HOWELL – Members of the Howell Township Zoning Board unanimously voted to approve construction of a warehouse on Fairfield Road.
Fairfield Road runs between Route 524 (Adelphia Road) and Route 33 in Howell.
At the February 14 meeting, Chairman Wendell Nanson, Richard Mertens, James Moretti, Matthew Hughes, Jose Orozco, Paul Sayah and Glenn Cantor voted “yes” on a motion to approve the site plan.
The application was filed by AAFFHW Property LLC as applicant and Rock Solid Realty (NJ CORP) as owner. According to the proposal, they are seeking preliminary and final major site plan approval to construct a 368,050-square-foot warehouse with office space on Fairfield Road.
Site improvements include a parking lot, stormwater infrastructure, new utility connections, lighting and landscaping.
In 2020, Zoning Board members granted a use variance and preliminary major site plan approval to the applicant for the proposed project.
During the meeting, Attorney Kenneth Pape represented the applicant. Previously, Pape stated how the owner/applicant came before the zoning board in 2011 and requested a use variance to construct a solar energy project at the location, to which a 17-megawatt solar energy facility was approved.
“The approval process was complicated and went through state agencies, which reduced the solar farm from 17 megawatts to 10 megawatts. That was a fairly typical experience in 2011 and 2012. I am told it was a response from the state to the very large solar farms that were coming online,” Pape said.
New site plans now include stream buffers, a sewer line reaching all the way to Adelphia Road and improvements to the Route 33 intersection.
“When we presented this application to the board on prior occasions, the board considered the application and proposed conditions that were beneficial to the community on this applicant. Those included the (State Department of Transportation) permits to reconstruct Fairfield/Route 33 intersection, the extension of water lines, design and extension of sewer for the region and the resurfacing of Fairfield Road,” Pape said.
It was also noted by the Environmental Commission that the area is a disturbed site with not much life as far as woodlands.
“Most of the trees on the site are invasive. I requested that they remove invasion species out there when construction begins. But they are planting approximately 275 trees which equals almost 2.5 acres,” Tree Expert Shari Spero said.
