Stracquatanio fights for right to develop Hazlet has its eye on the three-acre Union Avenue site By ELAINE VAN DEVELDE Staff Writer HAZLET — Angelo Stracquatanio was made an offer he says he can and will refuse concerning his property. It’s a land use issue that has resurfaced at least a few times in the past 10 years. The Stracquatanio family owns a three-acre piece of property situated on Union Avenue between Middle Road and Route 35. The land has been in the family since 1941 and was willed to the nine Stracquatanio children following their father’s death in 1989. It’s zoned for residential use. The Stracquatanios want to sell it for that purpose. Township officials, however, have had other ideas over the years — among them, acquiring the land for open space. As part of a plan to save what’s left of open space in town, officials have been eyeing the Stracquatanio tract. Though, as Angelo Stracquatanio pointed out, "they voted down the open space tax in 1998 in Hazlet. That tells me people aren’t interested in it." In past interviews with Mayor Michael Christopher, the sentiment conveyed was that lack of open space in town or a tax to support it makes the need to keep what’s left more urgent. "I voted for the open space tax myself," he said in a previous interview. Open space needs or not, Stracquatanio feels as if he’s been getting the runaround in town for more than 10 years, and he doesn’t understand why. The township said it’ll take the land through eminent domain if need be. Stracquatanio has said eminent domain is not an option. He has what he calls a fair market value offer from a developer for $260,000 to subdivide the property into four 100-by-100-foot lots. But he said the holdup by eminent domain pursuits could cost him the deal. Committeeman Paul Coughlin said that, to his knowledge, no one has seen an offer from any developer in writing. He also wonders what the real value is in the land and if the township should bother pursuing it at all. "Legal fees alone could end up surpassing the price of the property and costing the township a lot of money," he said. "Mr. Ronald Gordon, the township attorney, has accused me of wasting township money, calling attention to the fact that every time he has to return my calls, it costs the township money," said Stracquatanio. "How about using that money on offering my family a fair price instead of his mounting fees? The value of the land is just consistently being overridden by these extra costs that the township is spending fighting me in my basic right to sell." Christopher has said that the land is of value to the township because of its contiguous location to Veteran’s Park and the Hazlet Swim Club. Then there’s the matter of wetlands status. Proponents of eminent domain actions say an undetermined wetlands status could be reason enough not to build. Stracquatanio said there are virtually no wetlands and what little are there is something the township caused and needs to fix. He said the value of his property is going down and he still doesn’t have the results of the township engineers’ wetlands status report of May 25. He said he is feeling gypped, and he doesn’t understand why the township has vacillated so in its interest of the property. According to Helen Stracquatanio Willis, Angelo’s sister, who keeps records of the goings on with the property, the latest appraisal of the land that the township conducted in April revealed its fair market value was $150,000. Backing her brother’s statement that the township’s fair market assessments of the property have been inconsistent over the years, Willis said that in June 2000 another appraisal placed the property’s value at $108,000. Willis was quick to cite, however, that on Oct. 20, 1992, a bond ordinance was passed to acquire the property "for municipal purposes" and pay a fair market value of $250,000. Somehow, that deal was forgotten. Willis added that in September 1996, when the township wanted to buy the property specifically to house a new municipal complex, the appraisal was $207,500. The township’s offers are ones Stracquatanio said he and his family can and will refuse, unless the price is right. "The township’s engineers, Schoor DePalma, have made me give them access to property to assess wetlands status, or face a court order to do so," said Stracquatanio. "That was May 25. They have yet to offer me a status report. On the other hand, my engineer has assessed the wetlands status and come up with something very interesting." A previous interview with Township Attorney Ronald Gordon confirmed that the township’s engineering firm, Schoor DePalma of Manalapan, did visit the site on May 25 and found a yet to be disclosed percentage of wetlands on the site. The Stracquatanios have had their own engineer visit the site as well and assess the wetlands situation. That engineer, Dr. Ray Walker of Maser Consultants, Matawan, said that the wetlands area is comprised of "0.36 acres located on the eastern property boundary adjacent to Union Avenue," according to Willis. The source of the wetlands, according to Walker’s report, is "water from twin 12-inch [pipes] entering the property from off-site areas, and [the water] cannot effectively leave the property due to the poorly maintained condition of the drainage feature and outfall pipe [on township property], and floods the lower lying portions of the property." "Based upon our review of historical mapping, wetlands would not be expected to occur on the property. However, the improper maintenance and incorrect alignment of the drainage feature prevent the subject property from draining properly and appear to have contributed to the wetland conditions identified by Schoor DePalma," Willis said. The two pipes, according to Willis, run from the north side to the south side of Union Avenue under the road. The water runoff flows onto the Stracquatanio property where there is now a township-dug trench 20 feet into the property. "The township’s own engineers actually said in their June 28, 2000 appraisal report that the pipes have attributed to the wetlands status of the property," Willis said. Nonetheless, the Stracquatanios say enough is enough. They feel they’re being kept from their constitutional right to sell. "We want to give fair market value," said Christopher in a previous interview. "Everyone deserves that, and that is what we intend to give. It’s just a matter of a difference of opinion as to what’s fair right now, I suppose." Though township officials won’t disclose what the latest offer is in the interest of protecting negotiations, Willis said she has well-kept records of what’s been on the table, and none of those figures has come close to what the family deems fair. "It’s our contractual right to sell at the market value of the developer. That value supersedes all of the town’s appraisals. It’s called ‘arm’s length assessment,’ " said Stracquatanio. "We want the property repaired, and we want to sell it before our buyer loses interest," he continued. "That’s all. I don’t understand what the problem is. If the township officials have proof of a reason why the property shouldn’t be either developed or sold at the price we want, they should have shown it to us by now. What’s the holdup?"