Breton Woods Homes Hearing Continued Yet Again In Brick

BRICK, NJ — The hearing on the proposal to build 59 homes on 30 acres in the Breton Woods neighborhood is continuing to yet another meeting of the Brick Township Planning Board.

The hearing was continued Monday night after nearly three hours of testimony from experts for a group of residents who oppose the application by D.R. Horton to build the homes on a parcel of land that belongs to Visitation Roman Catholic Church.

The church has a pending sale to the developer for the property it had once planned to turn into a cemetery.

On Monday night, Geoffrey Goll of Princeton Hydro testified about issues with pervious pavement — a type of surface used to help rainwater soak into the ground, reducing runoff.

Goll also said he has never seen a road designed with 100 percent pervious pavement, and said there are other ways to deal with an abundance of rainwater.

Carlos Rodrigues, a planner and civil engineer from Design Solutions for a Crowded Planet, testified about the design of the project, saying it showed little regard for the environment as it jammed as many homes as possible into the space.

"It shows a lack of respect for the environment I find stunning," Rodrigues said. "Their holy grail is to occupy every inch of the site," which he called detrimental because of the plan to clearcut the trees on the site.

Rodrigues contended D.R. Horton hadn't followed all the rules, citing a lack of a count on the number of trees on the site, something he insisted is required.

John Giunco, the attorney for D.R. Horton, said he plans to have rebuttal testimony when the hearing resumes in December, and is hopeful of wrapping up the case and getting to public comment and a vote before the end of 2022.

"We don't want to start all over," he said.

The next hearing is set for 7 p.m. on Dec. 12 at Civic Plaza, 270 Chambers Bridge Road.