Land Owner Wants to Add 60 Acres to Proposed Residential Development Area on Kings Highway

The owners of a large, vacant piece of farmland on Kings Highway abutting the former site of an industrial complex would like to have their property included in a potential rezoning ordinance that could pave the way for hundreds of apartments on Kings Highway in Washington Township.

At a public hearing on Monday night in front of the township’s planning board, attorney Anthony Spicaro, representing the Nicholas Martini Foundation, told the board his client would like to see the nearly 60-acre parcel of land be included with three other pieces of land owned by Kings Highway, LLC for possible residential development.

The development idea, brought to the township more than three years ago, is the brainchild of Kings Highway, LLC, which formerly owned USR Optonix, a longtime industrial facility on that road which shuttered in 2014. The buildings on the site were recently razed.

The development group initially proposed a 208-unit apartment complex but met heavy opposition from residents, specifically those who live in the area, both in public meetings as well as through an online petition aiming to halt the process.

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The land owned by Kings Highway, LLC, amounts to slightly more than 42 acres, so coupling the 59.38-acre tract from the Martini Foundation would drastically change the scope of a redevelopment.

More importantly, Esna Drive, a private road that extends southwest from Newburgh Road, leads into the Martini Foundation’s property. If the properties combine and a redevelopment is granted by the town’s planning board and committee, any residential development in that area could potentially have two access points: one from Kings Highway, and the other from Newburgh Road by way of Esna Drive.

That development pokes a major hole in the theory of those opposed to development in the area who believed traffic on Kings Highway from hundreds of new residents would be debilitating to the area’s roads and vehicle flow.

About 20 Kings Highway-area residents showed up to the public hearing, but only one spoke during the comments portion of the agenda item.

“How are we going to use the land in this town,” said Fred Smith, bringing up what’s best for the community’s interest. “By [redeveloping for residential building] we’re setting a precedent for the remaining open space in this town. We must proceed in a reasonable and intelligent manner.”

One issue regarding the potential inclusion of the Foundation property and, subsequently the use of Esna Drive, is that the roadway is private, with pieces owned by other properties on that roadway.

An ordinance to redevelop zoning may not be secluded to just the land in question, rather the roadway as well. That will take a title search to learn more, township planner David Banisch said.

“Those [road] areas are obviously not in need of redevelopment,” said attorney Michael Selvaggi, representing Kings Highway, LLC. “I think we can exercise some common sense on the issue.”

No action was taken at the meeting, and a public hearing will be continued at a later planning board meeting. No redevelopment or ordinance changes will be made by the planning board either, only a recommendation to the township committee with which way to proceed on the matter.

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