Holmdel Planning Board Approves Phase 1 Plans For Senior Living Community

HOLMDEL, NJ — The Holmdel Planning Board approved the first phase of plans for a senior living community set to take over the former Vonage site on 23 Main Street at a recent meeting, despite concerns raised by some community members.

The meeting, which took place at 7 p.m. in Town Hall, ran for nearly three hours as board members and residents took to the mic to ask questions, raise concerns and voice their opinions about the senior living community, called “Azura at Holmdel.”

The project applicant, 23 Main Street Urban Renewal, LLC, came before the board seeking preliminary and final site plan approvals for Phase 1 of the project, which was granted in a majority vote, though Board Member Wes Fagan voted “no” and Board Member Mike Antonacci abstained.

While the board ultimately approved plans for Phase 1 of Azura at Holmdel, there are four phases in total for the project, and the applicant will have to return to the board for final approvals of Phases 2-4.

“Normally, this Planning Board is here to resolve issues when there’s non-compliance, if there’s a matter of a variance or a waiver that’s sought, so we can come to some agreement, move forward and approve these plans,” Board Chair Scott Silberman said before the board vote on Tuesday.

“Whether I agree 100% or I don’t agree 100% with things that are said, that really should not be factoring into our decision sometimes as a board,” he continued. “Because it’s not about what we think, it’s about what the laws provide.”

Tuesday’s meeting follows a recent announcement from the Township Committee and Mayor Rocco Impreveduto about plans for wastewater treatment at the former Vonage site, where “Azura at Holmdel” will be constructed.

Instead of a previously proposed plan to upgrade and modernize the site’s existing wastewater treatment plant, Impreveduto said the town will work with the owners of the property (CHA Partners) to install an on-site force main, which will allow the development to connect to the Bell Works sewer system.

According to Impreveduto, the pipe being installed will only have the capacity to be used by Azura at Holmdel, and the force main itself will be deed-restricted, so no one else will be able to tap into it.

While the force main and sewage line are being constructed, township officials said above-ground tanks will be provided to contain waste from the site and ship it off the property.

Once the force main is viable, Applicant Attorney Karl Kemm said the existing on-site wastewater treatment facility will be decommissioned and physically removed from the site.

“This eliminates any and all environmental consideration related to that property,” Impreveduto said. “There will be no run-off, there will be no spray ground – nothing of that nature. It is simply a sewer system that will contain all the waste running through.”

Though the amendment to the redevelopment plan aimed to resolve community concerns about wastewater treatment plans for the site, many residents took to the floor at Tuesday night’s meeting to voice concerns they still had, and asked Planning Board members to vote “no” on the project.

• Previous Coverage: Holmdel Residents Raise Concerns Over Wastewater Treatment Plans For Senior Care Facility

Alicia Unusan, a Publicity VP with the Citizens for Informed Land Use (CILU), read a statement on behalf of the organization, which argued that the installation of sewer infrastructure at the former Vonage site will have “a profound and lasting impact on land use and environmental health.”

“Unlike septic systems, which allow water to percolate back into the ground and recharge local aquifers, sewers permanently remove water from the watershed and transport it elsewhere — ultimately discharging it into the ocean,” the statement reads. “This loss directly affects water availability for Holmdel’s reservoirs and drinking water supply.”

“Equally concerning, history has repeatedly shown that high-density development follows sewer installation, bringing increased impervious cover, non-point source pollution, and a corresponding decline in water quality,” the statement continues. “The stark contrast between development patterns along Routes 35 and 34 in Holmdel is a clear and cautionary example.”

The organization went on to suggest that instead of installing a force main and sewer connection at the site, the town could install a modern package treatment plant with an on-site leach field.

“Such a system would effectively remove contaminants from wastewater while preserving groundwater recharge, protecting the integrity of the watershed, and remaining fully consistent with Holmdel’s Master Plan and the Township’s Wastewater Management Plan,” Unusan said. “This approach would address public health concerns without compromising one of Holmdel’s most environmentally sensitive areas.”

To read CILU’s full statement, you can click here.

Kristin Celauro, a Holmdel resident whose attorney previously brought expert witnesses to the Planning Board to testify to their concerns about the Vonage redevelopment, said she’s working on legislation at the state level to “ensure nothing like this ever happens again.”

“This legislation will be complemented by an educational component that helps our children understand why not only our drinking water, but on a larger scale, the watershed is precious and needs to be actively protected,” Celauro said. “One hand feeds the other. This plan, Azura at Holmdel, is another blow in a war against our community and our right to safe, clean drinking water.”

In addition to concerns raised by residents, Board Member Wes Fagan (who voted “no” on the Phase 1 approval) also noted issues he has with the plan, including people living on-site prior to the sewer being available.

“I have a problem with the sewage being stored on site. I have a problem with calculations of pervious versus impervious coverage not being made available to us,” Fagan said. “I have a problem with no definitive answers on closing the lagoon, the timeline associated with it, and the mechanism that enables them to work – or even, who is going to work – in that conservation easement.”

Fagan went on to say that he’d be more comfortable with the applicant abandoning two NJ DEP permits that go with the land, so they can’t reactivate the on-site sewer plant, and said that he feels that there are many elements that are incomplete in the site plan.

“I could probably go through 10 things that the liability can come back to, let’s say ‘bite us,’ and leave us holding the bag for a lot of money,” Fagan said.

Though many community members raised concerns about plans for the Vonage redevelopment, some residents and board members also spoke about why they approve of the plan during Tuesday’s meeting.

Prior to the board vote, Vice Chairperson TJ Mann said he believes the Azura at Holmdel project will redevelop a “long vacant property into an economic benefit” and “provide opportunities for seniors to remain in the community they love while having the added benefit of helping Holmdel meet its affordable [housing] obligations.”

“One of the undeniable facts is that this application is fully conforming to the redevelopment plan applicable to this site,” Mann said. “Even so, we have listened carefully, asked questions and requested additional information, including voting for a site visit.”

“As part of this process, we have heard testimony from three expert witnesses testifying for an objector,” he continued. “While qualified, in my opinion, none presented facts that could justify delaying or denying the application.”

Alongside board members who approved of the application, resident Patrick Trischitta also expressed his support for Azura at Holmdel, saying the plan will turn the former Vonage site into “something very useful to Holmdel.”

“I think it’s an excellent plan,” Trischitta said. “We have a vacant building sitting there, 350,000 square feet, completely unused, completely useless to Holmdel.”

“This plan will turn it into something very useful to Holmdel – units for senior living, as well as a senior center…and five acres of land for a new EMS building,” he continued. “I think, from a Holmdel standpoint, the bucolic character of Holmdel would stay as is.”

To see a full recording of Tuesday night’s meeting, you can click here.

Previous Coverage

• Holmdel Residents Raise Concerns Over Wastewater Treatment Plans For Senior Care Facility
• 'Best Possible Solution': Former Vonage Site To Become Senior Living Community In Holmdel
• Care Facility Proposed For Vonage Site Gets First Look In Holmdel
• Holmdel Planning Board Approves Redevelopment Of Former Vonage Site
• Holmdel Twp. Committee Declares Vonage Site In Need Of Redevelopment