By Sunayana Prabhu
HOLMDEL – An applicant looking to build medical offices on property currently zoned for residential and farm use in the township returned before the zoning board Sept. 4 with a scaled-down version of his initial proposal.
Developer and applicant Andrew Piscatelli of Andrews Management Group LLC, now proposes constructing two office buildings instead of four at the intersection of Red Hill Road and Garden State Parkway Exit 114. The property is owned by the entity KIP 20 LLC, which is in a contract-purchase agreement with Piscatelli.
In 2022, the owner proposed a nearly 70,000-squarefoot recreational facility for the same site but withdrew the application. A new proposal for four office buildings was submitted in 2023. Both proposals have been met with resistance from residents.
The latest application calls for the construction of two three-story medical office buildings on the nearly five-acre parcel. Uses permitted in the R-40A zone include one-family detached dwellings, schools, libraries, firehouses or other municipal buildings, or agriculture and farming purposes.
According to Piscatelli’s testimony at the meeting, each proposed building’s footprint is approximately 5,000 square feet, with approximately 15,000 square feet of floor space or a total of 30,000 square feet for both buildings. The initial proposal for the site included four buildings on the same lot. The project requires several variances, including approval for a building height of 45 feet which exceeds the 35-foot limit in the residential zone.
At the meeting, Piscatelli tried to convince the board that the project would serve the area’s growing senior population by providing convenient access to medical services.
“My parents are somewhat of the example I use for why this project is needed by the residents of Holmdel,” Piscatelli said, noting his father has to drive “all over the place” to follow up with doctors.
Piscatelli said every building will have roughly six offices with “minimal employees,” “no inpatient facility” and will essentially be a “Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 operation.”
The site is wooded along the perimeter, bound on the north and east by the Garden State Parkway ramp and to the south by Red Hill Road (County Route 52).
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is situated across Red Hill Road in Middletown and within that township’s OR (Office-Research) Zone. An adjacent property to the west of the proposed site is a nearly 22-acre farm consisting of fields, vegetation and two small buildings near the site. The property to the rear of the site is occupied by a single-family residence located at the end of a cul-de-sac on Robin Road/Cardinal Road.
The lot, which previously held a single-family home, is currently vacant with only portions of a former gravel driveway remaining.
Michael Weseloski, an engineer from Shore Point LLC, provided a conceptual plan on behalf of the applicant.
A 10-foot portion of the lot frontage along Red Hill Road would be dedicated to Monmouth County as public right-of-way. The plan includes 199 proposed parking spaces, including six disability-compliant spaces and two for electric vehicles.
Board member Francine Campus said she was concerned about traffic congestion. “Holmdel doesn’t have transportation infrastructure,” she said, asking Piscatelli to factor in the number of client trips in and out of the facility in the project’s traffic report.
Piscatelli ensured the board “there will not be a tremendous amount of traffic” in and out of the parking lot.
Rob Simon, an attorney representing resident Joyce Urbanski, the owner of the family farm and residence adjacent to the site, raised numerous objections to the application. Simon argued against splitting the application into separate phases for use and site plan approval, pointing out the issues of use, site impact, stormwater, traffic and other factors were “too intertwined” to be considered separately. According to him, without assessing the full site plan, the board can’t properly determine if the property is suitable for the proposed use.
He also argued that the application was incomplete because it lacked detailed architectural plans, including floor plans and elevations, not offering enough information to fully gauge the scope of the project.
In a rebuttal to Simon’s testimony, the applicant’s attorney, Salvatore Alfieri, said the developer had the “right under the statute to present a bifurcated application… designed to save an applicant money rather than fully engineering a project before you even know if the use is approved.” He said the developer can present any information regarding the proposed site at the discretion of the board.
Several neighboring residents expressed concerns about the development’s impact on traffic, parking, and the character of the residential area. One resident questioned whether the site was the appropriate location for such a facility.
Board members pressed Piscatelli for more information, particularly regarding the site’s access and potential impact on the surrounding area. The board ultimately decided to continue the hearing to Sept. 18 to allow the applicant time to provide additional materials, including a detailed traffic study and information on a required site triangle easement.
If the use variance is granted, the applicant can file a site plan application which will be followed by a subsequent public hearing.
The article originally appeared in the September 12 – September 18, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
