Public Hearing on Township Housing Development

Residents of Chatham Township will have the chance to make their opinions heard on the matter of a proposed housing development in the area of Ormont Avenue, Longview Avenue, Mountainside Drive and River Road.

Township engineer John Ruschke said at the June 20 Planning Board meeting that 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.

Board attorney William Robertson said that the public will be able to ask questions of Rob Moschello, the engineer with Gladstone Design which is proposing the development, during the board’s meeting on July 11.

Board President Lydia Chambers said the public will have to wait for the next witness testimony, as well as the subsequent cross-examination by the board, to ask their questions.

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.

Of the 514 trees in the designated area, 162 would be removed for construction.

Chatham Township has an ordinance which regulates the amount of trees that are required per acre (16). Prior projects that have required the removal of trees, such as the sidewalk on Lafayette Avenue and the improvements at Colony Pool, have met with protestations from residents of Chatham Township.

In April, the township , which had been dormant for several years.