JACKSON – The Jackson Zoning Board of Adjustment will hear additional testimony on Jan. 17 from representatives of an applicant that is proposing to build market rate single-family homes and affordable housing units at Whitesville Road and East Veterans Highway.
Representatives of the applicant, Swanborne LLC, appeared before the zoning board on Nov. 29. The applicant was represented by attorney John Giunco, planning and design professional Ian Borden, traffic engineer John Rea and economist Richard Redding.
Swanborne wants to develop a 158-acre parcel at 980 East Veterans Highway with a mix of single-family homes and multifamily affordable housing units. An existing home will remain on the property and the parcel will include four storm water lots and open space, according to the application.
The application consists of 185 single-family homes to be sold at market rates and 46 apartments to be rented at below market rates in accordance with affordable housing regulations.
“The basis for this application is for all intents and purposes a use variance that is required for the density use issue,” Giunco said.
The 46 apartments are expected to be constructed in six two-story buildings that will contain six or eight apartments.
Giunco said Swanborne is not required to make the affordable housing units the same housing type as the proposed single-family homes.
“The overall concept flows from an obligation that the state Supreme Court determined is an inherent right in New Jersey for affordable housing,” the attorney said.
Borden called the application a unique circumstance.
“Although we need a density variance, when we look at the positive criteria in our consistency for the township’s zoning plan and master plan, we are consistent in all respects to each of those. Normally in the situation of a use variance, sometimes people argue that ‘although (their application) is not consistent (with the zoning plan), it is not too inconsistent.’ In this case we are consistent,” Borden said.
Rea said the property is bounded by three Ocean County roads: East Veterans Highway (Route 528), South Hope Chapel Road (Route 547) and Whitesville Road (Route 527).
“The property itself is basically bracketed by these three roads and three critical intersections are included in the traffic study,” Rea said. “The three critical intersections are all under the jurisdiction of the county. They are all intersections where two county roads intersect and they are all signalized.”
The board’s vice chairman, Sheldon Hofstein, asked Rea if the applicant considered that 1,000 homes are proposed to be built nearby at the Eagle Ridge Golf Course in Lakewood.
Hofstein said, “I know you are speaking about an ideal (traffic) situation, however, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has given the go-ahead for over 1,000 housing units to be constructed on the Eagle Ridge Golf Course, and more than likely (the developer) will be building it, which means more traffic coming to the area, basically Cross Street, but a lot of that traffic will find out it is much easier to go down to Whitesville and then come around on to Hope Chapel and you are talking about (thousands of cars) … plus trucks, school buses and so on,” Hofstein said.
Rea said a site plan for the residential development in Lakewood that Hofstein mentioned has not been approved.
“The DEP may have approved that number of homes on that site, but it is my understanding that (the applicant) has not received Lakewood or Ocean County approval for any site plan yet, so they have not received their final approvals, it is just a DEP approval,” Rea said.
He said county representatives will have to make decisions regarding regional issues.
“But yes, that (1,000-home Lakewood development) is part of the regional issue and needs to be addressed on a regional scale. I can tell you the county is looking at several possibilities for improving Cross Street because of the increased volume on Cross Street. They are looking at the possibility of adding a two-way center turn lane and leaving it one lane in each direction, or possibly widening it to five lanes,” Rea said.
