Homes plan moves forward
Board
gives initial OK. Builder agrees to test land for sinkholes.
Thursday,
August 23, 2007
BY SARA
K. SATULLO
The
Express-Times
HARMONY TWP. | The township's planning
board granted preliminary approval to a proposed 315-home housing development,
an action required by a recent state Superior Court ruling.
But the board felt it won a small
victory last week when the applicant, Dowel Associates, agreed to extensive
testing on land the board fears is prone to sinkholes.
"In our view, we
accomplished something important other than just complying with the court's
order," said Lyn Paul Aaroe, the board's attorney.
The board rejected the Riverwalk housing development in December 2004 over
concerns about possible sinkhole formation from the proposed waste and water
treatment plans.
In April 2005, developer
Centex Homes and Dowel Associates sued the township. Centex later dropped out
of the suit. The May 21 court ruling forced the board to hear a revised plan
for storm water management. The board is appealing and a legal victory would
nullify preliminary approval, Aaroe said.
Aaroe said Dowel wants to handle the storm
water in detention basins and infiltration trenches filled with rocks of
various sizes. The rocks are meant to slow down the seepage of water into the
soil.
The board's engineer and
geologist were primarily concerned by the plan because of the land's bedrock,
which they believe is sinkhole prone, Aaroe said.
Dowel agreed to a board requirement that once excavation begins,
ground-penetrating radar will be used to identify suspicious areas.
If suspect areas are found,
Dowel must make test bore holes to see what type of rock is below the proposed
basins, Aaroe said.
The court ruling stated that
if Dowel's plan corrected the technical problems, then the planning board must
grant approval.
Dowel is also arguing it
does not need a special wastewater treatment permit from the state Department
of Environmental Protection, Aaroe said. The board
wants Dowel to provide written proof supporting that contention.
Dowel's suit alleged that
the board's rejection of the proposal violates a 1990 settlement that made the
town rezone the 185-acre site for the 315 units, 36 of which would fulfill
state low and moderate income housing requirements. The 1990 settlement
resulted out of Dowel's 1988 lawsuit filed under the provisions of the state
Supreme Court's