Hillsborough warehouse plan has neighbors worried about potential flooding
HILLSBOROUGH – The township Planning Board will continue a public hearing on a proposal to build two warehouses on Homestead Road just east of the Route 206 bypass on Oct. 6.
At Thursday's board meeting, neighborhood residents continued to cross-examine the project's engineer, Michael Ford, about stormwater management and buffers.
Homestead Road LLC, of Boca Raton, Florida, owned by Boca Raton resident Eric Greif, has proposed two warehouses – one 368,995 square feet and the other 168,304 square feet – and a 6,000-square-foot office building on vacant land. The warehouses would be the size of nine football fields.
The 88.45-acre property is owned by Mid-State Industrial Park, of Cranbury.
Michael O'Grodnick, attorney for the developer, said he will present testimony from a professional planner, a traffic engineer and an architect at future meetings.
Neighbors questioned Ford about the potential for more flooding in the neighborhood.
"Our area has seen unprecedented flooding, especially after Ida," said White Meadow Road resident Scott Gross. "Me and my neighbors have seen flooding we've never seen before."
Gross said the development poses an "undue risk" to the area.
Ford said the proposed stormwater management plan complies with township and state standards.
Earlier:Hillsborough warehouse plan opposed by environmental group
Ford explained that the plan is consistent with current state Department of Environmental Protection's regulations, though the DEP is in the process of developing stricter updated stormwater standards.
"The new numbers aren't the new numbers yet," he said.
Fairfield Lane resident Brian Tarantino told the board that he was worried about the line of sight from his home to the warehouse.
"What we have to live with is this eyesore in our back windows," he said.
Ford said the buffering and landscaping in the proposal meet the requirements of the township zoning ordinance.
He said neighbors may see the top of the building but, because of the landscaping, they will not be able to see the activity on the site.
O'Grodnick previously said the warehouses are being built on speculation and no tenants have been signed.
"There is no Amazon," he previously told the Planning Board.
O'Grodnick said warehouses are a permitted use in the zone and the plan "complies with nearly every standard" in the township zoning ordinance.
Royce Brook flows through the northern part of the lot.
The larger warehouse would have 60 loading docks, spaces for 150 trailers and 188 other parking spaces. The smaller warehouse would have 30 loading docks, parking for 62 trailers and 96 other parking spaces.
The developer's fiscal analysis found that the project could yield more than $1.1 million in property tax revenue per year, with $951,261 of that money going directly to the school district.
The report also determined that the development would employ about 237 workers. The cost to supply municipal services would annually be $24,648, which means the municipality through property taxes would net $140,000. Somerset County would receive $247,730 in property tax revenue.
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 today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Hillsborough warehouse plan: Neighbors worried for potential flooding
