Marlboro neighbors don't want driveway rammed between them to reach house overlooking yards
MARLBORO - Between the homes at 18 and 20 Bartram Road is a 327-foot-long undeveloped stretch that leads to a vacant wooded area.
That could soon change, if a developer gets approval from the township. A paved driveway could slice between Gene Gendel's home and his neighbor, leading to a proposed house that would look at their backyard bedroom windows.
Suncrest Builders LLC has submitted plans to the township zoning board to build a single-family home right behind the houses on Bartram Road. The plans are before the zoning board because the house would not have any frontage on the road. The proposed house is similar in size to existing houses in the neighborhood.
The 3.21-acre lot is surrounded by the backyards of single-family homes, Marlboro Plaza and B&B Auto Sales and Towing. From the fence of 18 Bartram Road to the fence of 20 Bartram Road, where Gendel lives, is 25 feet. The proposed 15-foot paved driveway would squeeze between them on a piece of property that serves as an access path to the undeveloped lot.
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The proposed house is also located south of a site formerly subject to a state Department of Environmental Protection investigation, raising environmental, safety and privacy concerns.
Due to DEP investigation, township board planner Laura Neumann said at Tuesday's zoning board meeting she wanted more environmental studies conducted before the board votes.
The former junkyard, also known as Arky Property, was subject to a DEP investigation after a court order in 1987. According to the department’s website, drums, sludge, liquid waste, tires and other debris were dumped on the site.
From 1988 to the early 2000s, over 90 drums were found buried on the property, which contaminated the surrounding soil and ground water. The DEP found the carcinogen polychlorinated biphenyls in the soil and volatile organic compounds such as the industrial degreasing solvent trichloroethylene and fuel additive methyl tertiary-butyl ether in the groundwater.
“However, NJDEP concluded that there are no potable wells or other receptors downgradient of the site and that the volatile organic contamination in the ground water may diminish naturally through biodegradation,” the DEP website stated.
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Neumann’s concern was that environmental issues from the former junkyard could also have impacted the current site, where more drums and car parts were found.
The developer’s environmental expert, Eric Hoffmann, said a soil vapor test was conducted and that the groundwater “shouldn’t be impacted by redevelopment.”
Neumann said the township’s ordinance requires “site investigation and soil sampling to be provided.”
“So, given the nature of the questions and comments we have, I think it’s prudent that we have that information,” she said.
According to the developer’s attorney Kenneth Pape, the house will be built to sell. He said the developer is willing to restrict the property so that it cannot be subdivided for more houses to be built in the future. While much of the neighborhood was built in the 1990s, 18 and 20 Bartram Road were built in the mid 2010s.
About 15 neighbors and family members came to Tuesday’s meeting and expressed safety and privacy concerns.
Gendel, who lives next door to the proposed driveway, said he was concerned about how far the house would be to the nearest fire hydrants. He said the nearest hydrant would be 700 feet away. He cited a state law that says “a hydrant shall not exceed 400 feet when measured along the street right-of-way.”
Gendel said he used to work as an EMT in New York City and he believes the driveway is too narrow for fire trucks to travel up and down safely.
“In the event of a fire, only a single fire engine will be able to squeeze through the driveway,” he said. “In order to get the job done and save lives, firemen will crush and tear down any obstacles that are in their way.”
He said that he was afraid that in an emergency situation, either his neighbor’s or his own property would be damaged as emergency vehicles rush to get to the proposed house.
Board chair Michael Shapiro asked that the developer meet with township fire officials to discuss the safety concerns.
The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Marlboro Town Hall.
Olivia Liu is a reporter covering transportation, Red Bank and western Monmouth County. She can be reached at oliu@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Marlboro neighbors fight proposed driveway between their homes
