Water runoff
remains issue
for resident
Marlboro woman fears new 84-home project will make things worse
BY LARRY RAMER
Staff Writer

Crine West, a residential development to be built in an area of Marlboro that has experienced flooding problems, is currently under construction even though a state agency declined to issue a wetlands permit for the project in 2001.

According to court settlement papers obtained by the News Transcript, in October 2001 the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) refused to grant freshwater wetlands general permits and transition area waivers for the 84-home development.

However, Crine Realty, a developer which owned the land off Crine Road on which Crine West was slated to be built, filed an appeal with the state Office of Administrative Law to contest the DEP’s decision.

The DEP and Crine West reached a settlement in July 2003. Under the terms of the settlement, the DEP agreed to allow Crine West to be built without any further land use approvals from the agency as long as certain preconstruction conditions were followed.

In return, Crine Realty agreed to enhance, create or restore 1.44 acres of wetlands to compensate for the 0.72 acres of forested freshwater wetlands that will be disturbed by Crine West. Alternatively, Crine Realty was given the choice to pay money in order to remediate wetlands.

The settlement noted that in an adjacent development, Crine Woods — which is off Crine Road and which Crine Realty also owned — certain lands were not deed restricted as stipulated by Crine Realty’s wetlands permit. As a result, the DEP stipulated that Crine Realty had to deed restrict the equivalent amount of land in the same watershed.

Since reaching the settlement with the DEP, Crine Realty has sold the property on which Crine West will be built to another devel­oper, Kara Homes. The transaction was completed in April 2004, ac­cording to Bob McGowan, execu­tive vice president of Kara Homes.

According to resident Lisa Rabig, who lives near the Crine West de­velopment site, Kara Homes broke ground on the project last week.

Site work on the project was scheduled to have already begun, McGowan confirmed.

Crine West and Crine Woods (72 homes) are both off of Crine Road in the Morganville section of Marlboro. Travel conditions on Crine Road have been made difficult by flooding over the years. Meanwhile, several residents in the area have complained about flooding problems on their properties.

Former Township Engineer Bill Schultz and current Acting Township Engineer James Priolo have said the flooding problem has been partially caused by excess silt in nearby Deep Run stream. Priolo said he was investigating whether existing housing developments in the area are contributing to the problem in Deep Run.

Five homes in the Crine West de­velopment are slated to be built di­rectly adjacent to a tributary of the stream, according to Rabig.

Rabig, who lives on nearby Tennent Road, said her driveway is flooded with 2 to 3 feet of water during and after heavy rains. She is predicting that the construction of the homes at Crine West will ex­acerbate the flooding in the area.

"The development would in­crease flooding in the whole area, including my driveway," said Rabig.

She said she is already unable to leave or enter her home during heavy rains.

In recent weeks, several resi­dents of Crine Road, two residents who live off of Tennent Road, and a resident of Station Road have all publicly complained about what they say is extensive flooding on their properties caused by Deep Run stream or one of its tributaries.

Rabig said she believes Crine West will exacerbate flooding by increasing the amount of impervi­ous coverage (i.e. roads and drive­ways) near Deep Run stream and its tributaries, and by causing more erosion, increasing the amount of silt that flows into the stream.

"Right now the site of Crine West is open land," Rabig said. "Where will all the water that is being ab­sorbed now go to when foundations (for structures) are built? There’s going to be more water on roads and people’s properties, and there’s already a problem in the area."

The silt fences Kara Homes has installed on the property will not prevent soil from eroding into the adjacent tributary of Deep Run stream, Rabig said.

"There’s still soil coming through the silt fences and they’re not properly installed," she said.

However, McGowan said the de­velopment will actually improve the situation in the area.

"This project will reduce water runoff in the area. The rate of the runoff of water from our property will be reduced by our develop­ment," he said. "Obviously, this project has been carefully engi­neered."

McGowan said he was not famil­iar with the circumstances sur­rounding Crine Realty’s settlement with the DEP.

A decision made in October 2003 by members of the township Planning Board to increase the amount of lot coverage permitted in the Crine West development will not help matters, Rabig said.

In that month, the board agreed to a request by representatives of Crine West to increase the permit­ted lot coverage of houses in the development from 20 percent to 30 percent. In other words, as a result of the board’s decision, the future residents of the development will be able to cover 30 percent of their land with structures, instead of the 20 percent permitted by municipal ordinances.

The board’s decision was sup­ported by former Republican Mayor Matthew Scannapieco, who sat on the board while he was mayor. The action was opposed at the time by Democratic Township Councilman Barry Denkensohn and several members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

Asked how she felt about the DEP’s decision to reach a settle­ment with Crine Realty, Rabig said, "The developer did what it had to do to get the development built. Developers get things done through lawsuits, but who is look­ing out for the best interests of the land and the residents if the DEP agrees to a settlement because a developer shows up with a lawyer?"

Asked why the DEP reached a settlement with Crine Realty, a DEP spokeswoman wrote, "I would offer that the department and Crine (Realty) were interested in reaching an amicable resolution without further litigation."

"There should at least be a plan to correct the flooding before adding to the problem with a new development," Rabig said.