Wanaque Manor Associates Propose 86
Town-Homes on
Steep, Forested Lot
December
3, 2003
A
crowd of residents from the Jefferson Street
area appeared at December 3rd’s
Board of Adjustment meeting to hear testimony on the proposed Wanaque
Manor. The developers, Wanaque Manor
Associates, are proposing 86 town-homes on just under 26 acres. The property is composed primarily of steep
slopes, and is home to a number of species of wildlife.
The
developers are arguing that including affordable units
on the site will be beneficial for the township. When
residents questioned the planner on how
this development would be beneficial to the residents of Wanaque, he
simply
replied that it will provide affordable housing. He
also stated that New Jersey
is now experiencing a housing crisis, and this
development will provide housing for those in need of it.
Neither of these responses pleased the crowd,
as he did not answer how this development would be directly beneficial
to the
Wanaque residents. It should be noted that this lot is not an
inclusionary COAH
site, so approval before the site could be used to meet Wanaque’s COAH
obligation. (A similar misuse of COAH
would
be required by COAH occurred in Bloomingdale, when affordable housing
was used
to try to force higher density housing onto Spring Brook Acres Farm.)
Wanaque
Manor Associates are seeking a number of
variances. These variances include
seeking permission to build 3-story buildings, (the ordinance allows 2
stories);
proposing double the amount of allowable units per structure; and not
accommodating open space on the property, asking instead to provide a
contribution to an existing park.
Facing
nearly exhausted sewer capacity, residents and Board
members questioned if the development was accounted for in Wanaque
Valley Regional
Sewerage Authority’s recent Sewerage Capacity Report.
The Planner claims that it is, but it is not
currently listed on the WVRSA’s capacity report. With
a number of other proposed developments
in Wanaque, such as the Holiday Inn and the 750-unit Powder Hollow
development,
sewerage capacity will be a crucial issue.
The next Board of
Adjustment meeting for Wanaque Manor will
be Wednesday, January 7th at 8:00
PM.
March 3, 2004
The
Board of Adjustment continued to hearings on the Wanaque Manor
application, at its meeting of March 3rd. The developer continued with
his application as originally presented, to be built on the slopes
above Jefferson Street and Boulevard. The possible land swap for the
Candle Factory on 4th Street was not discussed, but apparently is still
on the table.
The
applicant presented his landscape planner, who proposed to plant a
variety of indigenous evergreen and decidous plants to provide a
buffer. However, due to the steep slopes upon which the townhouses
would be
built, the plantings would do little block resident's view of the
proposed townhouses from the street, and it would take 25-30 years for
the trees to reach a mature height of about 50 feet.
The applicant will return next
meeting with the architect, engineer, and blasting expert. The
date of the next Board of Adjustment Meeting is Wednesday, April 7th at
8:00 PM. Please attend and voice your concerns!
For information on the proposed land
swap, click
here
April 7th 2004
The Board of Adjustment meeting
scheduled for April 7th was cancelled.
The next
meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 5th at 8:00 pm.