COURT HOUSE – At a July 6 Middle Township Committee meeting, resident Sam Kelly used public comment to voice concerns about the almost 200-mixed-unit subdivision to be built adjacent to the Stone Harbor Golf Course.
According to Township Engineer Vince Orlando, the project was approved back in 1996 and is only now being developed.
Kelly said he has lived in his 50-home community near the new subdivision for over 40 years. He described his community as an “old affordable housing project from the 1950s.”
Kelly said he was worried about the impact of the new development on wells and septic systems in the lower elevation community in which he lives.
Orlando responded to some of Kelly’s concerns but did so, in Kelly’s terms, from the perspective of the new development, not the impact it could have on his community. Kelly left the meeting saying his concerns had not been addressed but he was hopeful that the municipality would get back to him with more information.
The meeting also brought out the fact that long ago approval of this subdivision places it outside the affordable housing requirements that are part of the municipal plan for meeting its affordable housing obligations.
The new subdivision is a mix of townhomes, duplexes, and single-family structures. Had a subdivision of its size been approved today, the affordable housing obligation would be a mix of almost 10 housing units. Instead, no affordable housing obligation will apply, according to Orlando.
