By Kenny Walter
Staff Writer
OCEAN TOWNSHIP- The first of what may be several hearings on a 75-unit age restricted development was heard last week.
Representatives of Toll Brothers presented testimony during the March 1 Planning Board meeting for the single-family senior housing development on the corner of Green Grove Road and West Park Avenue, formally known as the Apple Farms site.
“Our entire 25 acres of disturbance is going to be clear-cut so we can put in all of our improvements,” project engineer Andrew Comi said. “Phasing is generally broken up into the western two-thirds of the project and the eastern remainder.
“Phase I would include 52 units and phase II would be the remaining 23 units. During Phase I we would construct the club house and the two stormwater basins and all the roadways up to Blue Heron Drive.”
Under the proposal, the 82-acre site would be subdivided into 75 different residential lots on 25 acres and a one larger open space and common area lot encompassing the remainder of the property. The developer is requesting several waivers and variances, the majority of which involve landscaping and buffering, which Comi said is largely due to the topography and lot constraints of the property.
In 2014, the board unanimously recommended a master plan re-examination that would create an overlay zone for the farm property, located at the corner of West Park Avenue and Green Grove Road.
The recommendation includes allowing age-restricted housing on the property, as well as single-family housing, and requiring the developer to contribute $1.8 million to the township’s affordable housing trust fund.
According to board professionals, Toll Brothers previously proposed two options: a 114-unit project with 20 percent of the units designated for affordable housing, or 102 units that would include a $2.6 million commitment to the town’s affordable housing trust fund.
Comi said grade improvements are needed for the project to move forward.
“If we did not make the changes, we would have much steeper roadways, we have a much tougher time complying with the disabilities act and we would have much steeper sidewalks and we generally feel it wouldn’t be appropriate for an age restricted community,” Comi said.
The developer is requesting the removal of more than 2,000 trees on the site and would be adding 300 trees to the site, as well as making a cash donation to the town to make up for the loss of trees. The developer will also need to obtain permits from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) before the project can be constructed.
However, residents raised concerns of the project, including drainage issues with the removal of so many trees.
“I do not understand why clear cutting has to exist anywhere, especially with the technology that we have today,” resident Roberta Cavallo said.
In October 2007, former developer Moshe G. Gohar was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for making a $50,000 payment to former Ocean Township Mayor Terrance D. Weldon to gain zoning approvals for Apple Farms.
Gohar, of Ocean Township, pleaded guilty Dec. 21, 2006, and admitted that he conspired with the late Neptune businessman Philip Konvitz and Weldon to pay Weldon the $50,000 to change zoning that increased the number of homes Gohar could build in the development.
