Breton Woods Neighbors, Town Urge Developer To Not Cut Down All Trees

BRICK, NJ — The 30-acre parcel where a developer has proposed to build 59 homes in the Breton Woods section of Brick would be clear-cut over a 30-day stretch to make way for the homes, the developer's attorney said Monday night.

And D.R. Horton will not agree to create a conservation easement or a pocket park on the property to preserve some of the forest, said John Giunco, the attorney for D.R. Horton.

"The plan we are proposing meets the requirements of the ordinance," Giunco said.

The hearing Monday night on the proposal for the 59-home development "The Havens at Metedeconk" focused on the environmental report on the parcel, which is off Laurel Avenue.

The next hearing, set for 7 p.m. June 20 at the Civic Center, 270 Chambers Bridge Road, is anticipated to focus on the engineering report.

The property, currently owned by the Church of the Visitation, does not have wetlands on the property and does not lie in a flood zone as defined by the Federal Emergency Management Association, said Kristin Wildman, the environmental specialist who testified for D.R. Horton.

Because it does not have wetlands and because the proposal is for fewer than 75 homes, the project does not need a review under Coastal Area Facilities Review Act rules, Wildman said.

Instead the rules that apply require the developer to catalog the species of plants, trees and animals that live on the property. Surveying for possible threatened and endangered species also is required, but only for those where the habitat within a mile of the site suggests they could live at the property, Wildman said.

Wildman said the clear-cutting of the site would take place over 30 days, with 1 acre of trees being cleared per day. She did not have a total number on how many trees would be removed, as they were not required to take a count of how many exist on the parcel. The application includes the addition of roughly 1,100 trees and bushes to make up for what would be cleared from the property.

Several residents questioned Wildman's conclusions in her report, which were based on three or four trips by Wildman and her staff to review the site.

Bald eagles, which have been seen in the area, have not been seen at the property, she said in response to several questions.

The habitat of the Breton Woods parcel was "not suitable foraging habitat," Wildman said, drawing mumbles of disagreement from the audience, which filled most of the seats in the auditorium at the Civic Center.

Also discussed were Eastern box turtles, which are listed as a species of concern in New Jersey, meaning there is some evidence that its population is declining. Wildman said she didn't see any on the parcel and did not believe it was favorable habitat because of what she said was evidence of ATV use on the site.

Under questioning after residents said they had seen the turtles, Wildman said that while she didn't see any and did not think it was likely there were Eastern box turtles on the property, it was still possible they were present.

Development restrictions under the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection only apply to threatened and endangered species that are found to be present on a particular parcel of land.

Residents disputed Wildman's report that ATVs have been used on the site, saying they have never heard them in the decades they have lived next to the site.

The confirmation that the property would be clear-cut of all existing trees and shrubs angered residents, who expressed concerns about where the wildlife on the site would go. A multitude of animals, including deer, raccoons, foxes, opossums, birds and more were cataloged on the site, Wildman said. Under questioning, she said there are two parcels of green space nearby where the wildlife displaced from the parcel could go.

Guinco, the attorney for D.R. Horton, reiterated several times that the proposed development follows Brick Township's ordinances and state law, and would not be altered to accommodate any of the existing trees.