Monmouth Commerce Center Hearing Carried Again In Howell

HOWELL, NJ — Howell Township residents wanting to speak out about the Monmouth Commerce Center proposal are forced to wait two more weeks, after the hearing on the plan was carried to the Jan. 30 planning board meeting.

The application for the center includes about 1.2 million square feet of warehouse space in nine buildings, plus 234 truck loading spaces, 142 trailer parking spaces and 700 spaces for passenger vehicles. About 30,000 trees are expected to be removed from the 100-acre site at Randolph and Oak Glen roads.

Traffic, both on nearby roads and in and out of the site, has led to several revisions to the site plan. The most recent of those was a change to better accommodate the turning of tractor trailers into the site. The board and township's engineer had raised concerns that turns into and out of the complex would result in the trucks having to cross into the opposing traffic lane to make the turn.

On Thursday, a new exhibit making alterations to address that issue was presented to the Planning Board, prompting the decision to carry the application while both the township's engineer and the experts for the group of residents opposing it could have time to review the new design.

Traffic engineer Justin Taylor faced additional questions from residents after the new design was presented, and as has been the case through much of Taylor's testimony, they scoffed at his belief that traffic studies on the potential impacts were comprehensive enough and accurate.

Monmouth Commerce Center owners Lawrence Katz and Felix Pflaster, have agreed to road improvements on Randolph Road and Oak Glen Road as requested by Monmouth County officials, Taylor said, as well as improvements to the Route 547 intersection with Randolph Road.

But some residents are concerned about the impact on other roads, including the potential for traffic backing up on Randolph to Herbertsville Road, and of added traffic on Allenwood Lakewood Road as those coming to the site seek less-congested routes.

Taylor said the plans reflect more than the applicant is required to do.

In reviewing final notes and comments on the project, Meryl Gonchar Sills, the attorney for Monmouth Commerce Center, remarked on a letter from the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority seeking stormwater runoff information for the site.

"I don't understand why a sewerage utility is asking about stormwater information," she said.

However, the Brick MUA is the water supplier for more than 100,000 residents in Brick, Point Pleasant and Point Pleasant Beach, as well as parts of Lakewood and Howell. Some of the water it supplies is drawn from Metedeconk River; one of its tributaries, Dick's Brook, is near the proposed warehouse site, and is concerned about the potential for pollutants in the water supply.

The Brick MUA raised similar questions in 2018 about the solid waste transfer station that also has been proposed for a site on Randolph Road. Read more: Brick MUA Questions Proposed Howell Solid Waste Station

One resident who supports the proposal, Brandon Reo, shared his thoughts on Patch, concluding, "The reality is that this parcel of land is zoned SED. The developers have the right to do this. Would anyone here stand for their own zoning rights to be denied?"

Previous coverage:

• 1.2M-Square-Foot Warehouse, Truck Center Before Howell Planners
• Monmouth Commerce Center Hearing In Howell Continued To October
• Monmouth Commerce Center Proposal Goes Before Monmouth Board
• Monmouth Commerce Center Hearing Resumes Thursday In Howell
• Monmouth Commerce Center Hearing In Howell Continued To January
• Monmouth Commerce Center Conflict Heats Up In Howell

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