Committeeman opposes any housing at Lucent Wall posts petition, plan for property's future on Web site BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer Terence Wall HOLMDEL - Committeeman Terence Wall is collecting names for a petition against allowing housing on the 472-acre former Lucent property. The Lucent tract is the largest tax ratable in Holmdel, bringing in an estimated $3.2 million each year, or about 18 percent of Holmdel's total tax base. Wall said he has collected over 100 signatures since placing the petition on his Web site, www.holmdelmatters.com, about two weeks ago. "The petition is new, the plan is old," Wall said on Friday. "There was a public meeting on it in March of last year." According to Wall, it's time for another public discussion. He's called for a special workshop session to be held March 22 at the senior center next door to town hall. "Folks are not interested in housing," Wall said of the Crawfords Corner Road property, used for decades by Bell Labs and Lucent as a research and development complex. "It's the most important issue this year. The future of this town depends on where people fall on this." Currently, the property is under a purchase agreement with Preferred Real Estate Investments, Inc., a firm based in Conshohoken, Pa. The purchase price of the tract is undisclosed at this time. Preferred has been vague when it comes to exactly how many housing units they wish to build, but public discussions with the developer last summer included tentative plans for townhouses and/or age-restricted housing of some kind. According to the company's Web site, www.goprei.com, Preferred's plans also include open space, "a helipad, an open-air greenscape plaza, an expansive centrally located cafe and more than 4,500 parking spaces." But there is also over 2 million square feet of commercial office space to contend with, space that Wall does not want to see converted into housing stock. Instead, Wall would like to see "a low-impact, aesthetically pleasing, high-tech corporate office community," according to his Web site. Additionally, Wall wants a golf course (limited to Holmdel residents and their guests), a developer-funded indoor recreation facility, a developer-funded library/technology center and the preservation of open space near adjacent neighborhoods. More than anything, Wall wants more direct dialogue between residents and the governing body over the future of the Lucent tract. "The main challenge is not so much a particular plan one is putting forward but the lack of dialogue and discussion with the public," Wall said. "There have been two meetings hosted by the developer with the public. There has been no dialogue with the public." Mayor Serena DiMaso said she was not aware of the specifics of the petition but found the concept of promoting a plan for the property to be inconsistent with Wall's desire to hear input first and make decisions later. "It does seem a bit disingenuous," DiMaso said. "As of Thursday night, he wanted us not to make up our minds. So I'm finding it curious that he's putting out a petition for a corporate campus." In March, the committee voted to hire a planner to conduct a study of the Lucent property. The findings of that study have not been made public yet, Wall noted. According to Wall, the committee voted to allow only Mayor Serena DiMaso to talk with officials from Preferred. "I just think that's wrong," Wall said. "I think conversations with the developers should be transparent." The committee's lone Democrat, Larry Fink, has also shown support for barring housing from the Lucent property.