24 New Homes Planned For Bayville Behind Catholic Church

BAYVILLE, NJ — A neighborhood of 24 new homes is planned for a portion of church-owned land in Bayville, and neighbors of the proposed development said it would damage the wildlife and harm their quality of life.

In a nearly two-and-a-half hour hearing, the close-knit community of residents that live on the neighboring roads of Pelican Drive, Park Avenue and others came out to a recent Planning Board meeting to voice their opposition.

After a lengthy discussion, the Planning Board voted unanimously to approve the development, including everything that had been mentioned on the record.

Island Heights-based developer Arya Properties wants to build 24 single family homes and a stormwater basin lot on a planned cul-de-sac behind St. Barnabas Church off of Atlantic City Boulevard. The property is church-owned and currently home to trees and a variety of wildlife, according to residents in the area.

The overall lot is just under 45 and a half acres, setting two houses per acre. The homes will be two-story houses between 2,600 and 3,600 square feet depending on the model. The larger model, called the Cambridge model, ranges from 3,200 to 3,600 square feet with four or five bedrooms - four bedrooms on the second floor and an office on the first floor that could be a bedroom. Engineer Matthew Wilder said he expects this to be the main model used.

The other model is called the Whittington model, a slightly smaller home at 2,600 to 3,000 square feet with four bedrooms.

Originally proposed was a 96-unit apartment building on the property, which changed after the area was rezoned to allow only single family dwellings.

Arya Properties is also developing homes across the street on Route 9, which have contacts in excess of $700K, the developer said.

The developers are asking for a variance for the basin lot, that sits on more than four acres of "nonbuildable" land, asking for 40 foot frontage where 75 feet is required. The lot consists of three small stormwater basins that will be maintained by a homeowners association.

Developers are also asking for waivers to provide passive and active recreation areas, as Bayville Park is only 800 feet away from the furthest house. Mallard Park is also a little more than a mile away. The lots themselves range from 9,000 to 14,000 square feet, so homeowners can place swingsets, pools and other forms of recreation on their own property, Wilder said.

As these homes are in the middle of existing houses, the attorney representing the developer, John Doyle, called the new development not a change, but a complement.

"We think this is an appropriate place to build homes and elevate their neighborhood," Doyle said.

However, the neighbors disagreed.

The development was called "atrocious at the least," by Susan Weigman, who said she has lived in Bayville for more than 48 years, and opposed to the development occurring in her backyard.

"It's an abomination," she said, citing many issues with the project, including increased traffic, the destruction of nature and a proposed extension to Korman Road, which she said there was "no reason" to open up. It currently is a dead end road.

These issues were repeated by many other nearby residents.

"It's going to ruin the whole area," one said. Neighbors shared how they loved watching the nearby wildlife and expressed concerns about the impact of traffic, though traffic expert Scott Kennel projected "minimal impact."

Board member Vincent Dechiaro sarcastically remarked that he had "never seen a development that's going to have a negative impact on traffic."

Doug Bowens, who currently is a member of the Berkeley Township Board of Education, voiced concerns about the students. The district is almost at max capacity, he said, and students would be zoned for Bayville School - the smallest school in the district. It would affect education quality and services provided, Bowens said.

Greg McGuckin, the Board's attorney, said that impact on schools could not be considered, as it violates the Fair Housing Act.

The developer's attorney Doyle that "these are beautiful homes that are going to contribute to the neighborhood."

"You want to put a sign out: Berkeley Township is closed for business," Doyle said, which the audience agreed with.

"While tears can be shed that the trees will come down," he said. "There is not a factual, legal reason to deny this application."

Planning Board member and Township Administrator John Camera said that the township works to preserve hundreds of acres of land, "but it just can't always work out."

"We obviously cannot preserve all of the open space in Berkeley, as hard as we try," Camera said.

Addressing fears of children's safety as it is in the walking zone for Bayville School, the Board got Arya Properties to agree to extend their planned sidewalk for the development out on Korman Road and down to Park Avenue.

Before voting, Dechiaro mentioned that he did not think anyone was necessarily opposed to development, but it was a "fact of life" that traffic has a negative impact.

"I think we can do a better job of planning for a better development with better traffic solutions than relying on what was done 15 years ago," he said.

Chairman Nick Mackres thanked everyone for coming out.

"I've never seen so many neighbors all come together," he said. "It's very nice to see that."