7 along South Branch Road a 22-lot subdivision of approximately 60 acres Block 145, Lots 15 & 43 along River Road consisting of 9 buildable lots Block 145, Lot 32, 14 buildable lots Block 145, Lot 1, 10 buildable lots Mr. Savo stated that engineering had been completed on the above lots to show that they meet all the standards of the development ordinances. Chairman Jensen questioned whether approvals for development were required on the above lots and asked Attorney Bradshaw to research the ordinance and report back to the Board. Exhibit A-2, Transfer Development Report Receiving Areas, showing the open space lands and the proposed 105 lots. From an environmental standpoint, farmland preservation and open space preservation, this plan will create contiguous open space with other lands that the town has purchased for preservation. Besides saving the open space, this cluster development will save over an acre of potential disturbance to wetlands and buffers, woodland disturbance will be nearly two and one half acres less and impervious areas will be reduced by over three acres. To meet the requirements for the transfer of development credits, Mr. Savo reported: Tract area has to be over 75 acres and over 142 is proposed. Maximum density on the receiving tract is one unit per acre and.74 units per acre is proposed. Gross density is one unit per acre and.35 units per acre is proposed. Open and common space requirements are 8 ½ acres and over 12 acres is proposed. The estate tract requirement will be met with the proposed farm tract. Out of the total preservation area for the sending and receiving properties, 70% is required to be preserved and 72% is proposed. Exhibit A-3 is a rendering of the street tree planting plan. Mr. Savo provided an overview of the project: Detention basins will be located on the northern and southern ends of the site. Practically all the water on the site will drain to the streams and will be picked up by a series of inlets and drainage pipes in the OCTOBER 5, 2007 2
roadways and piped to the detention basins which will handle the impact of stormwater. Water quality provisions, quantity and peak flow provisions have been provided according to the DEP regulations. A community on-site wastewater treatment plant will be provided, subject to DEP approvals. With regard to the on-site sanitary sewer, each of the lots will have a holding tank and after solids are removed, the sewer will run in a normal fashion with pipes and manholes in the street running to the treatment plant. Wells will be provided for each of the lots. There will be a series of underground storage tanks to hold water for fire fighting, designed with the assistance of the Hillsborough Township fire officials. Average lot size is 26,000 sq. ft. There are no requested bulk variances. All the roads through the site will be 28 ft. wide complying with the RSIS standards. There will be sidewalks on both sides of the roads in front of all the lots including around the open square. Impervious coverage for each of the lots is 35% according to the ordinance and presently most of the lots will fall around 30% which includes paved driveways and walkways. A motion to open the public session was made by Valerie Chaucer-Levine, seconded by Lynn Winters Mineo. Luiz Pereira of Chamberlain Drive had questions on the location of the proposed homes near his lot and drainage issues. William Stavrakis of Beekman Lane expressed concerns about the building that will be directly across from his property. He suggested adding trees as a buffer. He also expressed concern regarding the impact on the school system and traffic. Lisa MacCollum of Orchard Drive requested clarification on the location and management of the open space areas, specifically management of the ponds and detention basins to protect the birds and endangered species. Mr. Wells stated that the Environmental Commission will be addressing this in their report to the Board. She was also concerned about the narrowness of Orchard Drive near the Radi property. Mr. Savo stated that there are no plans at present for improvement to that portion of the road. Chairman Jensen felt that this should be addressed during the traffic report on this application. Erlina Bela of Beekman Lane asked that trees or appropriate landscaping be placed on the open space area in front of her home. Elsie Slusser of New Centre Road was concerned about the wooded area across from her home. Mr. Savo stated that most of the trees in this area would remain. She was also concerned about the effect the wells would have on other properties in this area. Chairman Jensen asked Mr. Savo to contact Dr. Glen Belnay for information on any well drilling and well drying up and redrilling of wells in the area in question and then report back to the Board. The Applicant will submit a map to the Board showing the location of the test wells with supporting documentation. Charles Carley, P.E. gave an overview of his report to the Board with emphasis on the following: Vertical curves of at least 100 foot are required according to Hillsborough Township ordinance which conflicts with the State statute of Residential Site Improvement Standards which defers to AASHTO policies. The plan does conform with the State regulation. It up to the Board to consider that and it is recommended waiving the requirement of the local ordinance and defer to the State ordinance. Detailed engineering plans should be provided for the proposed intersection of Road A with Beekman Lane. Applicant should provide street name signs at each of the intersections. Buffer along New Centre Road and Beekman is required. County may require additional improvements along New Centre Road. OCTOBER 5, 2007 3
Referral should be made to the Shade Tree Commission for their input on the Street Tree and Planting Plan. Improvements to Orchard Drive should be shown on the plan. The Board should consider whether the individual well systems meet the criteria of the cluster development. Underground water storage tanks should be approved by the Fire Official for location and operation. Applied Water Technologies should be responsible for the design and operation of the proposed onsite wastewater treatment system. The Board requested that the consulting engineer or Township engineer provide input in this area. Additional information is requested regarding the stormwater management plan. Grading and Utility Plan should be revised to show the system in plan view. Detention basins need to be addressed with regard to plantings. The Environmental Commission will provide input to the Board in this area. Serving utilities should be noted on the plan. In discussing the soils, Mr. Lawton reported that the State Agriculture Development Committee sent a letter to the Hillsborough Township Board of Health stating that the Quick farm was in violation of the Right to Farm Act for the recycling operation that exists at this time. He was advised to cease and desist this operation. The Environmental Impact Statement prepared by the Reynolds Group does address a recycling operation that has been on-going on this site. Mr. Ardman stated that he would look into this further. Tom Everett, Chairman of the County Agriculture Development Board, stated that he encourages clustering and leaving other lands open to be farmed. He also has suggested to the County Board that a requirement for some developers should include a statement in the deed of the property that the homes are in the vicinity of preserved farmland. He felt that this would be a benefit at the time of sale. Mr. Ardman presented the following in regard to the report submitted by Charles Carley: A waiver from the Township ordinance regarding the vertical curves will be requested. It should not have any impact on parking or traffic concerns. Grading information will be provided for the proposed intersections. Street signs at intersections will be provided. Buffering along the streets will be provided. Orchard Drive improvements will be added to the plan. Applicant will comply with the requirements of the Township Fire Official regarding location and operation of the underground water storage tanks. Detention basins will be designated as drainage easements. Mr. Ardman will work with the Environmental Commission regarding the plantings and seeding in the detention basins. Additional survey monument locations will be added to the plan as required. A cut and fill analysis will be completed on the topsoil and distribution will be addressed. A Bikeways Plan in this area is not proposed at this time. If the Board Planner determines that variances are required on the open space lots, they will be requested. Referring to Dam Safety, Mr. Ardman reported that they are just below the height of the dam and a technical approval is not required; however, he will ask DEP for a jurisdictional determination on this item. Applicant is still waiting for Somerset-Union Soil certification. The application will be continued to June 6, 2002 without further notice required. OCTOBER 5, 2007 4
CORRESPONDENCE Chairman Jensen announced that the Montgomery Planning Board has invited the Hillsborough Township Planning Board and the Environmental Commission to view the 3M application on Monday, April 8 th at 7:30 p.m. and asked that members attend this meeting. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 10:45 p.m. Submitted by, Darlene Reed Planning Board Clerk OCTOBER 5, 2007 5