By Allison Perrine
A proposal to construct 360 residential units on a 40-acre vacant lot along Route 537 has proven to be controversial among township residents, demonstrated at the last planning board meeting Nov. 3.
COLTS NECK – Dozens of residents fear that a proposed construction project near land with tributaries that lead to the Swimming River Reservoir could harm drinking water quality for the thousands who utilize it, as discussed at last Wednesday’s township planning board meeting.
The night largely included public comment from residents who voiced their concerns about a proposal brought by applicant Colts Neck Building Associates – a subsidiary of Kushner Companies – that would include 360 residential units and an Amphidrome wastewater treatment system under asphalt, unlike any other project known in New Jersey. The board did not vote on the application Wednesday but will likely do so at its special meeting Dec. 1 at 6:30 p.m.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The applicant is seeking preliminary and final major site plan approval for The Colts Neck Manor, consisting of one- and two-bedroom units, 72 of which would be deemed affordable, on a 40-acre vacant parcel along Route 537. The 360 units will be divided among 15 residential buildings, each of which has eight units per level with 24 units per building. Depending what floor the unit is on, it would have either a patio or a terrace. The exterior of the buildings will be vertical siding, with black windows, gray metal trim at the entries and gray roofing. Judging by current standards, market-rate rentals could go for between $2,200 and $2,700 per month; the affordable rates are set by state mandate on a county-by-county basis. Currently, affordable units in Colts Neck go for about $1,000 to $1,300 a month depending on size. If well-maintained, professionals estimate that the structures could have a lifespan of 50 to 100 years.
The Amphidrome wastewater treatment system has been the most controversial component of the plans for board members and township residents. According to the Amphidrome manual, the system “is a submerged attached growth bioreactor process operating in a batch mode. It is a deep-bed sand filter designed for the simultaneous removal of soluble organic matter, nitrogen and suspended solids within a single reactor.” The system may be the first of its kind under pavement known in New Jersey, but it is used elsewhere, including in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The largest is at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts which handles 250,000 gallons per day and is completely under pavement.
Glenn Gerken, project engineer with T&M Associates, spoke with operators of the system and said after their conversation, he felt “a lot more confidence in the system as proposed.” “Some are new systems, maybe only three years or so, but a lot are over 20 years in operation. So it’s not that these are brand new systems,” he said. “I know there’s going to be more refinement of it and obviously the final review and approval is with DEP,” he said. But others had less confidence in the proposal working well in Colts Neck.
PUBLIC INPUT
At the beginning of the meeting, board attorney Mike Steib read aloud several emails from concerned residents. One included a letter signed by nearly 60 Colts Neck residents, urging the board to reject the Kushner application and “save” the town. “We would like to voice our strong opposition to the mass development in our township. There are other ways to fulfill our affordable housing obligation,” the letter reads. “We implore you to reject this development application. A ‘yes’ vote by you will ruin our town. It is up to you to protect us from mass development.” Another email came from resident Richard Orriss whose family has lived in the township for 38-plus years and loves “the semi-rural environment” it provides. He fears that approval of this project would “ruin the character” of the town. “While we recognize the need to address New Jersey’s affordable housing mandate, there are other ways to fulfill our affordable housing obligation than to build a large new complex of rental units in town,” he wrote.
Resident Marie Hering specifically criticized the underground sanitary system proposed for the property. “This development will have over 600 parking spaces – the equivalent of 1.5 foot- ball fields of blacktop. Runoff will greatly endanger our water,” she wrote. “The system will be shooting at least 70,000 gallons of ‘sanitized’ water back into the ground daily, which has the potential to contaminate our water.” Taylor McFarland, acting director of the Sierra Club New Jersey chapter, wrote that she has “major environmental and public health concerns associated with the proposed Colts Neck Manor development and its Amphidrome wastewater system.” “The site for this project is completely inappropriate. This area is part of a watershed that feeds into a critical reservoir for Monmouth County. Kushner associates have also completely failed to adequately answer questions regarding their wastewater system and the environmental impacts if this system failed,” she said.
McFarland added that Colts Neck “should not be experimenting with such a wastewater system that has never been used in a residential area” next to streams like Yellow Brook and tributaries of a reservoir. “If there is no data to show the effectiveness of this system in this environmentally sensitive area, how can Kushner guarantee minimal impacts to our drinking water and the health of the residents of Colts Neck and surrounding towns who rely on the reservoir for drinking water?” “Given the environmentally sensitive site, Colts Neck should not approve a wastewater system that has never been used in New Jersey,” she added.
The article originally appeared in the November 11 – 17, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
