Court dismisses notice of violation vs. builder
BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer

MARLBORO - A notice of violation issued to Meiterman Holdings Inc. for clearing and grading a piece of property without a permit has been dismissed by the Marlboro Municipal Court.

On Sept. 7 the township engineering department issued a stop-work order and a notice of violation to Meiterman Holdings after the developer cut down trees on a site slated for a residential development. The engineering department believed the developer cleared the trees without receiving a permit for clearing and grading.

The stop-work order was lifted by the engineering department after the developer met the conditions of the order.

According to a spokesperson in the Marlboro Municipal Court, the notice of violation was dismissed on Sept. 27.

The project being built by Meiterman Holdings, The Grande at Marlboro, will be a two-story age-restricted rental complex consisting of 26-one bedroom units and 64 two-bedroom units.

Builder Steve Meiterman, the purchaser of the 7.5-acre parcel on Route 9 known as Cottontail Farms, was granted a use variance and a density variance from the zoning board on Dec. 15, 2004. The applicant was granted preliminary and final site plan approval for the project on July 20, 2005.

The property, which is zoned for commercial use, is between Clayton Road and Route 9 north, just south of Union Hill Road.

According to Township Attorney Andrew Bayer, the Meitermans applied to Marlboro for a clearing and grading permit in August. Bayer said the engineering department was still reviewing the application for the permit when Meiterman Holdings cut down the trees on the site over Labor Day weekend.

After the stop-work order and notice of violation were issued, Township Engineer Jim Priolo sent a letter to the Meitermans on Sept. 13 stating several conditions they would have to meet in order to continue working on the site.

Under the conditions of the order the Meitermans were responsible for:

+ Providing the Engineering Depart-ment with the limits of the trees that were cut in order to ensure that it conformed to the applicant's approved plan;

+ Obtaining certification from the Freehold Soil Conservation District;

+ Installing soil erosion measures and stabilizing the site;

+ Providing the Engineering Depart-ment with a tree restoration and landscape plan for the frontage of the property along Route 9 and Clayton Road. (If construction on the site does not begin by May 2007, the applicant will be responsible for landscaping along the frontage of the property);

+ Holding an on-site inspection meeting with Birdsall Engineering to verify the limits of their grading work.

Priolo said the developer has completed all of the work the conditions of the order required. He said construction on the site will not begin until the Meiter-mans post performance bonds and get a developer's agreement signed.

Priolo said the only thing the developer is permitted to do on the property as of now is grading.

Eddie Kay, a partner at Meiterman Holdings, and Steve Meiterman confirmed that the notice of violation was dismissed in court and that the stop-work order was lifted.

Kay said he does not believe Meiter-man Holdings did anything wrong in this situation.