JACKSON – The Jackson Township Zoning Board of Adjustment has granted a use variance and approved an application that proposed the construction of 202 townhouses on Harmony Road.
Chairman Carl Book Jr., Vice Chairman Steve Costanzo, Peter Maher, Scott Najarian, Jeanine Fritch, Gary Miller and James Hurley voted “yes” on a motion to approve the application at the Feb. 5 zoning board meeting.
Attorney Ray Shea, engineer Bill Stevens, planner Art Bernard and traffic engineer John Rea represented the applicant, Hyson Estates, LLC/Grande Harmony, before the board.
The applicant was seeking a use variance from the zoning board because a residential use is not permitted in the Limited Commercial zone where it was proposed.
Stevens described the plan for the 45-acre property and described the 25 buildings that would be constructed. He said he was excited about the project and believed it is a plan to be proud of.
He testified that the application was revised from 214 townhouses to 202 townhouses. He said there will be 10 buildings with 10 townhouses, six buildings with eight townhouses and and nine buildings with six townhouses. There will be 92 two-bedroom townhouses and 110 three-bedroom townhouses.
“All three building types have end units that have a two-car garage and each interior unit has a single-car garage,” he said, explaining that 476 parking spaces are required and 557 parking spaces are being provided.
“We are proposing walking trails through the whole village concept and around the entire perimeter of the project. We are proposing to build a pond, not just a detention basin, that will be a recreational amenity,” Stevens said.
He said the proposed riparian buffer and wetlands delineation has been approved by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
The development will also have a clubhouse, a pool and open field play area.
Bernard said 20% of the townhouses in the development will be designated as affordable housing.
Affordable housing is defined as housing that is sold or rented at below market rates to individuals and families whose income meets certain guidelines. New Jersey municipalities are under court order to provide opportunities for the development of affordable housing within their borders.
“Low to moderate income housing scares a lot of people, so I try to emphasize that the people we are talking about are no different than us. They are working, they may not make as much money as some of us, but they are working. They are not a fringe group, they represent a full 40 percent of all the households in the state,” Bernard said.
Rea provided a traffic analysis and said all of the intersections he examined in conjunction with the proposed development were operating at a C level of service or better (on a scale of A to F) with one exception.
“The southbound approach for the four-way stop at Harmony and Hyson roads will operate at an F level of service for the 2028 design year, with or without this project,” he said.
Rea said the volume of traffic from Interstate 195 that turns right on Jackson Mills Road and right on Harmony Road to continue south is the cause of the F level of service.
He said the project that was before the zoning board that evening would probably result in the construction of a traffic signal at the intersection of Harmony and Hyson roads in a more timely manner than if the project is not constructed.
During the public hearing, several residents expressed concern about traffic and safety as it relates to the operation of school buses.
