Hillsborough: Developer says warehouse will not worsen neighborhood flooding
HILLSBOROUGH - The construction of a warehouse on a Harvard Way cul-de-sac will not worsen neighborhood drainage problems, the developer has told the township planning board.
The board will continue hearing the proposal of Harvard Way JMJ4 LLC, of Westfield, to build a 107,366-square-foot warehouse on Jan. 13.
The stormwater runoff from the property "will be less than what it is today," said Greg Redington, owner of Harvard Way JMJ4 LLC and president of REDCOM Design & Construction, the contract purchaser of the 9-acre site.
Michael O'Grodnick, attorney for the developer, said that an existing detention basin on the property will be "substantially" expanded "far beyond what is required."
The size of the basin was increased after the proposal was reviewed by the township environmental commission in wake of the flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on Sept. 1.
Redington, president of REDCOM Design & Construction, testified it is a "unique" industrially-zone property on a cul-de-sac close to a highway.
Harvard Way is a block-long road off Campus Drive where a 96-unit apartment development was opposed by neighboring property owners on Johanson Avenue who said the project would worsen flooding on their street.
When that proposal was rejected by the planning board, the developer, Weiss Properties, appealed in Superior Court. Judge Kevin Shanahan granted the appeal ruling that the township violated its affordable housing agreement.
The planning board then approved the project.
O'Grodnick said the warehouse will be built on speculation and there is no signed tenant.
The property was subdivided in 1988, O'Groldnick said, but the property has remained vacant.
The warehouse is proposed for vacant land just south of an existing office building. Warehouses are a permitted use for the site.
More: Hillsborough neighbors raising funds to fight warehouse, apartments
Campus Drive will serve as the primary access to Route 206 for the warehouse. Sixteen loading docks are proposed.
The project has drawn opposition from the adjacent Green Hills neighborhood where the residents' nonprofit organization have hired a lawyer to oppose the plan.
The Green Hill community on Johanson Avenue was inundated by floodwaters in the Hurricane Ida flood.
Jordan Asch, the attorney representing the neighbors, said the proposal would add to the amount of impervious surface on the property and increase the amount of stormwater runoff.
The proposal calls for 45% of the lot to be covered, while the township ordinance allows a maximum of 65%.
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: Developer says warehouse will not worsen flooding
