174 New Homes Proposed In Hillsborough, Residents Worry About Flooding Impact

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Hillsborough residents expressed concerns over flooding as 174 homes are being proposed to be built on a township golf course.

The Hillsborough Planning Board heard testimony from Toll Brothers' architect and stormwater management plans at its Feb. 3 meeting.

Toll Brothers is proposing to build 174 single-family detached dwelling units at the site off Hamilton Road. This is part of an agreement reached in 2021 by the Hillsborough Township, Toll Brothers and Royce Brook Golf Club, to help with the township's affordable housing quota.

As part of the agreement, Toll Brothers will contribute about $5 million to the township's affordable housing fund. This will be used to fund affordable housing development in the township which equates to about 42 affordable housing units, according to mycentraljersey.com.

However, the planning board still needs to sign off on the project.

The homes will range in several models in two collections. In one collection the homes will range in size from 3,000 square feet to upwards of 3,300 square feet. They will all have 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bath with some having the option for a 5th bedroom.

The second collection is larger with 3,600 square feet of homes to up to and above 4,700 square feet. These homes will also have 4 bedroom and 3.5 to 4.5 baths.

All of the homes will have 2-car garages and full basements.

The meeting lasted roughly three hours with two hours of the meeting focused on residents questioning flooding and drainage impacts in the town.

Residents were most concerned following Hurricane Ida in September 2021 which wreaked havoc on the area.

During the storm, multiple homes flooded and Hillsborough Police responded to multiple water rescues of residents whose vehicles became disabled in quickly rising floodwaters. Two vehicles in separate locations were also found with the drivers dead inside. Read More: 4 Killed In Hillsborough, Bridgewater During Ida Flooding

"I don't want to be flooded out. I want to be happily retired in my ranch house," said Tim Veracco at the meeting whose home on Franklin Drive is near the project.

He noted that the brook behind his house had 15 feet of water at one point.

"It's nothing new, it's just getting worse," said Veracco.

To mitigate water issues, Toll Brothers' presented a plan that includes 25 stormwater management facilities consisting of four wet ponds for stormwater quantity control and 21 small-scale bioretention systems for stormwater quality and quantity control.

The stormwater management plan must be approved by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

The meeting will be carried to March 3 where Toll Brothers will have their final witness testify - a traffic engineer. Afterward, the public will have a chance to comment on that testimony before the floor will be opened up to comments from the public on the project as a whole.

Then the planning board will take a vote on the project.

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