A U.F. subdivision story two decades in the making
Perl Acres could be up for final approval in August
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

UPPER FREEHOLD - The 19-year saga of the Perl Acres subdivision on Sharon Station Road continues.

At the township's Board of Health meeting on July 10, Kenneth Pape, the Millstone-based attorney for Perl Acres owner David Perlman, recounted the history of the project and what needs to be done to finally perfect the subdivision.

Overall, there have been little changes to the plans throughout the 19-year approval process, according to Pape. He said the application for the 56-lot housing development was submitted in 1988 and received final approval from the Planning Board the following year. However, according to Pape, a neighboring property owner challenged the approval, and litigation went on over the next 15 years.

In 1998, Pape's client believed the litigation would end and applied for final approval from the Planning Board. At that time, the lots were tested and found to be suitable for on-site septic systems, according to Pape.

In September 1999, the Board of Health issued a letter that the test results were acceptable. However, the litigation continued and did not end until October 2004, according to Pape.

In 2004, the Planning Board determined that the initial approval for the subdivision was still valid, but the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) had passed new stormwater regulations. Due to the new regulations, Township Engineer Glenn Gerken said minor revisions had to be made to the subdivision to accommodate an enhanced stormwater system, according to Pape.

While the number of lots and the road system in the proposed subdivision remained the same, two of the 56 lots needed a slight lot-line adjustment for the new stormwater system, Pape said. The adjustments happened to be where perc tests, witnessed by the Freehold Area Health Department (FAHD), had been located. Arrangements were made to test the soil on the two lots, with Pape stating that he understands that the results are acceptable. He said his client is now looking to perfect his subdivision.

Perl Acres is still in compliance with the 1999 Board of Health approval in terms of the 54 lots that have not changed and the two new lots, according to Pape. He said that when each lot is developed, the applicant will be required to file for a formal septic system approval.

Chairman Dr. S. Perrine Dey asked if the two lots are considered new lots, or old lots with a boundary change. Pape responded that, according to Gerken, they are not considered new lots. He said the property line had to be adjusted by a few feet, but the adjustment was too close to where the original perc tests had been conducted.

FAHD officer Margaret Jahn said the issue is whether the original 1999 approval should be honored, since there have been changes. She said that while soil tests had been performed on the two lots, she had not received the results. She said that it seems like Pape and Perlman are asking the board to indicate that the 1999 approval still stands regardless of the two lots in question.

Board Attorney Granville Michael Magee said he does not think the two lots are an issue. The DEP has different standards now than it did at the time of the approval, he said, and the Board of Health has also evolved and changed.

He said a conversation with Pape and Jahn resulted in a solution that may achieve some ends. To protect the board and the town, the applicant will give an indemnification, he said.

"The end result is a permeability test for every house before they get septic [approvals]," Magee said.

He said this did not put an unnecessary burden on the applicant, "especially considering the time they've been through."

Dey said that unless the board receives a letter from the FAHD concerning the lots, it will not act. Pape said his client hopes to be back at the August meeting with the request for approval.