Townhomes Development Preliminary Site Plan Gets Favorable Hearing

COURT HOUSE – Frederick Langford, owner and designer of the Laguna Oaks Golf Course on Bayberry Road in Court House, took a preliminary site plan for a new venture before the Middle Township Planning Board. Most other agenda items were moved and the two and a half hour meeting was almost entirely about Langford’s plan.
What the developer is proposing is a 6.5-acre subdivision adjacent to the golf course that would contain 45 townhomes. The homes would be between 2,100 and 2,500 square feet and each would have a two car garage. Putting that large a community in the parcel allocated requires a number of variances.
As Langford and his team presented the plan, there were several concerns raised by board members and especially Board Engineer Vincent Orlando. The most serious concern was the proximity of one of the townhome buildings to the second of two water basins included in the development plan. Although the proposed development is not in the nearby flood plain and includes plans to raise the homes 18 feet above flood level, the proximity to the basin was a necessary correction that Orlando called “non-negotiable.” Langford accepted the decision and agreed to a modification of the basin.
Other issues involved everything from yard size to distance between buildings, to open space set asides, to easements, and even septic systems. In most cases Langford’s plan called for variances to approve exceptions that were below minimum standards for distance. Where minimum distance for space between the buildings is normally 50 feet, the plan called for 25.
Yard size and set backs were also less than standard. The pattern was clear. Langford proposed an attractive townhome community adjacent to and with views of the golf course, but to establish the number of homes desired on the designated parcel of land a variety of distance requirements had to be squeezed and the list of variance requests was a result of that reality.
Early on in the meeting there appeared to be some frustration with the number of concerns being raised with respect to the plan. As Langford and his team responded to each issue, the board seemed more inclined to accept the preliminary plan.
In the end, over a dozen votes on variance requests were needed but the plan was largely accepted, the required redesign of the water basin being the exception. What frustration might have been present early in the meeting had given way to smiles as the developer and his team obtained approval for most of what they sought in the presentation.
A lot of work remains before there is final approval for the development and the proposal, in much greater detail, will probably be back before the board in about three months.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.