Planners hear more on 135-acre development

FRANKLIN—It will require one more meeting to determine whether or not the planning board will agree to recommend a zoning change on a 135-acre parcel of land in the borough's south-central region. After hearing testimony on both traffic and economic issues, last week's planning board meeting ended with both sides agreeing to return on Oct. 17, at which time Beazer Homes, a Tennessee-based building firm, will present a "site suitability analysis" and also further engineering reports. Beazer has asked the planning board to approve a zoning change for the land that is made up of two adjoining lots, located close to Ogdensburg and owned individually by Enterprise Realty and Indian Ridge at Franklin. If approved, the zoning would be changed from its current designation of R-1 residential, or one unit per three acres, to a higher-density status that would enable Beazer to build a 243 units of age-restricted housing along with 30 units set aside under the state's Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) requirements. Of those 30 COAH units, only about half would be under age restrictions. As proposed, the higher density would allow for 3.9 units per acre for only about 35 acres, leaving better than 80 percent of the property as open space. There would be either nine or 10 buildings of 27 units each. The proposal is seen as an attempted compromise to a lawsuit filed in April by Beazer in conjunction with Indian Ridge, claiming that the company's "vested rights" had been bypassed by an earlier rezoning. The suit wants the zoning to revert to what it was earlier, along with unspecified compensatory damages. Originally, a 350-unit townhouse/condominium project was approved by the planning board there in 1987, but after minor preliminary work, including the placing of two water wells on the center of the property, the work stalled for about 10 years because the company never presented a final site plan, a borough official said. And when the borough passed its new master plan in 2004 and rezoned the land, further complications arose. At about that time, Indian Ridge pared its original proposal of 350 units down to 200. After that, a 297-unit project was presented, with the final figures worked down to 243 instead. "They didn't get it done in time to beat the master plan approval," explained mayor Doug Kistle. "So as a result, they basically sat on it until this year, and then they came back with the Beazer group, who is a serious builder for going in there and backing them (Indian Ridge) up." The borough also wants a third backup well installed so that the other two can operate at full capacity, in accordance with state regulations. The two wells presently serve as the borough's main water supply, with the Franklin Pond classified as the official backup. "What we're here trying to present is a compromise from the 350 units," Beazer attorney Donald R. Daines told the planning board. One of the biggest issues concerned how traffic at the Route 23/517 intersection would be affected by the project, especially during peak hours in the morning and afternoon. According to Eric L. Keller, Beazer's traffic engineer, the project's traffic impact at that location would be minimal. Another key issue concerns economic benefits, which would involve a tax ratable base that includes demographical outlay. Since the project would consist of homes under age-restricted status, Beazer contends that there will be little, if any, real impact on the amount of property/school taxes borough residents pay. According to information from Richard B. Reading, Beazer's market and economic expert, "the proposed new homes would represent an estimated assessed value of $1,785,200." Under those figures, the money, after being split among the borough, the town elementary and Wallkill Valley Regional High School districts, as well as the county, would leave the town's share of tax revenue at about $500,000—which, after expenses could result into a town surplus of $327,000 yearly, Kistle said. Even if the planning board agrees to the Beazer/Indian Ridge rezoning request, however, it alone does not have the final say, others warn. "If you say no, the governing body still governs the municipality," stated planning board attorney Glenn Gavan. "They don't have to listen to you."