More homes to go up in Upper Freehold Planning Board approves 49-lot subdivision BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer Upper Freehold UPPER FREEHOLD - A new housing development will go up on 202 acres along Routes 539 and 534. Piptrid Associates, of Upper Freehold, plans to build a 49-lot subdivision and received final approval for the project at the Jan. 11 Planning Board meeting. The housing development, which did not require any variances, will be called Montgomery Cannon Estates. Mayor Stephen Fleischacker, who formerly worked for the applicant's engineer, stepped down from his seat on the Planning Board during the hearing, as did Bob Freiberger, who farms the tract. Engineer Keith Smith said his client would develop the land under the township's cluster ordinance provision and that approximately 80 acres would be used for housing while 117 acres would remain permanently preserved farmland or open space. Smith said 60 acres of the preserved portion of the property consists of either wetlands or buffer areas. The northwest section of the property contains the wetlands, he said, and the applicant has already received a letter of interpretation from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), labeling them as intermediate value wetlands that would require a 50-foot buffer. According to Smith, 40 acres in the northeast corner of the property had previously been used in a mining operation. The remainder of the tract is currently farmed or wooded, Smith said. Smith said the preserved farmland along Route 524 would create a greenway along the road, as there are other preserved properties along the corridor, including Freiberger's. The 49 1-acre lots will go on the section of the property next to the Lynwood Estates subdivision. Access to the development will come from Route 539. Smith said the development would have two internal roadways, Tina Drive and Karen Drive. According to Smith, his client has received conditional approval from the county engineer's office regarding the alignment of the development's intersection and Route 539. The plan includes using three utility lots on Route 539, which would preserve the existing tree line and minimize the grading impact. Since some parts of the site are 15 feet lower than others due to the mining, the intent is to reclaim and restore those areas, Smith said. Township Engineer Glenn Gerken said that a homeowners association would maintain the landscaped utility lots along Route 539. According to Smith, the county had initially desired to realign Route 524 through the property to the entrance of the Matrix complex on Route 539, but it no longer intends to do that. Gerken said it is also his understanding that the county no longer wants to pursue realigning Route 524. Township Planner Mark Remsa commended the applicant for its plan to preserve mature trees on the site. He said there are two species of endangered sparrows with habitats in the area. While one sparrow likes grasslands, the other prefers mature stands of trees, he said. The applicant's attorney, Brian Harvey, said the two endangered species were sighted within a quarter of a mile of the property but had not actually been seen on the site. He said his client would retain a "qualified consultant" to look into the sparrow issue. Smith said the detention basin would be placed at the low end of the property. Remsa expressed concern about a steep slope leading to a detention basin along an internal road, and he suggested installing a timber guardrail to prevent vehicles from going into the basin. Board member Jennifer Coffey, who is also the chairwoman of the township's Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC), said the EAC walked the site. Noting that the mining highly disturbed the property, she asked how the land would be remediated. Smith said that the material on the site would be moved around and that clean fill would be brought to the site if necessary. He also noted that some houses would need compacted fill for construction. When asked if there was any topsoil on the site, Smith said he did not know the amount of topsoil near the construction area but that topsoil would be brought in if needed to meet the ordinance requirement.