Decision On Proposed 60-Unit Townhome Complex In Brick Delayed

Update: The special meeting for the public comment and vote on the 100 Drum Point Road application has been moved up to Thursday, May 19. Brick Township announced the new date on May 15 via email to media outlets along with publishing required legal notices. Read more: New Date Announced For Final Zoning Hearing On Drum Point Complex In Brick

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Township Board of Adjustment has scheduled a special meeting to hear public comment on a proposed 60-unit housing complex on Drum Point Road.

The special meeting was set up after nearly three hours of questions from the public on Wednesday night to representatives of the developer of the project proposed for 100 Drum Point Road.

The project, which has been before the zoning board since October 2023, would build 48 three-bedroom townhomes and a 12-unit apartment building with three-, two- and one-bedroom units to meet affordable housing requirements.

The property, which had been a medical office, is in the village zone where multi-family housing is not a permitted use. It has been opposed by residents in the area because of concerns about additional traffic and other issues. A petition on Change.org has received more than 2,100 signatures.

On Wednesday, the bulk of the questions on the project were focused on parking and the potential number of vehicles that would be in the complex.

The site has 156 parking spaces proposed, which Ryan McDermott, the civil engineer for developer 100 Drum Point LLC, said exceeds the minimum requirement for the project under the Residential Site Improvement Standards set by New Jersey's land use regulations.

McDermott said the figure is based on the minimums prescribed by a state board based on analyses of townhouse projects throughout the state by the Department of Community Affairs.

Multiple residents questioned the calculations, saying they do not reflect what they see among neighborhoods in Brick, where multiple families are living in the same home or adult children are living at home.

The RSIS calculations estimate 2.4 vehicles for a three-bedroom townhome, McDermott said. Residents said families with adult children could be looking at four, five or even more vehicles.

One resident questioned what would happen if people living in the townhouse complex started parking vehicles on Drum Point Road, creating difficulties in seeing traffic for safe exits from the complex and neighboring streets.

No parking is allowed on the stretch of Drum Point Road between Brick Boulevard and Old Hooper Avenue, so anyone parking along the road risks tickets or more. Because it is a county-controlled road, only the county can change the parking status.

The discussion about parking also prompted questions about the affordable housing piece and how the number of people living in the apartments is enforced. Township planner Tara Paxton said families who occupy the affordable housing are qualified for it based on the income level for the number of people in the household. Families in the affordable units also are subject to annual inspections that include verifications of who is living in the apartment, Paxton said.

"If they are violating their lease agreement (with the number of residents of the apartment) they are subject to eviction," she said.

Residents also questioned the traffic study information that had been presented by Justin Taylor on behalf of the developer. Taylor on Wednesday said the traffic analyses indicate the complex would add up to 31 trips per hour during the peak morning traffic hours, which he said is seen by the state as an "insignificant" traffic impact.

That statement drew audible criticisms from the audience. One man from the Cherry Quay neighborhood said adding any trips will make what they said is an already impossible situation even worse.

"At Drum Point, you can't go left. You go right, you're going the wrong direction," the man said, noting that Drum Point Road carries traffic from multiple neighborhoods — Shore Acres, the Baywood section, Sky Manor and the Waterside Gardens apartments among others — that backs up as it reaches the Cherry Quay intersection and beyond.

Residents of Drum Point Village, which backs up to the site of the proposed townhouses, questioned the heights of the buildings and the plan to clear-cut trees, removing a natural buffer and reducing privacy between the sites. The townhouses exceed the allowable height in the zone and the developer has sought a variance to permit the extra height. But residents expressed concerns that those in the townhomes would have a direct view of the backyards of neighboring homes.

Trees will be planted to create a buffer but the trees would need about 10 years to mature, the developer's experts said. That drew criticisms from residents who are concerned about the lack of privacy until the trees mature.

The townhomes would not be the tallest structure in the village zone, architect Dan Governale said. There is a project on Mantoloking Road in the village zone that is taller, he said, testifying that it was a building he drew up the plans for.

One resident asked whether the property is eligible for a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes benefit, but Paxton said a PILOT is not in play for the project and cannot be sought once construction starts.

The project, if approved by the zoning board, will still need approvals from the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority and the Ocean County Planning Board.

The July 30 meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the municipal council meeting room.