Public comment on Breza Rd. preservation revisited U.F. holds second hearing due to error BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer UPPER FREEHOLD - When county officials review comments made at the second public hearing on the acquisition of 145 acres on Breza Road, they will learn that the majority approves of the purchase. They will also learn that a minority has reservations about preserving the only area in the township designated for sewer service in the wake of increased Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) obligations. The second public hearing took place during the March 6 Township Committee meeting. Township Administrator Barbara Bascom explained that the township had to notice and hold another hearing due to an error in the original meeting and public hearing. The Township Committee did not have to vote on the issue at the second hearing. Bascom said the property would be preserved in two phases with monies from the township, the state Green Acres program, the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, the Monmouth Conservation Foundation, Monmouth County, Allentown and a private donor. Potts Road resident Arthur Bowkor said he has lived in the township for 24 years and has seen traffic increase considerably due to the warehouses built in neighboring Robbinsville. "We have to stop the madness," he said. "[Robbinsville] is wrecking our community." Over the years Bowkor said he has heard proposals for a golf course, 500 homes and warehouses on the Breza Road site.He said preservation is the best solution. Donna Daesener, of Upper Freehold, said she grew up in Freehold when it was like Upper Freehold. "It's not like that anymore," she said. "That's why we moved out here - to enjoy the country as it's supposed to be." Daesener said she wants the township to preserve as much land as it can. Potts Road resident Michael Renzulli said the Robbinsville Zoning Board just narrowly defeated a proposal to take 12 acres of rural/residential land and turn it into another warehouse/self-storage park. "It shows the fight we're in to preserve land in this area," he said, adding that the board's decision would likely be appealed. "It will continue to happen. We need to preserve land." Former Upper Freehold mayor Bob Abrams said COAH obligations require the town to provide affordable housing. He said the Breza Road tract would require minimal bus traffic to send children to school. "To put [COAH] in another part of town is NIMBY [not in my backyard]," he said. Abrams alleged that people from Communities United, a local group of residents who support the Breza Road preservation, have their own agenda for the Breza Road tract. "Some people bought their property knowing it was next to a [proposed] commerce park - now they don't want it," he said. Abrams said Breza Road preservation could open another part of the township up to public sewerage. "It's a chink in the armor," he said. "We'll see development like we've never seen before." Micah Rasmussen, of Allentown, said Breza Road landowner Neil Van Cleef is willing to sell his land. He said not preserving the property would send "a horrible message" to other landowners. Rasmussen also said there has never been a more efficient preservation project in the township and that the sewerage area along Breza Road is approved for commercial, not residential use. Upper Freehold's John Mele, chairman of the Planning Board, said the middle school site was moved adjacent to the land in question because it is the only designated sewer area in the township. "The school could not go outside a wastewater management area due to an enormous permitting process," he said. Mele said that the township would enormously benefit if a piece of the land to be preserved could be used to fulfill the COAH obligation. "I don't think the entire property needs to be preserved," he said. "In August of this year, if we do not have a plan for COAH, we may find ourselves with a plan we have no control over." Elliott Wiesner, of Upper Freehold, said hundreds, if not thousands of hours of work have gone into preserving the tract. Preservation "is consistent with the land around it and the goal of the township to stay rural," he said. Joy Brody, of Upper Freehold, said she intended to fully support the preservation project at the hearing but has reservations about the COAH issue. She asked if the township could divide the land to serve open space purposes and people who need a place to live. Tom Battaglia, of Upper Freehold, wondered why the township would spend money on land not readily developable. "It's preserved by default," he said. "The money lined up can be redirected to more meaningful, appropriate projects." Battaglia said preserving Princeton Nurseries or a horse farm in the center of town would be a better use of limited preservation funds. "I'm not sure the [Breza Road] location is improving Upper Freehold's quality of life as much as a different property would be," he said. Maria Veit, of Upper Freehold, brought her three young children to the hearing. She said children are the future and asked for the remainder of Breza Road to be preserved so children would know what growing up in a beautiful, rural area is like. Jennifer Coffey, of Upper Freehold, said she understands concerns regarding the wastewater management area and COAH, but said the state has proposed new wastewater management plan rules. She called Breza Road "the gateway to the community and called last year's Township Committee bold for wanting to preserve the property. "Please be bold and do what is right and preserve the land," she said. John Reynolds, who moved into the township three years ago, said that preservation in north Jersey is something done to old houses. He said that preserving the property next to the school would trump any economic considerations. "This land feels like an oasis," he said. "That's not used in the same sentence as New Jersey a lot." Potts Road resident Keith Becker said COAHis not about segregation and that affordable housing should be integrated into the community asmuch as possible. Becker said a lot of money would be lost if the closing on the Breza Road tract fell through. "It could be the least expensive piece of open space we'll ever have," he said. Upper Freehold resident Steven Murphy said, "The previous administration did half a job, preserving a piece of property with a COAH obligation attached. I would not support [preservation] without a plan for COAH." Cristina Stummer, of Upper Freehold, suggested using the hamlet of Imlaystown for COAH obligations, which could help revitalize that area of town. Upper Freehold's Dave Mansue said the township's master plan vision statement describes an agricultural and residential community. "We all moved here for a better quality of life," he said. "This is a unique opportunity that needs to be taken advantage of." Dionne Polk, of Upper Freehold, said that open space is the best use of land in New Jersey because the state has been a "builder's paradise." Polk, who moved to the township from north Jersey, said it's very different living in Upper Freehold and she wants to make sure it stays that way. "COAH can't be used as a cudgel," she said. "The Mount Laurel decision was not meant to create a ghetto, stigmatizing [COAH residents]. Mount Laurel encourages integration of housing in the community." Dr. S. Perrine Dey, chairman of the Upper Freehold Board of Health, said the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Community Affairs and Monmouth County should work out a vision for the land. The property has been on the books as a wastewater management area since the 1990s, he said. Dey said the township is in Planning Area Four of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan, which does not allow for the creation of new wastewater treatment plants unless the new development qualifies as a village. Dey said a COAH development for Project Freedom, which builds housing for people with disabilities, would send very few children into the school system. He said he does not see why a portion of the Breza Road tract couldn't be set aside for such housing. "Part of the area is decent farmland," he said. "That could be utilized to meet the COAH requirements." Dey said that most of the Breza Road tract is not developable and has soils that won't perc.