Lakewood Township's Planning Board is set next Tuesday, June 18, 2024, to consider Application SD 2574, submitted by Solar Ave LLC, for 64 duplex units, a shul, and 2 open space tracts, to be located off of the New Hampshire Avenue and Locust street intersection.
Each housing unit will receive 4 off-street parking spaces. The shul, which will contain a kiddush room, warming kitchen, and mikvah in the basement, will receive 67 off- street parking spaces.
The 8.8 acres parcel is located in the B-5A Highway Development Zone. Duplex housing and places of worship are permitted uses.
The duplexes do not require any variances. The shul will require a number of bulk variances.
Importantly, the developers are seeking a design waiver from providing sufficient open space area. The Township's ordinance requires that 5% of land space be set aside for open space, and that this area be contiguous. The development only proposes 4.1% of land space, on two separate non-contiguous parcels.
Of additional interest, one of the roadways in the development is proposed to be only 22 feet wide, whereas all new roadways in Lakewood are required to be 32 feet wide.
Curiously, the developers' legal notice to the neighbors did not make any mention of these two deficiencies.
The New Hampshire Avenue corridor between Route 70 and Locust Avenue continues to expand with more and more development.
This new duplex development will be located just to the south of where construction is currently ongoing for 130 duplex homes, an office building, a retail building, and a community shul, and adjacent to where a shopping center was approved last year.
Back on December 15, 2015, the Planning Board granted Site Plan approval to Somerset New Hampshire LLC (then owned by Ralph Zucker) for 37 duplex structures, (74 homes) with only a single right in / right out access road off Route 70. Each unit will have 4 parking spaces.
The application also included, along Route 70, a 2-story, 83,560 sq foot office / retail building and a 1-story, 33,316 sq foot retail building, with a total of 134 parking spaces to serve these buildings, as well as a 2-story 8,788 sq foot community building (2,275 sq feet main synagogue) with 15 off-street and 19 on-street parking spaces (which will be privately owned by the HOA of the development.
At the bend in the far back corner, the development will have its own privately owned 18,900 sq foot park. They will also have an additional tot lot / park with a walking path at the other end of the road, as well as open space near the community building.
The internal roads will have 5 feet wide sidewalks instead of the typical 4 feet wide, however, the Planning Board did grant a waiver from installing sidewalk along both New Hampshire Avenue and Route 70.
At some point, New Hampshire 54 LLC (owned by Yehuda Dachs) acquired this project.
Initial site clearing began in March 2021. The Township Engineering Department granted final construction approval on May 3, 2022 and construction has been well underway since.
On November 18, 2019, the Zoning Board granted Use Variance approval to Somerset NH LLC (owned by Ralph Zucker) for up to 30 duplex structures (60 homes) on a new cul-de-sac off New Hampshire Avenue.
Use Variance relief was required as this parcel is located in the B-5 Highway Development Zone where duplexes is not a permitted use.
The Board stipulated that as a condition of approval for their future Site Plan, they needed to pave a room connecting this development to the previously approved development off Route 70, so as to allow thosr residents to drive towards central Lakewood without needing to first go out the way east on Route 70.
On November 9, 2020 the Board granted Final Site Plan approval to a modified plan for 28 duplex structures (56 homes), a shul and a playground.
The road that runs through the development, Budleman Way, will have two, eighteen feet wide, one-way lanes separated by a curb island. New curb and sidewalk are proposed along the tract’s road frontages.
In accordance with RSIS requirements that a secondary access road is required on cul-de-sacs with more than 24 units, the board conditioned this approval that no more than 25 Certificate of Occupancies may be obtained until the secondary access road has been constructed.
The Board further conditioned their approval that the developer will utilize good faith in discussing certain traffic improvements with the County, including an egress lane along New Hampshire Avenue.
As previously reported here on FAA News, back in June 2023, the Planning Board approved a one-story 24,000 sq foot shopping center on New Hampshire Avenue, south of Budleman Way.
The main access to the site would be provided by a right-in/right-out driveway from New Hampshire Avenue northbound.
As depicted on the Site Plan, Rochelle Street and Solar Avenue which are both currently unimproved, will be improved with pavement and curbing. Rochelle Street will also receive sidewalk. (A waiver from installing sidewalk on Solar Avenue was requested and granted.)
A proposed secondary access would be provided by a two-way driveway from Rochelle Street. A third proposed access to the parking lot will be provided from the end of Solar Avenue. 2 more access driveways are proposed from Solar Avenue for the loading zone behind the retail building.
The parking lot will contain 128 parking spaces including 10 EV spaces and 6 ADA-compliant spaces of which 2 will be van accessible.
The Board conditioned that a basement is permitted for storage use only, with no access from the outside, to ensure that the basement is rented out for any other use.
Once all the developments are constructed, the shopping center as well as the new duplexes will be able to access Route 70 (for eastbound travel only) through Sally Avenue which will connect through the Buddleman Way application.
To address traffic issues, the existing traffic signal at the New Hampshire Avenue & Locust Street intersection will receive some upgrades.
As previously reported here on FAA News, even more development is in the works for the southwest corner of New Hampshire Avenue and Route 70.
To join a FAA News WhatsApp Group, click here.
To join the FAA News WhatsApp Status, click here.
2 comments:
Funny No more room at the Inn but yet they just keep stuffing it down our throats.Rt70 and Rt9 already looks like your entering the Lincoln and Holland tunnels.Not good New Jersey Not Good.But then again who cares!!!!!
its a sad place, they are making the new ghetto
Post a Comment