Manalapan conditionally OKs buildings close to battlefield
MANALAPAN – Plans for four 48,140-square-foot industrial buildings sitting directly across from the Route 33 entrance to Monmouth Battlefield State Park were conditionally approved by a 5-to-3 vote after a combative planning board meeting.
Board chairwoman Kathy Kwaak and board planner Jennifer Beahm said the board’s hands at Thursday night’s meeting were tied in favor of approval and argued that the board could not take into consideration a number of factors.
They argued that traffic impact would be subject to the state Department of Transportation review, as Route 33 is a state highway, and the plans did not have to be submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection for historic review because the site is not registered on its list of protected sites.
Board member John Castronovo proposed that the developer, Monmouth Battlefield Flex Co. LLC, conduct an archeological survey.
“Let’s do it from a historical standpoint, let’s preserve what we can,” he said. “And as a board, we’re doing what we can to show the public that we do care and generally our hands are tied in many of these applications. But if this is something that we can do to help, it sounds like a win-win.”
As a condition of approval, the board voted that developer would have to undergo a phase 1A archeological survey, which would require the developer to hire a third-party archeology
consultant to determine whether or not artifacts from the Revolutionary War could be found on the site by reviewing documents, maps and literature regarding the Battle of Monmouth.
At a previous planning board meeting in February, David Martin, president of Friends of Monmouth Battlefield, argued that a map dated to 1779 shows a colonial-era road on the site. He said the road was used by troops going and coming from the June 28, 1778, battle that was fought at what is now Monmouth Battlefield State Park.
The battle was the last major fight in the North during the war. It ended in a draw, with the British continuing
their retreat toward Sandy Hook and from there to their base at New York City, and the Americans holding the field. It featured Gen. George Washington rallying his troops when an early attack faltered.
Attorney for the developer John Giunco said he met with an author of “Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of Battle.”
Giunco said the author did not find anything that showed that the British or colonial troops came onto the battlefield from the south, where the buildings are planned.
“The British were moving west from Freehold Borough towards Englishtown and the colonials were moving east from Englishtown,” he said. He argued that the road Martin had indicated did not exist.
“The battle was mainly fought along (what is now Route) 524 and the major part of the battle was on the north side of 524, another mile or so west,” he said.
About 25 people came to the meeting. A number of residents spoke out against development occurring across from the state park.
Manalapan resident Richard Kuberski said, “This historical and beautiful area of Manalapan bordering Freehold does not need a flex warehouse in this area.”
The proposed industrial building could hold up to 56 tenants. Although each tenant has an accompanying loading dock or drive-in door that could accommodate tractor-trailers, the developer argued that mainly box trucks would come in and out of the facility.
To the west of the approved buildings, another industrial space has been proposed by the developer Mercer Realty Partners and is currently under litigation with the township.
That proposed 232,920-squarefoot building was presented by the developer as a “flex space” that should be permitted under the township’s zoning. The township argued that the building was not flex space because 95% of the building consisted of warehouse space while 5% was for office or manufacturing space. Warehouses are not permitted in the zone.
In addition to the archeological study, other conditions of approval for the Monmouth Battle Flex Co. industrial buildings include sidewalks, the preservation of many of the mature trees at the proposed buildings’ entrance, a declaration lane and a letter from the state Department of Transportation stating that it would not allow an opening on the freeway portion of Route 33 bordering the property to the south.