BAYSHORE REGIONAL WATERSHED COUNCIL

The next Keyport Borough Council (KBC) meeting has been rescheduled to Tuesday 4/24/07.

Re: 4/25/07 Manchester Redevelopment Planning Meeting

There will be a special KBC-Redevelopment Committee meeting to hear resident input regarding plans for the redevelopment of the old factory site on Manchester at the east end of Maple Place. This special Redevelopment Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 4/25/07 starting at 7:00PM at the Keyport First Aid Building.

The conceptual plans for this site from Manchester, LLC, exhibited at the 1/16/07 KBC meeting, describe a high-density multifamily condo project containing multiple flats with what appeared to be underground parking. Maser Consulting presently describes the 75 Manchester project on their website as the redevelopment of an existing industrial building site into a multifamily residential complex consisting of approximately 60-units with a mix of flats, duplexes, and townhouses over a lower parking deck. At 60-units on this 2.43 acre site the density would exceed 24 units/acre. The surrounding area is zoned for less than 6/units acre (a RA district).

This meeting will be the first opportunity for residents to shape a rehabilitation-redevelopment plan other than the developer's proposal for a high-density multifamily project. If we don't participate we establish a precedence visible to the developers for other sites (Browns Point, Keyport Marine Basin, Corner of Maple and Broad, etc.)

Re: 4/26/07 KUPB Subcommittee Meeting -8 Townhouses on First Street

A three member subcommittee of the KUPB will hold an "informal review" of the Raritan View Partners proposal to build eight attached single-family condominium units at 310 First Street. These 8 units will replace an existing single-family home on an 89X190-foot lot. The applicant is proposing to create a 180-foot long driveway perpendicular to First Street with a 17-space parking lot.

According to a note from the KUPB Chairperson, this informal review will be "an opportunity for interested people to hear from the applicant about his plan and to react to it and for the applicant to hear /react to those who speak. Residents should prepare with their comments/questions, etc.".

Know issues with this application are:

The 160-foot long building will be 6 feet from the adjacent west side property line. Just imagine this 160-foot long building next to the side of your home.
The 8 townhouses will each have a 6x20-foot back yard along the side of the single-family home west of the site. Just imagine getting 8 different families 6-feet from the side of your home and back yard.
The 17-space parking lot for the townhouses is separated from the adjacent single-family home on the east side by a 0-foot to 2-foot buffer. Just imagine all this traffic along side of your home and backyard.
The refuse/trash enclosure for 8 units is located zero feet from the backyard of the home on the south of this site. Just imagine all this garbage directly behind your home.
Eight townhouses are not in harmony with the single-family homes within 200-feet of this location. 85% of the 39 homes within 200-feet of this site are listed as single-family homes on the tax records. Five structures are two-family units and one structure is a three-family unit within the 200-foot radius. Zero structures contain more than three units. Just imagine a 160-foot long builbing built on your residential block.

Imagine this happening to any Keyport neighbor! Come out to the 4/26/07 meeting to help insure it does not happen. The existing 10-unit multifamily structure at the corner of First Street and Walnut Street is an outstanding example of why this Raritan View Partner's application needs strong opposition from Keyport residents.