Builder drops movies from Howell proposal

A major concession has been made by a builder regarding the proposed construction of a Locust Avenue shopping center in Howell.

Area residents learned earlier this month that the builder, the Benderson Group, New York, was bowing to pressure from those opposed to the inclusion of a 16-screen movie theater at the proposed Consumer Square shopping center and removed it from the project.

Meanwhile, Mayor Timothy Konopka confirmed that the state Department of Transportation (DOT) was going to receive requests from the builder and Howell’s administration for two road cuts in and out of the shopping center from Route 9 and only one cut on Locust Avenue.

So far, the DOT approval has been given for two road cuts on Locust Avenue, with one of the two access points being proposed for emergency services only. That entrance would be chained or gated when not needed for fire or first aid calls to the site.

Miriam Darge, a member of the Locust Avenue Neighbor-hood Association (LANA), lauded the change of plans, but cautioned there is still more "trimming" to be done.

Without the movie theater, the plans for Consumer Square still include a 10- to 15-store shopping center on 35 acres on the south side of Locust Avenue. The tract is off northbound Route 9 in Howell’s Southard section.

The primary focus of LANA’s opposition to the proposal had been the movie theaters and the two access routes into the shopping center from Locust Avenue, with only one entrance planned from Route 9.

"I think we’ve seen a lot of progress; there has definitely been positive movement. It just needs to be tweaked a little," Darge said.

She said she was concerned that Benderson’s engineer and traffic study predicted a flow of six cars per minute out of the shopping center onto Locust Avenue.

"That’s just too much," said Darge, who offered that any exit onto Locust Avenue from Consu-mer Square should direct the traffic to the right (east) and not allow turns to Route 9 in order to limit turning the Windmill Club into a thoroughfare.

Also, Darge said the live tree buffer zone should maximize the plantings of evergreen trees in order to ensure year-round camouflage for nearby residents.

Still at issue for the board to consider in the application is a proposed 40-foot retaining wall at the rear of the property, plus concerns about water runoff contamination from the site that could have an impact on Echo Lake downstream.

Planning Board members have been told by a representative of Howell’s environmental committee that if the shopping center is not constructed properly, it could pose a threat to the water resources that Polypod Brook (which feeds into Echo Lake) is dependent upon.

Another public hearing in the Consumer Square application is scheduled for May 22.