119-Unit Townhome Plan Returns To Bernards Zoning Board Thursday

BERNARDS TOWNSHIP, NJ — A proposal to tear down a largely vacant office complex on Route 202 and build 119 age-restricted townhomes goes back before the Bernards Township Zoning Board of Adjustment at a special meeting Thursday, July 16, at 7:30 p.m. at the Municipal Building.

The application, filed by 131 Morristown Road LLC, an entity of the Westfield-based Adoni Property Group, covers the 32.47-acre site at 131 Morristown Road, currently home to two connected office buildings totaling 210,294 square feet, according to a project report filed with the township.

The site sits along Route 202 near the Interstate 287 interchange, bordered by residential and recreational uses to the northwest, professional uses to the northeast, and I-287 to the south.

The applicant is seeking preliminary and final site plan approval along with bulk variances and "d" variances for use and floor area ratio, according to township meeting records. A use variance is required because townhome development is not a permitted use in the property's E-5 Office Zone.

The project has been scaled back from its original submission of 131 units; it now calls for 119 townhomes in 43 buildings, according to township filings. Attorney Donna Jennings of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, representing the applicant, told the board at an earlier session that the applicant's representatives have been in contact with neighboring residents and are willing to adjust design features to make the project more visually compatible with the area.

The proposed development would require a Bureau of Water Systems Engineering permit due to an estimated 13,545 gallons-per-day increase in water demand, and would connect to the existing water main on Morristown Road, per the project report. The applicant has also stated it does not intend to disturb any wetlands or woodlands on the site.

The case, numbered ZB25-040, was previously heard in April and carried from a May 14 session without additional public notice.

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