'Lofts At Lacey' Hearing Pushed Back Again

LACEY, NJ — For at least the third time, the public hearing on "Lofts at Lacey," a 270-unit condominium project, has been pushed back.

The hearing will now be held at the Aug. 8 Planning Board meeting. However, residents will also be able to voice their opinions at a July 14 Township Committee meeting, where changes to a zoning ordinance to adjust a typo will be up for public hearing. The Planning Board voted 5-3 to recommend this language update at the July 11 meeting. Read More: Lacey Adjusts Zoning Laws Ahead Of 'Lofts At Lacey' Hearing

The amended preliminary and final major site plan for Lofts at Lacey, up for public hearing, has been on the agenda since the May Planning Board meeting, but has been pushed back repeatedly.

Vice Chair Robert Laureigh read a letter from M & T at Lacey, LLC, the project's developers, saying that they would not be able to make it to the July 11 meeting due to a technical error and requested it to be carried.

This was met with audible disappointment from the audience, most of whom had attended the meeting to speak on the matter.

Laureigh empathized with the audience, acknowledging that the matter was "frustrating."

"A lot of us are as interested in this as you are," Laureigh said.

Lofts at Lacey is a proposed project that has existed in several different forms over the past 20 years. In its latest form, it is a 270-unit condominium development including a clubhouse, leasing area, pool, pool cabana, maintenance building and playground for young children. On the same application is also a convenience store/gas station and retail store development.

The development is planned for Route 9, Laurel Boulevard and Railroad Avenue North in Lanoka Harbor. It would be to the south of the CVS and behind Kearny Bank.

Lofts at Lacey has been the subject of criticism within the Lacey community recently, with many residents voicing their disapproval of the project. Reasons cited include traffic and environmental impact, and lack of proper infrastructure to support such a development. A petition was created to reject more development in Lacey as a result of this development.

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