Hillsborough controversial warehouse plan hits environmental snag
HILLSBOROUGH – The planning board hearing on a controversial proposal to build two warehouses on Homestead Road will continue in December after questions were raised about possible environmental problems at the site.
The hearing on Homestead Road LLC's plan to build two warehouses totaling 537,297 square feet on Homestead Road between the Route 206 bypass and Willow Road was scheduled to continue Thursday, but the developer asked for an adjournment to address the environmental issue.
In a letter to Michael O'Grodnick, attorney for Homestead Road LLC, Planning Board Attorney Eric Bernstein said the developer must address the environmental issues before additional testimony on the application can be given.
"The Board is entitled to have this testimony," Bernstein wrote in an Oct. 5 letter.
The environmental issue arose when David Kois, the township's deputy zoning official, visited the site on Aug. 17 and found disturbances of "critical areas" of wetlands and a stream corridor.
Also see:Warehouse proposals in Hillsborough exceed 1 million square feet
According to a Sept. 21 memo to Bernstein, Kois also discovered several large trees had been cut down, an inoperable school bus, debris and trash on the property owned by Mid-State Industrial Park.
After Kois' visit to the site, the potential disturbance of wetlands and stream encroachment was reported to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
In the Sept. 21 memo, Kois said he met with the farmer who cultivates the site. The farmer told him about "disturbing past practices" on the property that included food waste with garbage deposited throughout the site.
O'Grodnick responded to Bernstein on Oct. 3 that the issue of the farmer plowing the field for winter crops was a "red herring." He said the DEP has "sole jurisdiction" over the issue and the township Planning Board does not have "the expertise or jurisdiction" to deal with the issue.
He also said the issue is "beyond the control" of Homestead Road LLC, which is not the property owner, but only the contract purchaser.
The Homestead Road project is one of several applications before the Planning Board to build 1 million square feet of warehouses in Hillsborough.
Nearly 2,000 people have signed an online petition opposing the proposal by Homestead Road LLC to build the warehouses.
A group, Stop Warehouses and Trucks, was formed to oppose the project, but the group's mission has expanded to opposing other warehouse proposals at 279 Homestead Road, 303 Amwell Road, Harvard Way and 1170 Millstone River Road.
On Thursday the Planning Board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the Harvard Way proposal.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Hillsborough NJ warehouse plan hits environmental snag
