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Keyport Planning Board News April 15, 2007
Keyport Neighbors
 
Re: Planning Board Agenda  4/19/07
 
There are three cases on the agenda for the 4/19/07 Keyport Unified Planning Board meeting:
  • Case #06-19 R.J. Kutschman, 64 Washington Ave.,  replace a trailer with a single family home. Variances for undersized lot required.  
  • Case # 07-05 Raritan View Partners, replace a single-family home with 8 Townhouses on a 89X190-foot lot at 310 First Street. See the report on this application (multiple use-variances and bulk-variances required) in this newsletter .
  • Case #07-06 Term Properties LLC, 360 Main Street, subdivide the lot were the old floral shop is located  into 2 lots.
 
This KUPB meeting starts at 7:00 PM at Borough Hall.
 
Re: Waterfront Park -  Special Meeting 4/21/2007  
 
A special meeting of the Keyport Borough Council (KBC) will be held to hear resident input regarding plans for development of the area between the new bulkhead and the back of the stores on West Front Street. Since 1986 more than a half dozen plans have been developed for this Green Acre's dedicated area. The plans cover the spectrum from 100% park to 100% parking with and without a roadway. This meeting is scheduled for Saturday 4/21/2007 starting at 10:30 AM at the Keyport Central School All Purpose Room.
 
Re: Manchester Redevelopment Planning Meeting 4/25/07
 
At the last KBC meeting, it was announced that there would be a special meeting to hear resident's input regarding plans for the redevelopment of the old factory site on Manchester at the east end of Maple Place. The conceptual plans for this site from Manchester , LLC, exhibited at the 1/16/07 KBC meeting, promoted a high-density multifamily condo project containing multiple flats with what appeared to be underground parking facilities. This special Redevelopment meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 4/25/07 starting at 7:00PM at the Keyport First Aid Building. See the report on recent applications by Manchester LLC in this newsletter .
 
Re:  8 Townhouses on First Street
 
Raritan View Partners has applied to the Keyport Unified Planning Board (KUPB) to build eight attached single-family condominium units at 310 First Street on Block 135 Lot 10 & 11. These 8 multifamily 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 along the length of the west side of the driveway. Eight townhouses line the west side of the parking lot.  The application indicates 8 new townhouses are justified by the lot size and existing townhouses on First Street. This application will be heard at the 4/19/07 KUPB meeting starting at 7:00PM.
 
Issues with this application for 8 townhouses on an 89X190-foot lot 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 residential 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 with in 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 roles. 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 townhouse built on your residential block.
 
Imagine this happening to any Keyport neighbor! Come out to the 4/19/07 KUPB meeting to help insure it does not happen. The 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 input from Keyport residents. The best use for this 89X190-foot lot is two single-family units in harmony with the single family RA neighborhood, the Master Plan and existing Zoning Ordinances.
 
Re: Manchester LLC Applications
 
In a 4/2/07 letter to the Keyport Borough Clerk, Manchester LLC notices the Borough that they have applied to the NJ DEP to disturb "State Open Water" areas in order to construct a driveway and retaining wall along side the Henry Hudson Trail. According to the documentation generated by Maser Consulting, this new driveway will run  from Manchester Street to a building in the north-east corner of the Manchester LCC property. This driveway will duplicate access to their building already available from Maple Place. At the 1/16/07 KBC meeting, a 75 Manchester LLC representative shared plans (for a major housing development for this site) that show a development roadway through this creek area. 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. It seems apparent that the real purpose of this NJ DEP application is to lay the foundation for the main street for this 60-unit development.
 
The fresh water creek identified in this NJDEP application runs the length of the Henry Hudson Bayshore Heritage Trail from Broad Street to the Chingarora Creek. The natural creek environment in the Trail greenbelt is maintained for the enjoyment of the Trail users as a Monmouth County Parks. A roadway in this location would be a major disturbance of this section of the linear park and reversal of 4/18/2005 Monmouth County plans for buffering the Trail. This creek is also part of the drainage system for multiple Keyport streets that dead-end into the Trail. If the roadway were permitted, a major culvert would be required to handle worse case flooding from severe storms. Lot 56 Block 130 adjacent to the proposed driveway site is presently vacant and for sale. This lot could be purchased to provide the "driveway"  for the applicant. This would eliminate the need for this NJ DEP permit, construction of a culvert, the destruction of this "State open water" area and loss of this section of Trail greenbelt.
 
The NJ DEP approval process allows public  and Borough Official's comment on this application. To see this NJDEP application and documentation on the Manchester LLC plans you can contact the Keyport Borough Clerk during normal business hours. To get a copy of the material I have regarding Manchester LLC and the addresses of NJ DEP and Monmouth County officials, just give me  a call or e-mail at any time.
 

All comments and corrections are appreciated.

 

Regards
Michael Lane