By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – A minor change in the approved site plan for the Azalea Gardens residential project brought its developer, a frustrated Roger Mumford, back to the Red Bank Zoning Board May 15.
Construction on the development with 14 townhomes and two cottages is in full swing at the corner of Harding Road and Hudson Avenue. However, utility company Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) added a speed bump to the construction process, mandating the developer provide space for a transformer at a particular spot on the property. That required an amendment to the approved site plan, compelling Mumford to return to the zoning board for variance approvals. Without the approval, the residences would not have an electrical supply, critical to the project’s completion.
The site plan and subdivision application for the Azalea Gardens project were approved in 2023, and construction has been ongoing for over a year. Now, JCP&L has required that the transformer providing electric service be placed 10 feet from the Hudson Avenue curb, within the front yard setback of the approved site plan.
According to Jelena Balorda-Barone, the professional engineer for the project, JCP&L visited the site in March and stated that the transformer must be placed off Hudson Avenue. “That’s where they’re going to feed the project from,” she said, adding that JCP&L denied the developer’s request to push back the placement for accessibility. “It had to be in that particular location,” Balorda-Barone said, also pointing out that the site is of “a particular shape,” with frontage on three streets – Clay Street, Harding Road and Hudson Avenue.
“Whichever way you did it, most likely it had to be in the front yard.”
Mumford’s attorney Ed McKenna said the process to secure utilities was “unbelievable, insensitive and ignorant.” McKenna added that utility companies are “dictatorial,” simply telling developers where to place infrastructure with little room for negotiation.
According to McKenna, when the developer told JCP&L he would have to go back to the zoning board for permission for the change, the utility company said, “You can do whatever you want. We don’t care.” McKenna also said JCP&L was adamant the developer have the site ready for the transformer on its time schedule or potentially wait “nine to 13 months” for delivery.
McKenna said a 13-month wait would effectively halt the entire construction project, resulting in significant financial hardship for the developer.
“It’s a very, very difficult position for anyone to be put in,” McKenna said.
The urgency drove Mumford to seek immediate zoning board approval. “People have no idea how crippling this is; there (are) builders in Ocean County who’ve abandoned subdivisions because they can’t get electric,” he said, expressing frustration with utility company bureaucracy. Mumford said his company completed another construction project a year ago in Holmdel, but “can’t deliver an entire subdivision because the Union Beach branch of JCP&L is taking one to three years to respond to things.”
While before the zoning board, Mumford also proposed relocating the air conditioning condensers initially planned for the front yard garden area to the rear of the building, approximately 10 feet from the property line on Clay Street, to improve the project’s overall design. McKenna said the relocation would create additional garden space and allow for enhanced landscaping, including purple azaleas and strategic tree placement on Clay Street.
Borough Attorney Kevin Kennedy clarified that the application will be amended with no changes to the approved project, including parking, building orientation or architectural elevations. “No change to the density, intensity, height or appearance of the site,” Kennedy said.
The site plan was unanimously approved with requested modifications, as it did not substantially deviate from the original development plan.
The project has been through years of delays. The original proposal for Azalea Gardens was approved by the borough zoning board in 2017.
Construction continues, although a completion date has not been confirmed.
The article originally appeared in the May 29 – June 4, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
