Stormwater Plans For Breton Woods Tract Debated In Brick

BRICK, NJ — Stormwater management designs were a point of friction Monday night on a proposal for 59 homes on a 30-acre parcel in the Breton Woods section of Brick.

The Brick Township Planning Board hearing on the proposal by D.R. Horton to construct the four- and five-bedroom homes on the parcel off Laurel Avenue was continued to July 18, and is anticipated to pick up with questions from residents about the stormwater plans that were presented Monday.

Those plans were questioned intensively by Brian Boccanfuso, the engineer for the Brick Township planning board, leading to several points of disagreement.

Boccanfuso said the plans for stormwater infiltration basins on the site had not been changed despite discussions between Leanne Hoffman, the engineer for D.R. Horton, and Elissa Commins, Brick Township's engineer.

The plans call for basins with what Commins has said is a steep embankment that requires a way for someone to be able to climb out if they fall in, a point Boccanfuso reiterated Monday.

Hoffman said she disagrees with how Commins is defining the basins, saying they are holes, not embankments. Boccanfuso said the dispute over the definition will need to be worked out, because Commins has said she will not sign off on a design waiver for the basins.

Boccanfuso also again questioned plans to use porous pavement on the development's roads. D.R. Horton has said it would turn over maintenance of the roads to Brick Township, which Boccanfuso said comes at a significant expense for the township.

Hoffman and John Giunco, the attorney for D.R. Horton, argued the porous pavement meets the requirements of the township's stormwater management plan and also meets the requirements of the town's ordinances and state regulations for residential developments, referred to as RSIS.

Boccanfuso said he believes the porous pavement does not comply with Brick's ordinances.

D.R. Horton presented testimony from James Ward, a geologist licensed in Pennsylvania, on soil conditions and the water table at the site. Ward said the sandy soil is ideal for water infiltration after a storm, and that compacting that would be caused by heavy equipment would not significantly reduce that ability.

Ward also said test wells dug at the site found the water table as shallow as 9-1/2 feet below ground.

The July 18 hearing will be at 7 p.m. at Civic Plaza, 270 Chambers Bridge Road.

Note: This article has been updated to correct the date of the next hearing. Patch regrets the error.