Most residents cheer demise of warehouse application
What lies in store for Breza Road tract remains to be seen
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

UPPER FREEHOLD - Residents reacted to the surprise announcement that the Rockefeller Group withdrew its application for warehouse development on Breza Road.

The New York City-based developer planned to build 1.8 million square feet of warehouse space in the 254-acre commerce park off Breza Road, but withdrew its application before the township's Planning Board meeting last week. A spokesperson for the developer said the group no longer has the parcel under contract with the owner, Indian Run LLC.

Keith Becker, spokesman for Communities United, a grassroots group opposed to the warehouse project, said he is cautiously optimistic with the withdrawal of the Rockefeller application.

"This indicates that one of the largest real estate developers in the world has come to the conclusion that the Breza Road property and our rural setting is not suitable for industrialization," he said.

The township's official zoning map has shown a "Commerce Park Overlay" on the property since 1995. The underlying zoning of the land is agricultural/residential. The township currently has 3-acre residential zoning with a 35 percent bonus density cluster option.

Regarding future plans for the tract, Becker said the continuation of open community education and discussion would lead to good choices.

"I thank all those involved in the good fight," he said, "and look forward to working with those who are committed to having a positive influence in our community."

Marc Covitz, another opponent of the warehouses, said he was "completely overjoyed and amazed [that the developer] pulled out at the 11th hour."

Covitz said the Township Committee should remove the commercial overlay zoning from the tract.

"I believe the tract should be zoned for conservation and be preserved as permanently protected open space," Covitz said. "The tract has too many environmental constraints to be considered for intense commercial (or residential) development."

Covitz, a member of the Crosswicks Creek/Doctors Creek Regional Greenway Planning Group, said his group has outlined in its plan the possibility of preserving the Breza Road tract. According to Covitz, he and Greenway Planning Group representative Walter Helfrecht compiled a statement from the plan, which he presented to the Planning Board.

"The site not only has the Doctors Creek and Indian Run traversing [it]," he said, "but it has many other wetland areas along with colonial and Native American burial sites that need to be preserved for future generations."

Covitz noted that numerous other proposals previously put forward for the tract also fell through.

"I hope our Township Committee will consider this and move forward with preserving the tract," he said.

Covitz questioned if Upper Freehold wants to look like neighboring towns such as Manalapan, Freehold, Washington Township or Hamilton.

"Building intense commercial development will not lower our taxes," he said. "It will only open the flood gates for more residential and commercial development."

While Covitz said he likes "small, quaint plazas" like the one on Burlington Path and Route 539, he said large commercial and industrial development would ruin Upper Freehold and destroy the township's country code.

"This type of development has no place in this town," he said.

Allentown Mayor Stuart Fierstein said the news that the warehouse application had been withdrawn came as a surprise to him. The withdrawal resolves part of the process, he said, and he hopes the borough has more opportunities to participate in development plans for its borders.

While he would not speculate on what could be built on the Breza Road property, he said, "I'm not blind enough to believe development will not occur."

Fierstein said original plans for the acreage included a golf course, which would have blended into the surroundings and would have been the least intrusive use of the property. Another previous proposal for the tract, he said, included a shopping center with second- and third-floor apartments over the stores.

"That was objectionable," he said.

Former Upper Freehold Mayor Robert Abrams, who was strongly in favor of the warehouses, said he was disappointed by the withdrawal of the application.

Abrams said he is concerned about what could happen with the commercial overlay of the property. He said Allentown could experience its "worst nightmare" should 200-300 houses get approved for the site, which would create more traffic through the borough.

Abrams said that what Upper Freehold does in the future should be for its own benefit and not Allentown's.

"Everything we've done for the benefit of Allentown has cost us," he said. "What has Allentown done for us? Nothing."

Helfrecht had several suggestions for the Breza Road property. He said he would like to see the area remain mostly "green."

"It would be suited to having a low-traffic situation such as a seasonal farmers market, a museum of equine and agricultural interests, a continuation of the Heritage Park open space with some additional passive recreational features such as trails along the Indian Run and the extension of the Heritage Park trail system into the Upper Freehold lands," he said.

Helfrecht also offered other possibilities for the tract. He said an environmental education center there would prove useful to the general public as well as the Upper Freehold Regional School District's science, environmental and the National FFA Organization (formerly Future Farmers of America), or FFA, curricula. Helfrecht said the property could also house a limited number of short-term tourist accommodations such as a bed and breakfast or a motel.

"That requires some infrastructure, but would be a whole lot reduced from what would be needed by large homes or industrial parks," he said. "Since we are home to the New Jersey Horse Park, having appealing, country-looking accommodations would be an attraction and a revenue generator."

Helfrecht said that any update to the township's master plan should consider the types of uses he suggested and may require giving that zone a much different designation with severe restrictions on what could be built there. He said the township planner's proposed village centers and density transfers are not suitable for the town.

Helfrecht said he feels that planning measures proposed by the state Office of Smart Growth are not what the township needs because they presuppose that sufficient infrastructure already exists.