Hovsons' Heritage Minerals Site Proposal Before Manchester Planners Friday

MANCHESTER, NJ -- The Manchester Township Planning Board will hear details and public comment tonight, Friday, May 20, on the Hovsons proposal to build a 6,500-unit development on part of the Heritage Minerals site in the township.

The Township Council also is set to discuss the proposal Monday, May 23, at its council meeting.

Both meetings are scheduled for the courtroom at the township municipal building, 1 Colonial Drive. Friday's Planning Board meeting begins at 7 p.m., and Monday's Township Council meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

Hovsons has owned the land -- an abandoned mineral quarry -- since 1984, Mayor Ken Palmer said in his "From The Mayor's Desk" column last year. Of the 7,000-acre site, 4,000 acres is governed by the Coastal Area Facilities Review Act and can be developed -- under certain regulations.

For years, the land sat dormant while Hovsons, the township and the state Department of Environment Protection fought a court battle over how much of the land could be developed.

Hovsons' plan at the time was to develop a “City Within a City” of up to 15,000 residential units. A 2004 settlement among the parties was reached that would allow Hovsons to build 2,200 age-restricted homes, about 200 affordable housing units and a small amount of commercial development, Palmer said. The development was to take place on 1,000 acres of land that was actually used in mining operations years ago, he said.

In the last couple of years, discussions about building at the site resumed, and last year the township designated the area as one in need of redevelopment.

"Redevelopment is a legal classification that the land is abandoned and being under-utilized," Palmer wrote. "The redevelopment classification also carries with it certain land use flexibilities that permit new projects to be created."

The Hovsons proposal, titled "New City In the Pines," can be viewed online by clicking here.