MONROE TOWNSHIP — Housing on an old orchard property singled out for development more than two decades ago now has a key local planning approval, despite renewed opposition from residents over its traffic and environmental impacts.
Smithfield Estates would be 349 units of single-family housing — with 177 units to be age restricted — to be built south of Glassboro Crosskeys Road and north of Route 322.
Developer Bruce Paparone Inc. has official support from Monroe Township.
Project opponent Helen Walker lives nearby on Pitman Downer Road, a house built by her grandparents and where three generations of her family grew up. This is just the latest residential development in a series that has eradicated the rural and agricultural nature of the area, she said.
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"Every bit of trees, every bit of woods, every bit of orchards has been ripped down, slowly but surely, since I was a teenager. They’ve destroyed our whole way of life here.”
Tony Dalessandro, also of Pitman Downer Road, worries about increased stormwater runoff problems when the property is landscaped and built on. Contaminants entering groundwater also is a concern given the long use of chemicals when the orchard was in operation, he said.
“(My) concern is a water problem here … and the radium that all our wells failed for on Rex Avenue and Pitman Downer (Road),” Dalessandro said. “They’re not even worried about us. They’re worried about that new development, to get their fresh water, city water. We haven’t drank our water here in 20 years because of this farm. Now, what’s going to happen?”
Monroe, neighbors on opposing sides about Estates
Walker and Young were among residents who came out for a special Planning Board hearing on Dec. 14 to review a request to approve a subdivision plan.
The board approved the concept, which is similar to one Monroe came up with itself, with one dissenting vote. The approximately 147 acres will be cut into 349 housing lots as well as several commercial use lots.
It could be another year or more before actual designs plans are ready for local review due to the number of county and state agencies that need to look over the concept, according to developer Bruce Paparone.
“The project is a good one because we are really working with the township on it,” Paparone said, adding that the township itself pressed to include a commercial component to it.
“But we need housing,” Paparone said. “There’s a shortage. We’re not keeping up with it. This addresses that with the single-family part.”
Walker said a wave of development, some built and some not yet, has regularized traffic congestion in the area. It also has compromised traffic safety for residents and endangered wildlife by eliminating their habitats, she said.
“People are just hitting deer all over the place, left and right, over here,” she said. “Squirrels, birds, dogs, cats. I’ve seen three dead cats in the last three months on the side of the road here. The wildlife has no place to go. I have so many birds, squirrels, and chipmunks in my yard that are starving for food it’s ridiculous.”
Dalessandro and Walker direct much of their criticism toward township government’s oversight of existing development issues.
Dalessandro plans to put up for sale his house this summer. “Because I’m not going to deal with the traffic,” he said.
Monroe smooths approval path for housing development
Efforts to obtain local building approvals for Smithfield Estates include a June 2018 Zoning Board review. The board at that time denied a variance for a proposed 173 housing lots.
But in January 2022, the Township Council designated the land to be “in need of rehabilitation” as recognized under New Jersey redevelopment law. That designation made it easier to promote its development for residential and commercial use.
In July 2022, the council adopted the Orchard Drive Redevelopment Plan. One aspect of that decision was to establish new zoning criteria, replacing existing residential zoning criteria. The current development plan exactly matches the new criteria.
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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