Controversial Warehouse Raises Flooding Concerns In Hillsborough

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — A proposed application to build a 107,366 square foot warehouse in the township will continue to be heard before the Hillsborough Planning Board on Thursday night. Residents in the area have voiced concerns over flooding issues associated with the development.

"Every time it rains really hard we think our houses are going to go underwater… We need to fix the problem before we build anymore. We have a major problem. The water is not flowing into the Raritan River. We keep telling you that. And we keep coming in front of this committee and you keep approving more and more," said John Tutunijian to the planning board during its March 10 meeting.

Tutunijian lives in the Green Hills Community, which borders the proposed warehouse.

The warehouse proposed by the applicant, Harvard Way JMJ4, LLC (Redcom / SAI), will be located at the end of Harvard Way off Route 206. A cul-de-sac would also be constructed along with up to 42 parking spaces and 16 loading spaces.

The warehouse is roughly the size of 2.3 acres and the entire project would require 421 trees to be cut down.

The application is seeking two variances and seven waivers including one to make the warehouse 38.4 feet tall versus the 35 feet allowed.

The Thursday meeting will be the fourth hearing on the project since it was first applied for in January 2021. At the previous meetings, the applicant shared a traffic study, and reports from a civil engineer and architect.

A group of neighbors on Johanson Avenue, who are opposed to the project due to flooding concerns, have hired a stormwater engineer to speak at the Thursday meeting.

The neighbors have also hired an attorney to represent them in their cause to stop this development. Those same neighbors were flooded during Tropical Storm Ida.

Tutunijian noted that if this project moves forward it will continue to have serious consequences for neighbors.

"Our whole backend of Johanson [Avenue] will be underwater. That's what is going to happen, I know it's gonna happen. We have to fix this before we let more building go on," said Tutunijian.

The Hillsborough Township Planning Board meeting will be held 7:30 p.m., in the Courtroom of the Municipal Complex, The Peter J. Biondi Building, 379 S Branch Rd.

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