Board carries Clove Road hearing over to April 26

WANTAGE-Residents of Old Clove Road came to the Wantage Land Use Board meeting prepared to fight to stop the construction of 26 homes at the end of their picturesque road, only to find out they would have to come back again on April 26. Instead of holding the expected public hearing on the plan Tuesday night, the board voted to carry the final public discussion of the application by Forum Homes to build along the dead-end road. In 2003, Forum Homes applied for a 39-home subdivision of property located on Old Clove Road. After three hearings before the Land Use Board, the township granted preliminary approval for 24 homes with the stipulation that a buffer of 50-plus acres on either side of the Papakating Creek, which runs near the proposed development, would not be preserved as open space. This preliminary approval was granted in October of 2003. Forum Homes sued soon thereafter, claiming that they never agreed to the Open Space stipulation. The developer won a court order to have its application reheard before the current board on Feb. 15. At the February meeting, a group of citizens led by Old Clove Road resident Therese Mattil expressed serious concern over several issues that directly impact life on Old Clove Road. Mattil claims that additional school children will be a serious problem for the school district in terms of busing. Old Clove Road rises precipitously from Newman Road at a slope of nearly 18 percent. The issue of whether or not a bus could safely travel up the hill was posed to the applicant in the February meeting. The board required the applicant to determine whether or not the district would send buses up the hill at its current grade. George Papp, superintendent of Sussex-Wantage Schools, in a letter addressed to the board and dated March 15, expressed his own concern. Papp said that on March 14, he was a passenger on a district bus that performed a test run as requested by the applicant. He stated in his letter that the tail pipe of the empty bus dragged as the vehicle entered and exited the hill from Newman Road. Additionally, he noted that the width of the road is not sufficient for a school bus to pass without interfering with oncoming traffic. The dead-end road has a small turnaround, which is unimproved. This, he said, was unsatisfactory for district buses in terms of size and material. "So that means that sidewalks need to be installed and a waiting area designated for the kids, and there are many problems with that," Mattil said. Tuesday's meeting was anticipated to be another chance for the residents to address their concerns about the development and its effect on their lives. Due to legal restraints, however, discussion was limited to only one issue - installation of the sidewalks. The applicant has offered to install sidewalks to allow students to safely walk from the homes at the top of the hill down to the intersection with Newman Road. The attorney for the applicant, William Strasser of Strasser and Associates in Paramus, repeatedly stated that all other issues, whether in the township engineer's report or matters discussed publicly at the February meeting, were not, by court order, to be discussed further. The only issue that is still debatable is the issue of the sidewalks. James Smith, the chairman of the land use board, also addressed concerns after reading Papp's letter to the assembly of more than 20 people. "I question the congregation of students at the bottom of that hill, and parents have a fear of their children waiting in a specific spot like that." Smith said. "And who is going to maintain the sidewalks? The engineer needs to address the hill in a different format." Newman Road connects Route 628 with Newton Avenue in Sussex and is often a preferred shortcut for people traveling from Branchville or Beemerville to Sussex. Mattil and her group of residents were disheartened by the evening's developments. "We were expecting the developer to show us their plans," she said. "We thought we would be granted the opportunity to respond, but they didn't let us. We've been preparing for this meeting for a month, but now we'll have to wait." Though April 26 will be clearly marked on the calendars of the residents of Old Clove Road, the date falls squarely in the middle of local schools' spring recess, when many families plan to be away on vacation. "We are devastated," Mattil said. The group plans to send as many representatives as it can, but Mattil will not be able to attend.