WEST AMWELL TOWNSHIP PLANNING BOARD

January 18, 2005

The West Amwell Township Planning Board meeting was called to order at 7:40 PM by

Attorney William Shurts same declaring compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act.

The meeting was taped and copy of tape is on file.

Oaths of office were administered to the following appointed and reappointment members to the Board: Nancy Palladino – Class I; Carmen Perri-Class II; Thomas Molnar-Class III; Alexander Greenwood – Alt. #1 (unexpired term); Sean Pfeiffer-

Alt. #2.

ATTENDANCE:

Roll call on attendance: Dale-present, Greenwood -present, Meader-present, Molnar-present, Perri-present, Pfeiffer-present, Shute-present, Vanderveen-present, Ent-present.

Late arrival (after roll call on attendance): Nancy Palladino

Absent: Joan Smith

Professionals Present: William Shurts, Attorney; Anthony Mercantante, Planner

Chairperson – The floor was opened by Attorney Shurts for nominations for the position of Chairperson for the year 2005. Bernard Meader nominated Jeffrey Ent with a second by Joan Vanderveen. One vote cast for Jeffrey Ent. Hearing no other nominations, the floor was closed for nominations. Motion carried – all ayes.

Vice Chairperson – The floor was opened by Attorney Shurts Chairman Ent for nominations for the position of Vice Chairperson for the year 2005. Bernard Meader nominated Hal Shute with a second by John Dale. One vote cast for Hal Shute. Hearing no other nominations, the floor was closed to nominations. Motion carried – all ayes.

Board Secretary – Motion was made by Carmen Perri to appoint Donna Griffiths as Planning Board Secretary for the year 2005 (retroactive to January 1, 2005) with a second by Bernard Meader. Motion carried-all ayes. Oath of office was administered.

Assistant Planning Board Secretary – Motion was made by Bernard Meader to appoint

Catherine Park as the Assistant Planning Board Secretary for the year 2005 with a second by Carmen Perri. Motion carried – all ayes.

Subdivision Committee – Chairman Ent appointed the following members to the Subdivision Committee for the year 2005: Hal Shute, Bernard Meader, Joan Smith

Chairman Ent noted the subcommittees previously formed will remain the same (Sourlands, By-Laws, Storm Water Management Plan) with the exception of the

Storm Water Management Committee for which Carmen Perri has volunteered to assist with along with Hal Shute.

Approval of minutes of December 21, 2004, carried to February meeting.

There was no bill list to present at this time.

A. PB2005-01 – Consent Agenda

B. PB2005-02 – Meeting Schedule

C. PB2005-03 – Designation of Official Newspaper

D. PB2005-04 – Appointment of Board Attorney

E. PB2005-05 – Appointment of Board Engineer

F. PB2005-06 – Appointment of Board Planner

A request was received from Township Clerk Olsen for the Board to consider the possibility of a meeting date change for the April 2005 meeting due to potential conflicts with the school board elections. It was agreed by the Board to approve the current meeting schedule at this time and discuss the matter at a future date prior to the April meeting. Shute moved that Items A-F be approved on a consent agenda with a second by Dale. Motion carried on roll call vote-all ayes. Signed copies of the resolutions will be on file in the Resolution Binder of the Planning Board. Professional Services Contracts were executed as well and are on file in the Planning Board Office.

MEMORIALIZATION OF RESOLUTIONS:

PB2005-07 -Titus, George – Block 4 Lot 1 – Minor Subdivision Approval – Resolution distributed and reviewed by all members. Hal Shute was recused from taking action. Motion to approve with minor amendments as recommended by Attorney Shurts was made by Molnar with a second by Vanderveen. Roll call: Dale-aye, Greenwood-aye, Meader-abstain, Molnar-abstain, Palladino-aye, Perri-aye, Pfeiffer-abstain Vanderveen-aye, Ent-aye; Palladino-recused, Pfeiffer-ineligible.

PB2005-08 – Thompson, Bryce – Block 16 Lots 8 & 15 (First Amendment to Resolution No. 3-2004) – Extension for Deed Filing – Resolution distributed and reviewed by all members. Resolution of approval grants extension of six months through April 27, 2005, for the filing of deeds subject to the conditions outlined in the resolution. Motion to approve was made by Meader with a second by Vanderveen. Roll call: Dale-abstain, Greenwood-aye, Meader-abstain, Molnar-abstain, Palladino-aye, Perri-aye, Pfeiffer-abstain, Shute-aye, Vanderveen-aye, Ent-aye.

Request was received from applicant’s attorney, Steven Morland, to continue discussion on this application to the February 2005 meeting. Application remains incomplete, therefore, it was agreed to deny the application without prejudice at this time.

Hal Shute was recused from action on this matter. Motion to deny the application without prejudice was made by Perri with a second by Meader. Roll call:

Dale-aye, Greenwood-aye, Meader-aye, Molnar-aye, Palladino-aye, Perri-aye, Pfeiffer-aye, Vanderveen-aye, Ent-aye. It was agreed by the Board to remove the application from the agenda and authorize the refund of any remaining escrow monies.

Preliminary concept design plan was distributed to the Board for their review. John Schleer, Principal/President, of Spectra Corp., appeared on behalf of the applicant,

Jeffrey MacDade. Applicant proposing the development of an active adult 55+ community to be located on the Case property’s 94+ acres located in the L-1, Light Industrial zone, to consist of 20 buildings with four units each. Mr. Schleer along with the applicant’s architect, Bob Komer, provided an overview of the proposed residential development plan to the Board. Mr. Schleer outlined applicant’s desire to develop approximately 70 acres with the remaining 24 acres set aside for future development of community amenities. The Board and professionals provided their questions and concerns with the density proposal of the project, the environmental implications, the rezoning aspect of the property in question, and the impact on the tax base of the Township. It was suggested that the applicant reconsider the density proposal submitted in addition to providing the Board with more detailed data to include the financial, traffic, and environmental implications of the proposed project.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Adoption of By-Laws – Draft of December 20, 2004, was distributed and reviewed. Additional changes were recommended to include: agenda to be set one week prior to the meeting date; professionals to provide vouchers to the Board Secretary one week prior to the meeting date to ensure available funds by the CFO; minor amendments to “Order of Business”; Board Secretary will be responsible for publishing final notices of decision, however, nothing shall prohibit the applicant from providing such publication;

Resolutions of approval shall be provided to the applicant within 10 days per statute; requests for verbatim records shall be made to the Board Secretary and provided in accordance with requirements set by the Open Public Records Act; professionals to provide meeting correspondence, resolutions, etc. directly to the Board Secretary at least one week prior to the meeting if at all possible for distribution by the Board Secretary;

Minutes – January 18, 2005

Page 4

typographical errors to be corrected. Carmen Perri will make the aforementioned changes and provide a revised copy prior to the next meeting. In regard to the issue of voting eligibility of Board members, it was agreed that the Board Secretary would monitor the voting eligibility status of the Board members for matters carried to subsequent meetings.

NEW BUSINESS:

COAH Certification Extension – Nancy Palladino provided the Board with an overview of the Township’s COAH certification extension status. The Township Committee has agreed to retain the services of Special Planning Consultant Shirley Bishop who will work with Planner Mercantante as needed on the Housing Plan which must be completed by December 2005. The certification extension request must be filed by April 2005. It was further determined that monies should be allocated through the Planning Board budget whereas the Planning Board has jurisdiction over the Housing Plan.

Correspondence:

Letter dated December 20, 2004, from Duke Energy regarding right of way encroachments was received. Copy of their guideline to residents is on file in the Planning Board Office.

Letter of January 4, 2005, from the Hunterdon County Agriculture Development Board regarding their position on the “Revised NJ State Planning Areas for Hunterdon County” map was distributed to all Board members.

Robert Fulper expressed his agreement with a time frame being imposed for the submission of bills by the professionals. Mr. Fulper requested to meet with Secretary Griffiths and Hal Shute to review the escrow account bills for the GDP application to try to resolve outstanding billing questions. A meeting will be scheduled.

Motion to adjourn at 9:50 PM was made by Meader with a second by Greenwood. All members voted in favor of adjournment.

Respectfully submitted,

Donna M. Griffiths

Secretary