Politics & Government
Builder Proposes Housing Development in Township
Development would consist of seven lots, require sign-in to homeowner association.
The Chatham Township planning board held a hearing Monday, June 20 night on a proposed housing development around Ormont Avenue, Longview Avenue, Mountainside Drive and River Road.
The development would cover seven subdivisions – lots 2, 6 and 8 in block 32 and lots 1, 14, 17 and 20 in block 33 – and equates to approximately 6.3 acres.
Steven Schaffer, attorney for developer Fenix-Chatham, explained that the owners of the eventual houses will have to sign into a homeowner association, meaning that, among other things, they will be responsible for paying a share of common expenses.
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Schaffer and Rob Moschello, engineer with Gladstone Design, explained that there are 514 trees in the designated area, and that 162 would be removed for construction to happen.
Moschello spent much of the hearing explaining slope variances throughout the development and the proposed shared driveways.
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Township engineer John Ruschke said he had a few major concerns with the application, including the need to provide safe access on Mountainside Drive and securing an additional right-of-way, as well as performing a geotechnical analysis of proposed bioretention areas.
“We want to make sure it’s going to function as it’s designed and that it does not negatively impact the downgrading of the properties,” Ruschke said.
The majority of the members of the public present at the meeting were homeowners whose land is adjacent to the proposed buildings.
However, due to the cross-examining of the witness by the board, only two audience members were able to ask questions within the three hour time limit board President Lydia Chambers established for the meeting.
Board attorney William Robertson explained that, the way the process goes, the public will be able to continue asking questions of Moschello as soon as the hearing continues during the board’s meeting on July 11. However, Chambers explained, the public will have to wait for the next witness testimony, as well as the subsequent cross-examination by the board, to ask questions again.
