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BOARD APPROVES CONSTRUCTION OF 162-HOME DEVELOPMENT
By Keith Hagarty
Plans to build a retirement community on Routes 539 and 530 were unanimously approved by the township planning board last week. Plans for the development call for the construction of 162 single-family homes and a recreation building on 119 acres across from Roosevelt City Road.
One of the issues the board questioned for the non-gated community, known as The Woodlands of Lake Ridge, was the space between the two access points for the new community. There is approximately 400 to 500 feet separating the ingress and egress of the site near the corner of Routes 539 and 530.
"It would be different if the land were shaped differently or where we could get access, but the problem is there are environmental constraints, so the only place this type of land has road access is on this corner and also onto the shopping center-which really is not a great idea for access," said Board Attorney Edward Liston.
Liston was also concerned about the ease of emergency vehicles getting to and from the site should one of the access points be incapacitated.
"God forbid there's a tragedy on Route 539," he said. "If your main access is blocked, then chances are the access 50 to 100 yards down the road is going to be blocked also and then you're going to have a problem."
The applicant, however, is confi- dent there will no problems with meeting the board's concerns, according to Mike Jacobus, the project engineer and vice president for the developer, Cherry Street Associates, LLC.
Because of the applicant's "good working relationship" with the owners of The Whiting Commons shopping center located about 800 feet from the site, Jacobus is confi- dent they will be able to work out a mutually beneficial agreement for further access to and from their site for emergency vehicles and getting residents out easily should an emergency occur.
If a forest fire should break out, Liston wanted to be assured that residents and emergency vehicles would not have a problem. With entry and exit available for both access routes for the site, Jacobus doesn't believe there would be any difficulties with emergency vehicles easily getting to and from the site.
"It's unlikely that one of these two or both of these two access points would be blocked at the same time," said Jacobus. "The only fire I could see coming through would be from the south to the north, and quite frankly I don't think the (three to four acres of) wetlands (on the site) would be conducive to spreading a fire quickly. From a technical standpoint, this project is pretty well protected from a fire standpoint. I'm not a fire expert, but that's just my general opinion."
The board said they would feel more comfortable with an additional access point, which the applicant agreed to. If an agreement with the shopping center owners cannot be reached, Jacobus said another option would have to be found.
The applicants has also entered into an agreement with their neighbors, St. Stephens Episcopal Church to upgrade the entrance of the church's parking lot as well as realigning all of Roosevelt City Road, which Jacobus noted, the county has already approved.
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