By Matthew Sockol
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – Members of the Township Committee, saying they want to avoid potential litigation with developers, have changed the type of uses that will be permitted on a 14.6-acre parcel on Route 9 north.
Residents who live near that property expressed concern that the action will have a negative impact on their homes.
On Aug. 9, the committee adopted an ordinance that changes Block 80, Lot 3 from a corporate multi-use 10-acre development zone (CMX-10) to a highway mixed use development zone (HMUD) and amends the requirements for an HMUD zone. Block 80, Lot 3, an undeveloped lot, is on Route 9 north, just north of Elton-Adelphia Road (Route 524).
Fast food restaurants, drive-up restaurants, and a gas station with a convenience store are now permitted principal uses in the HMUD zone. Automotive repair shops and drive-up facilities associated with the convenience store are not permitted, according to the ordinance.
A gas station with a convenience store must meet certain criteria in the HMUD zone; a gas station is only permitted on a lot that has direct access to a state highway (i.e., Route 9), according to the ordinance.
According to the ordinance, the purpose of an HMUD zone is to provide for a mix of commercial and multifamily residential uses within developmental tracts where the commercial uses can be concentrated along Route 9, Route 524 and Jackson Mills Road, while multifamily residential uses can serve as an appropriate transition to adjacent zones.
A minimum 75-foot-wide landscape buffer strip must be provided where non-residential development is next to a residential zone.
Mayor Barbara McMorrow, Deputy Mayor Lester Preston and committeemen Anthony Ammiano and David Salkin voted to adopt the ordinance.
Committeeman Thomas Cook was absent.
The committee passed a resolution acknowledging the Planning Board’s receipt and review of the ordinance. According to the resolution, the board members found the ordinance to be consistent with Freehold Township’s master plan.
Residents who live near near the 14.6-acre property on Route 9 north that was rezoned stated their concerns.
Eric Jeanette of Juniper Drive expressed concern about the impact a 24-hour business such as a convenience store and gas station could have on his quality of life. He said he believed his home would lose value if such a business was established at the targeted property.
Juniper Drive runs parallel to Route 9 north and is proximate to the rear of the property that was rezoned.
“You need to think about the residents,” Jeanette told municipal officials. “It is unfair to have (these businesses) close to us.”
Philip and Rae Solomon of Juniper Drive submitted a letter to the township in opposition to the ordinance.
“If a restaurant or any other type of retail establishment or strip mall is built, it will bring vermin such as rats to our development, not to mention the smell and tossing of garbage from these establishments,” the Solomons wrote. ” … this will be right behind our home. If we ever decided to sell, (the new businesses) would surely make it more difficult as most people would not be interested in living behind retail stores or a gas station.”
In addition to stating their belief that a business on Block 80, Lot 3 would affect the value of their home, the Solomons said they believed a business would create more noise and traffic, and the presence of a gas station could affect the safety of Juniper Drive residents.
Chris Swenarton of Bar Harbor Road, who also submitted a letter in opposition to the ordinance, asked why the zone change was necessary and repeated his questions in front of the committee.
Officials said the ordinance rezoning Block 80, Lot 3 was not related to a specific plan and was being adopted to avoid litigation with a developer. They said if a developer wins litigation against a municipality, the developer will have the power to override the municipality’s zoning requirements and use a property for the purposes it is seeking.
According to Swenarton, the owner of Block 80, Lot 3 previously sought a change in zoning from CMX-10 to HMUD, which was unanimously rejected by officials. He asked the committee members why they are making the change now.
Township Administrator Peter Valesi said officials frequently analyze and look for areas suitable for redevelopment and rezoning, particularly on Route 9, to avoid zoning by litigation.
“We want to identify areas that are appropriate,” Valesi said. “You get sued by developers if you do not continue to redevelop and rezone.”
Swenarton asked why a CMX zone would not be successful for a developer. He said the nearby Juniper Plaza on Route 9 north is economically feasible and in a CMX zone.
Valesi said a study of Route 9 determined there was an overabundance of CMX zones, which he said opens up the township to zoning by litigation. He said Juniper Plaza is a strip mall and he said that is not ideal for developers.
Swenarton questioned the change in zoning that will permit a gas station to operate at Block 80, Lot 3, just north of Route 524.
Valesi said one reason for permitting a gas station in an HMUD zone is because existing gas stations on Route 9 are older and have been closing.
“We are doing this (ordinance) on the theoretical level,” Salkin said. “Something is always coming into empty lots and (the township) can’t buy everything. We need a plan that will hold up in court.”
Salkin told the residents he understood their concerns and why, in their view, it would be preferable not to change the zoning from CMX to HMUD, but he said the change was necessary to avoid conflicts with developers.
“We have to be flexible and have a strategy,” he said.
