November 26, 2023 / By mobanmarket
BERKELEY, NJ — A decision on a proposed 24-home development in Berkeley will not be made until the new year after traffic concerns lead the project’s attorney to request the hearing be carried.
The proposed development consists of 24 homes, two detention basins and an open space/recreation lot that will have another basin.
A public hearing was held before the Berkeley Township Planning Board on Nov. 16, six months later after it was first supposed to be heard. The reason for the delay was that attorney Ryan Murphy had spoken with concerned neighbors and asked to delay the hearing so the applicant could take those concerns to heart.
However, after neighbors further voiced concerns Thursday night, Murphy admitted that he was not aware that traffic was a sticking point and requested the hearing be carried so that he could bring in a traffic engineer. The new date is Jan. 18, 2024.
Neighbors who live on Station Road and on Brittany Drive spent the evening saying how Station Road was already a dangerous road to drive on, and fearing that the proposed entrance to the development would only make it worse.
Longtime Station Road resident Ellen Fassmacht said that the curve had caused many accidents, one of which took out her mailbox, a fire hydrant and the car ended up in her front yard.
“I just think it’ll be very dangerous,” Fassmacht said.
William Exner, a Manhattan Avenue resident, said it would be “another accident waiting to happen.”
Residents noted that Station Road is frequently used by emergency vehicles and worried that additional traffic would impact that.
Another point of concern was the detention basins. Three are proposed, but one that would sit behind Brittany Drive homes was the main focus.
Resident Jennifer Vasconcelos pointed out that while those who purchase homes in the new neighborhood do so knowing a basin will be near them, she and her existing neighbors did not do so. The basin would sit directly behind her home.
“That really isn’t acceptable to me,” Vasconcelos said.
The board’s engineer, Ernie Peters, noted that while the applicant may have picked the most efficient locations for the basins, they will impact existing neighbors.
Chairman Nick Mackres said that if the basins were moved, they would affect another neighbor. But Peters said that the basin could be moved entirely away from property lines.
Murphy added that they will be dry basins and that the applicant is willing to provide buffering. A homeowners’ association will also be established and will be responsible for maintaining the basins.
Many neighbors also said they chose their homes because of its wooded surroundings.
“It’s teeming with life,” said Brittany Drive resident Kathryn Milewski, who noted that the woods were home to deer, bats, owls and more.
These concerns will be further addressed at the Jan. 18 Planning Board meeting.
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