MANALAPAN – Although the anticipated Manalapan Crossing project was not listed on the agenda for any formal action during the July 12 meeting of the Township Committee, it was the subject of comments from the municipal attorney.
Manalapan Crossing is a project that developer Vito Cardinale has said he wants to construct on a 130-acre property at the corner of Route 33 and Millhurst Road in Manalapan.
The most recent concept for the project, as described by municipal officials, is expected to propose age-restricted housing, commercial space and apartments for individuals of all ages who have special needs.
Township Attorney Roger McLaughlin offered a statement about the potential development in the wake of what he called “a tremendous amount of inaccurate information being circulated on social media and elsewhere concerning the Manalapan Crossing project.”
“As of this date, no Planning Board hearing has even been scheduled to consider an application pertaining to Manalapan Crossing. In fact, although certain application documents have been filed, the application was deemed to be incomplete on June 30,” McLaughlin said. “Many substantial items still must be submitted before a complete application can be considered.
“Jurisdiction over the Manalapan Crossing project rests with the Manalapan Planning Board. We anticipate that once a complete application is filed, the review process will be a lengthy one. There will be no ‘fast tracking’ of the Manalapan Crossing application and the Planning Board’s review will be thorough and complete.
“In addition to the Planning Board review process, any application pertaining to Manalapan Crossing must also be reviewed and approved by the Monmouth County Planning Board and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation because of (the property’s) location on county and state roads.
“The issues that will be considered by the Manalapan Planning Board include off-site traffic impact and required improvements; project layout and design; drainage; and all other relevant planning and development considerations. A further issue that will be considered by all of the reviewing agencies is the timing of the construction of off-site and on-site improvements.
“The process will take many months until all the required approvals can be obtained from those agencies. Only after all approvals are obtained can construction commence,” McLaughlin said.
On a related issue, he said the governing body “continues to receive questions concerning the preparation of another ‘independent’ traffic study pertaining to the Manalapan Crossing project, despite the fact that the taxpayers have already paid for a study of the traffic impacts of a development of the property.”
McLaughlin said, “Those who continue to call for an ‘independent traffic study’ simply do not understand the approval process or the history of previous traffic studies pertaining to the property.
“The township has already paid for an independent traffic study involving the property when a much more intense commercial project was proposed. … The developer of Manalapan Crossing will be required to submit a current traffic study prepared in the form required by accepted traffic engineering standards.
“All of the input data that represent the subjective part of a traffic study will be reviewed for accuracy by the Manalapan Planning Board, the Monmouth County Planning Board and the New Jersey Department of Transportation and their professional engineering staffs.
“In addition, that data will also be reviewed in light of the prior independent traffic study and report prepared at the direction and at the expense of Manalapan. As a result, the Township Committee does not believe there is any legitimate reason for the taxpayers of Manalapan to pay for yet another independent traffic study,” McLaughlin said.
Committee members thanked McLaughlin for the update and did not add any comments of their own to the attorney’s statements.
