Woodmere Residents Worried About Proposed Route 35 Development

Concerned about the impact of increased traffic on their neighborhood, residents from the Woodmere section of Eatontown filled the audience of Monday's planning board meeting to hear three hours of testimony for a proposed 120-unit townhome community.

In response to those concerns, the project's developer said it would be willing to restrict access to a secondary road leading out of the development onto Weston Place to use only by emergency vehicles. The plan currently calls for that exit to be for right turns only, leading vehicles towards Route 35.

While the Weston Landing project would develop the almost 20 acres of empty property that was formerly a golf driving range, Woodmere residents expressed concern about what a traffic expert estimated to be 754 vehicle trips in and out of the development daily, and adding to what they say are too many cars speeding through their neighborhood.

"Adding more traffic to the neighborhood is something we don't want to see," said Ken Williams, president of the Woodmere Civic Association, at the Nov. 28 meeting that had about 30 audience members.

But representatives for the project's developer, Pulte Homes, and members of the planning board seemed in agreement with the proposal to restrict access to the Weston Place roadway provided it received approval from the New Jersey Division of Transportation.

The Pulte application calls for 120 three-bedroom townhomes at 268 Route 35, which was the former home of Mr. B's Golf Center on 19.7 acres across from Petco and behind Soccer Post. The plan includes a clubhouse, pool and recreation area with a main "boulevard" entrance off of Route 35 south.

The development will be built in two phases, according to the engineer for the project, Jeromie P. Lange of Maser Consulting in Red Bank, with the initial phase consisting of half of the residential units and required roadway, the planned clubhouse and recreational facilities and all storm water management and utilities.

Aside from two ponds on the property that will capture storm water and be used for irrigation, Pulte will construct off-site drainage to address flooding issues in the low-lying area. The 18-inch pipe will travel under Weston Drive and through the rear of Pine Tree Mobile Village and drain about 300 yards away at the Monmouth Mall.

Resident Bob English, who lives on Sandspring Drive, expressed concern about the placement of the drainage pipe near mature trees along the easement and suggested developers move the project closer to the roadway running through the rear of Pine Tree Mobile village.

English also said that in two of the last three years, a portion of the former golf course "has been under water on several occasions."

Most of the details of the Weston Place project are similar to plans approved by the borough presented by a previous developer, according to Paul Schneier, Northeast Corridor Division President for PulteGroup.

Planning board member Mark Woloshin pointed out that unless the district provides busing for students in the new development, parents would have to go out onto the highway and through two jughandles to turn left onto Weston Court and head towards Woodmere School.

Testimony will continue at the next planning board meeting on Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article misidentified a borough roadway. It is Weston Place.