Proposed Rt. 537 access subject of much debate 25,000-sq.-ft. building proposed for lot in front of Raintree post office BY MARK ROSMAN Staff Writer FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP - It was not a convention for traffic engineers, but it may as well have been. Three traffic engineers who have testified before local planning and zoning boards on hundreds of projects over the years offered testimony at an Oct. 31 meeting of the Planning Board during a public hearing on an application to build a 25,000-square-foot office building on Route 537. No decision was reached on Oct. 31 and the public hearing was continued to Jan. 17. Raintree Towne Center Associates, represented by attorney Gerald Sonnenblick, is seeking approval to construct a one-story, 25,000-square-foot office building on a vacant parcel that lies between Route 537 and the Freehold Post Office within the Raintree shopping center. Sonnenblick noted that the office building at one time was approved at 54,000 square feet (18,000 square feet on three floors). Subsequent litigation reduced the size of the building. The attorney said some of the space might be rented as medical offices. An architect's rending shows the building with 10 entrances. During the course of the hearing, Andrew Feranda, Freehold Township's traffic consultant, spoke on behalf of the Planning Board; traffic engineer Frank A. Miskovich testified on behalf of the applicant, Raintree Towne Center Associates; and traffic engineer Mark Kataryniak testified on behalf of CentraState Medical Center, which is objecting to the applicant's proposal to create a right turn in, right turn out driveway on Route 537 that would be within several hundred feet of the first driveway which permits motorists heading west, including ambulances, to enter the hospital campus. The right turn in, right turn out driveway would be controlled by a stop sign, according to the testimony presented. The driveway would be about 650 feet west of the existing traffic light at the intersection of Route 537 and Village Center Drive, the entrance to the Raintree shopping center. Sonnenblick said the proposed right turn in, right turn out access point on Route 537 does not affect the application for the office building, which can be approved with or without that point of entry/exit. Access to the office building will be provided through Village Center Drive and a driveway to be constructed that will lead to the parking lot surrounding the new office building. In addition, as part of this application, the applicant will eliminate the "S" curve driveway that leads from Village Center Drive to the Freehold Post Office and create a straight driveway, according to Sonnenblick. The existing dead end in the post office parking lot would be eliminated and connected to a new road that would allow post office customers to go all the way out to Route 537 and then turn right to head west. Miskovich testified that the right turn in, right turn out access on Route 537 is being proposed to remove some volume from the signalized intersection of Route 537 and Village Center Drive. Testimony indicated that if the right turn in, right turn out access is eliminated from the plan, the level of service at Route 537 and Village Center Drive will not be adversely affected by the additional traffic generated by the new office building. Architect Jeffrey Venezia, of Design Ideas Group, New Brunswick, said the attempt in designing the proposed office building was not to overwhelm the lot. He testified that constructing a one-story building with a 25,000-square-foot imprint would be less expensive than constructing a two-story building with a 12,500-square-foot imprint (12,500 square feet on each floor). Venezia said a two-story building would be 13 to 15 feet taller than the proposed one-story building. Planner James Higgins testified on behalf of the applicant and said several variances are being requested; for maximum building coverage (15 percent required, 16.5 percent proposed), minimum side yard (100 feet required, 55 feet provided), minimum rear yard (100 feet required, 62 feet provided - an existing condition) and maximum impervious coverage (60 percent required, 73.7 percent provided). Higgins said he believes the one-story building maintains the character of the surrounding buildings, although he acknowledged that part of the Raintree shopping center consists of two-story buildings. He said given the proximity of the proposed office building to the hospital and the possibility that medical offices will rent space in the building, a one-story building will provide easier access for elderly individuals and people with disabilities than a two-story office building would. "This is an appropriate use for this location," Higgins said, adding that the variances being requested by the applicant are, in his opinion, reasonable. The description of the office building by Venezia and Higgins was followed by more than two hours of comments from the three traffic engineers about the proposed right turn in, right turn out driveway. Questions were asked about vehicles leaving that driveway that might come into conflict with ambulances heading for CentraState Medical Center's entrance driveway that is several hundred feet west of the proposed office building driveway. Attorney Peter S. Falvo Jr. represented the medical center and elicited testimony from Kataryniak. Kataryniak said Monmouth County personnel have concerns about the continuing development of the overall Route 537 corridor. He said safety considerations on the road must be balanced against specific applications. While he acknowledged that having a second ingress and egress point at a development site is a goal to be pursued, he said that in this particular instance, "I have a concern with the proximity of the proposed driveway with the hospital driveway, which is also the access to the emergency room." Kataryniak said he could foresee a possible conflict between ambulances heading for a deceleration lane that is expected to be constructed by the hospital within two years, the hospital entrance driveway and motorists who are leaving the office building's right turn out driveway and immediately entering a lane of travel on Route 537. He described the applicant's proposal as adding a conflict point on the Route 537 corridor. "It is a poor design choice," he said, adding that a better solution might be to only permit a right turn in at the new driveway. Township Engineer Joseph Mavuro commented that the right turn in, right turn out driveway would be a "significant improvement" over the present access at the Raintree shopping center. Falvo made the point that adding an access would increase the possibility of accidents occurring. He noted that testimony from Miskovich and Feranda indicated that not adding the right turn in, right turn out driveway would not degrade the level of service at Route 537 and Village Center Drive and said, "Why add an access point when the signalized intersection works?" Attorney Peter LaFrance appeared on behalf of the Raintree shopping center. He did not present any testimony but said, "We believe the right turn (new driveway) is important to the future of the shopping center." The evening's testimony was heard by Planning Board members Richard Gatto, Mayor Dorothy Avallone, Township Committeeman Anthony Ammiano, Leon Bruno Jr. and Peter Platt. All sides agreed to return on Jan. 17 to continue the discussion.