18 homes approved on historic farm
Developer scaled plan way down, will donate 60 acres to Holmdel
BY KAREN E. BOWES
Staff Writer

Ten years, three design approvals and two zoning changes later, Holmdel has granted developers the right to divide a historic 90-acre farm into 18 single-family homes.

On Aug. 7, the Planning Board unanimously passed a resolution approving all necessary variances relating to developer Henry B. West's latest plan for Inverness Estates. However, since not enough board members were present to form a quorum and take an official vote, the resolution will need to be voted on again at a future meeting.

The residential development will be built on the grounds of the old Henry D. Ely farm, a site listed on the Monmouth County historic sites inventory. The property is located near the township's border with Marlboro on Route 520/Newman Springs Road between Route 34 and Holmdel Road.

West plans to keep the existing farmhouse, selling it as a "farmette" on a special 9-acre lot. The remaining 17 new houses will each be built on 1- and 1.5-acre lots. The rest of the farm, some 60 acres, will be donated to the town as open space.

"They're getting a tasty piece of land for nothing," West said after the proceedings.

West said he didn't know how large the new houses will be, but according to Committeeman Larry Fink, current zoning allows for "monster houses" of up to 12,000 square feet, "which is just ridiculously huge."

This is the third approval for West. His first proposal, approved over 10 years ago by the township, was for a 400,000-square-foot warehouse/office complex.

What happened to that idea?

"They keep changing the rules," West said.

The warehouse plan was scrapped after the town changed the property's zoning from commercial to residential, Fink said. The committeeman and former mayor said that he remembers West's original plan for a warehouse/office complex came around the same time as several other projects similar in scope.

"There was a concern about the traffic that would be generated from all these offices," Fink said, adding that a study was done to estimate how traffic would be affected. The new commercial buildings would create between 20,000 and 30,000 vehicle trips per day, Fink said, necessitating road widening and new traffic signals. A referendum question was placed on the ballot, asking voters if they'd like to alter the zoning from commercial to R-4, meaning only one residential unit could be built every 4 acres. The referendum passed, affecting three old farming properties, including West's 90-acre tract on Newman Springs Road.

Eventually, West submitted a new proposal for a 182-unit senior citizen housing complex. This plan fit the zoning because it was age-restricted and permission was granted once again to West.

But in 2004, when Fink was mayor, the zoning was changed once again, this time to conservation, meaning no matter what type of residential structure was built, a large tract would have to be set aside as open public space. Also, a public septic system would be required, to be built at the owner's expense. Unable to build such a system at a preferable cost, West ended up scrapping this idea as well.

Now that his latest plan is reaching its final stages of preparation, Fink said he's worried about the view along Newman Spring Road and the removal of lesser buildings, such as the farm's large barn.

"The view from [Route] 520 will be partially obscured by new homes where corn and hay crops could have continued to grow," Fink said on Monday.

But the view isn't going anywhere yet. After 10 years of waiting around, West is in no hurry to build.

Asked after the meeting when construction will begin, West said, "Soon as the market gets good again."