Board talks roadwork with Woodhaven reps Hearings continue on plans for 763 homes off Texas Road BY LAUREN MATTHEW Staff Writer OLD BRIDGE — The Planning Board continued hearings last week on plans to bring 113 single-family homes, 292 townhouses and 358 multifamily homes to property near Texas Road. Testimony at the Sept. 13 meeting centered around phasing of roadwork and possible vesting for Woodhaven II, which would be built on 156 acres. “I think we’ve finally got it down to just a few issues,” said Woodhaven II attorney Ron Shimanowitz. Henry Nay, of the engineering firm Schoor DePalma, offered the board an update on traffic concerns related to the project. The board, he noted, had been concerned with “piecemeal development” in terms of roadwork. The developer will make road improvements to the intersection of Texas and Old Bridge-Englishtown roads. This will add lanes to Texas Road and widen shoulders to become turning lanes at the intersection. A curve along Texas Road will be straightened, and a traffic light will be placed on Texas Road at the intersection of a not-yet-built street. Some board members expressed concern that Texas Road will become too busy with a heavier traffic flow. “Probably, Texas Road is never going to have the [traffic] volume [Route] 516 has,” explained John Rea, a traffic consultant retained by the board. “I think we need to be realistic.” But, he cautioned, an outline of road improvements is needed. “When you close this, have a phasing plan for improvements in place as soon as possible,” he said. Rea suggested that the intersection of Texas and Old Bridge-Englishtown roads be improved first. “That intersection is the choke point right now,” he said. According to Bill Iafe, a Woodhaven II principal, roadwork can begin as soon as section two is started. “Woodhaven has no problem getting started right away,” he said. Road improvements will be made as part of the first phase of the Woodhaven II development, which will be built in three phases. Township officials reminded Iafe that all road improvements for section one must be completed before the first building permit for section two is issued. Woodhaven II representatives asked the board for the township’s help in acquiring property needed for the road improvements. At the request of Board Attorney Jeffrey Lehrer, Shimanowitz assured board members that there will be no cost to the township related to the road improvements. But, Lehrer noted, only the Township Council can acquire the land, and Township Attorney Jerome Convery would have to take the lead in that project. Lehrer said he would discuss the matter with Convery. Shimanowitz also asked the board for extended vesting in order to finish the residential component of Woodhaven II. “Texas Road itself is a four-year project,” Iafe noted. But Planning Board Chairman Lawrence Redmond did not like the idea. “This application has been in the system way too long,” he said, referring to the fact that it was first heard by the board in September 2002. “I’m just not going to saddle a future Planning Board with this problem.” “You got what you got here,” he continued. “Let’s move on.” But the vesting, according to Woodhaven II principals, might be necessary due to unforeseen delays with permitting and other issues. “We’re willing to fast-track, but you’ve got to work with us,” said board member Eugene Dunlop. “And in the two years I’ve been on this board, that hasn’t happened.” Redmond took a similar stance. “We have not approved this application yet and we’re already talking about vesting. I think we’re putting the cart before the horse,” he said. Township officials said the board must still discuss critical slope and patio home issues with the applicant before they can come to a decision. The first Woodhaven development, approved several years ago for Texas and Englishtown roads, consists of 52 single-family homes, 21 single-family cluster homes, 19 patio homes, 12 duplexes, 70 townhouses and 136 flats. The Woodhaven developer in 2004 donated 235 acres of open land near the development parcels for use as open space, a future school, community center and public library branch. Negotiations over the development and the land date back more than 15 years.