HARRISON TWP. — A major townhome development for the congested Route 322/Swedesboro Road corridor is back to the design table after decisively failing its first review by planning officials.
Members of the Harrison Township Joint Land Use Board on Thursday night unanimously rejected a subdivision design for King Court at Mullica Hill. Comments from Chairman Walter Bright, just ahead of the vote, signaled that developer D.R. Horton Inc. had disappointed members.
Bright noted that the project needed, in addition to other zoning code indulgences, a total of 324 variances to proceed.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think they said (claimed) a ‘hardship’ on the variances,” Bright said, scoffing. “I mean, it’s not my belief. They just asked for the 324 variances.”
Board member Dennis Chambers noted the importance of the project to Harrison. King Court was put together so the township could meet its legal obligations to provide adequate affordable housing.
“And I’ve never seen a project of this magnitude come before us before ... engagement with the town to see how it could be planned out in a positive way that would work for everybody,” Chambers said. “We didn’t have that.
"This application just came before us, and here we are.”
How different can 'affordable' housing be?
Earlier in the meeting, Bright asked witnesses about design differences between units built as “affordable” and those for sale at market rates. He suggested that the affordable unit component was “inclusionary” and “integrated” more in name than in reality.
“You don’t notice it when you first look at it,” Bright said. “But then you look at a little harder. You see that those guys don’t have driveways. On trash day, those guys don’t have trash cans out. These houses don’t have garages.
"They aren’t inclusionary. They’re separate.”
Tiffany Morrissey, a planner for the project, defended its design as meeting New Jersey statutory guidelines.
“Now, ‘integrated’ does not mean ‘look alike,’” Morrissey said. “It doesn’t mean ‘exactly the same.’ It means to put it in with all of the other units.
"So, here, we have affordable units spread out throughout the development. They are integrated into the overall development.”
Before casting his vote, Bright indicated that he didn't accept Morrissey’s opinion.
D.R. Horton representatives left the hearing room without comment immediately after the vote.
Scope of plan agitated residents
The review of the first subdivision design took two board meetings and more than six hours of testimony. Board members and residents, out in numbers on Thursday, expressed concerned about traffic congestion and safety.
King Court is proposed as 508 townhouses, a mix of affordable and market rate units. The townhomes would occupy approximately 57 acres of Visalli Farm at 140 Swedesboro Road.
According to testimony, there would be approximately 1,650 residents, with perhaps 1,000 vehicles. Gloucester County officials are insisting on road connections with existing neighborhoods.
Eleven residents testified against the project, largely objecting to the traffic situation. Another factor is that county officials are opposing the creation a signal-controlled intersection for King Court that developer experts said is crucial.
Bill Zorzanello, a resident of Windsor Road in the Leigh Court development, said he had collected more than 100 signatures from neighbors opposing the project.
Zorzanello said the main issue is safety for the hundreds of children in the development.
“To have as many ... as 1,500 cars have access to Windsor Road? It’s only a matter of time before the worst-case scenario occurs,” Zorzanello said.
Steve Simmons, another Windsor Road resident, agreed.
“Our roadway, Windsor Road, already is challenged because people are parking on both sides,” Simmons said. “And even if they’re parking on one side, it’s hard for two cars to pass. So, an increased amount of volume is just going to increase the likelihood of problems to occur. There is, oftentimes, a single pathway to travel all of Windsor Road.”
David Connelly, a Canterbury Drive resident, said the project would destroy Leigh Court.
“That’s what I feel like,” Connelly said.
Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.
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