TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—A long-delayed development proposal for 14 acres off of Van Emburgh Avenue known as the American Dream Estates was reduced from 73 units to 66 units with no variances needed and will be up for its first Planning Board hearing on June 2 at 7:30 p.m. on Zoom.
The development of the Viviano tract has been a subject of debate, contention and controversy for at least two decades, and most recently a series of hearings in 2018 that ended without resolution over wastewater concerns.
The subject application for amended preliminary site plan approval, amended preliminary subdivision approval, final site plan approval and final subdivision approval is a continuation of a Planning Board public hearing commenced on Sept. 26, 2018 and last heard that Oct. 24, says the public notice, published May 23.
The project, initially approved in 2004, was stalled by previous court cases, fights over affordable housing, and wastewater concerns, plus opposition by nearby residents to high-density housing and potential stormwater runoff impacts.
Known locally as the Viviano property, at 463 Van Emburgh Ave., the proposal now includes 66 total residential units, a reduction of seven units from the initial proposal, which breaks out to 42 single-family lots and 24 townhouse lots.
Previously, the development included 73 units composed of 48 single-family buildings and 25 townhouse lots.
Since 2018, the project had been delayed over concerns related to whether to approve an on-site sanitary waste pump house and force main to transmit sanitary waste versus hooking up to an off-site gravity sewer line.
However, according to its latest proposal, an on-site pump station for sanitary waste appears best to solve the wastewater removal concerns and also avoid issues with sewer lines traversing Green Acres-funded park areas.
“The 2004 [Planning Board] approval contemplated an off-tract gravity sewer line to serve the subject property gravity sewer line was to traverse township owned parklands to a manhole in Kennedy Boulevard. Such township owned parklands are subject to the restrictions of the Green Acres program and, therefore, traversing such Green Acres parklands with a sanitary sewer line would violate NJDEP regulations. Applicant seeks an amendment to the 2004 Approval to permit an on-site pump station and force main to serve the subject property,” states the applicant public notice.
Katharina Place resident Megan Callea said that her small group, Concerned Neighbors of Washington Township, who banded together in 2018, “did as much as we could, but there’s a lot more that the town can do.” She said her group “had to fight tooth and nail for it [reduction in units] to be achieved.”
She said that had the council offered more support to their efforts, housing could have possibly been reduced by two or three more units. “At this point, all our hands are tied, We did what we could and did it the best we could.”
She agreed that other concerns may include more children in area schools and noted efforts to convert the housing to senior housing were not supported by the administration, despite their request for consideration.
Callea said she wondered if any developer would use the site plan as approved and said that most nearby homeowners had not seen drafts of preliminary and final site plans, despite the agreed-upon reduction in total units.
Callea and at least two other nearby homeowners, Diane Grimaldi and Lou Melendez, noted they had not seen final site plans either despite receiving a notification due to their homes lying within 200 feet of the development.
Pascack Press also could not find applicant documents online via a link in the public notice. The Planning Board secretary told us on May 24 that they would be online soon.
(May 26, the Planning Board link to “Prelim Final Major Site Plan” for the project was broken, though the link to wall color options was live.)
Previously, concerns were raised about a road running through the development that did not allow a turnaround for fire department or large emergency vehicles. It was not clear whether that situation had been resolved in the new application.
Melendez, a homeowner for 37 years, said he would not be surprised to have the Viviano estate sell off the development rights to a developer should the project receive approval.
He said after the Concerned Neighbors group hired an attorney and engineer to help them fight against the high-density housing, they got “some assurances in writing” regarding the density and number of lots. He said less density should mean less impact on nearby property values.
He said some residents may be concerned about impacts from school students, but he is more concerned about stopping any impacts from stormwater runoff on his property.
“I feel comfortable right now about it,” said Melendez, of the reduced density development. “I’m not happy with the density but they had a contract with the township. We wanted everything to be above board and for the township to meet its obligations to the community when a property is being developed.”
He repeated that his biggest concern was potential stormwater runoff and impacts. He said that local officials should monitor any development closely and to also make sure it adheres to stormwater management regulations. He urged local officials to “be transparent” about the progress of any development on site.
Grimaldi said though she agreed on a settlement with the property owner she was “not happy” as she is still getting two houses next to her property and losing about five feet of frontage to the new development.
Earlier this year, the Viviano tract’s farmland assessment status (approved in 2019) that dramatically reduced its property taxes came under fire after tax refund payments were on the council’s consent agenda.
Recently, a resolution was worked out between local officials and Viviano/Tomaron Inc. According to state agriculture department rules, if a property under farmland-assessment is developed, the current and prior two years property taxes must be repaid in full.
The public notice is posted at njpublicnotices.com.
We are working to get a copy of the residents’ settlement agreement.