Master Plan Amendment to Bring Many Changes to Manalapan

A Master Plan amendment was comprised by Manalapan Township Planner Richard Cramer and a public hearing on the amendent was held at last weeks  Planning Board.

The zones that were looked at for the future land use and development were:

• the Special Economic Development district 5, 20, and 20/W
  • SED5 - minimum lot size required is five acres
  • SED-20-minimum lot size required is 20 acres
  • SED-20/W- warehouse distribution with a minimum lot size of 20 acres 

• the General Commercial district (C-3)
• the Limited Business-Millhurst district (LB-M)
• the Limited Business-Wilson Avenue district (LB-W)
• the New Jersey State Highway 33 Overlay area

The initial Master Plan amendment also included recommendations for allowing commercial development in the Office Park district (OP-10), .

Every so often the job of the Planning Board is to review and amend the Master Plan in order to address the consistently changing community and to preserve a future plan for the township. The Planning Board to include additional uses to the Special Economic Developemnt (SED) and Office Park (OP) districts.

According to Cramer’s report, the Planning Board “has continued its planning process and reviewed concept plans submitted by interested parties for further revisions to the Township land use plan” which has prompted the board to further amend the Master Plan and revise its Land Use Plan Element recommendations.

The Master Plan Amendment calls for:

Millhurst Limited Business District

The Millhurst Limited Business District is located south of Rt. 33 on Sweetmans Lane.

• extending the Millhurst Limited Business District west of Sweetmans lane to include the Clifford Snyder Grist Mill
• allow restaurant uses, educational uses, data centers and other limited retail and service uses, and civic uses sponsored by the Township
• include this district within the planned sewer service and public water service area of the township
• secure public access to the Millhurst pond along the pond from Sweetmans Lane to Thompson Grove Park
• allow the section of Sweetmans Lane to be a complete street for all users including pedestrians and bicyclists
• have new development and redevelopment be architecturally in sync with each other and adhere to the design and landmark design requirement of the Township

Wilson Avenue Limited Business District

The Limited Business District of Wilson Avenue is along Wilson Avenue just north of Englishtown.

• allow professional and business offices, veterinary clinics, banks, antique shops, places of worship, schools, day care centers, post offices, retail uses, and municipal facilities.

Special Economic Development Districts

In February 2012, the Master Plan amendment added additional uses to the zone. Now, Cramer recommends the use of automobile sales agencies, category one restaurants, and supermarkets.

Car dealerships would be permitted in the SED-5, SED-20, and SED-20/W districts with the following restrictions:

• must comply with the requirements for the overlay zone for the landscaped greenbelt on Rt. 33
• only allowed in the SED-5, SED-20, and SED-20/W zones that are located west of the intersection of Rt. 33 and Millhurst Rd. This is a two to three mile stretch of Rt. 33. between the Millhurst intersection and Rt. 527 A.

Cramer indicated that car dealerships would be inappropriate east of this intersection because of its closeness to Monmouth Battlefield State Park and the residential community and golf course of the .

Supermarkets and restaurants are appropriate on Rt. 33, according to Cramer, because of the population growth in the southern half of the Manalapan Township.

In terms of the township's affordable housing obligation, the Board had adopted a Master Plan Housing Plan Element and Fair Share Plan in April of 2010, which was deemed compliant and was certified by the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH).

This plan deemed a “panhandle” section of Millhurst Road to be compatible for a municipally sponsored affordable housing development of 120 units in order for Manalapan to meet the requirement for the period from 2004 to 2018, Cramer said. This land, within the SED-20/W zone, is owned by Manalapan Township.

Currently, the future housing obligation of Manalapan is uncertain since the Appelate Division decision which deemed COAH’s third round fair share calculation to be illegitimate.

In the meantime, Cramer suggests in the Master Plan amendment for the previously agreed upon “panhandle” site to be re-reviewed for suitability for an affordable housing development. 

General Commercial District

The General Commercial (C-3) land use district is located on Rt. 33 and Rt. 9 and strictly permits general commercial uses. Cramer recommends encouraging the growth of the commercial district on Rt. 33, which has grown slowly compared to Rt. 9, by expanding the uses in the zone to include data centers, educational uses, and flex space.

With this change, now all of non-residential districts on Rt. 33 will have the same allowable uses.



Overall, the Board was happy with Cramer’s report and recommendations. However, before approving the amendment to the Master Plan they have asked for some changes. Besides removing the OP-10 district recommendation completely from the amendment, the Board is also asking Cramer to include spatial requirements between the car dealerships on Rt. 33 and to include flex space as a recommended use in the Limited Business District on Millhurst.

“I think that Rich [Cramer] captured everything the Board talked about,” Planning Board member Stephen Pine said. “I think it’s an excellent report.”

Once the revisions are made to the amendment, the Planning Board chooses to approve the amendment to the Master Plan at their next meeting on Aug. 23.