Page 18 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • June 17, 2009
Franklin Lakes
Board wants bonds for Omaha drainage plan
by Frank J. McMahon
The attorney for Mark Built Homes of Union, the developer of a 14-acre steeply sloped piece of property at the end of Omaha Way near the border of Wayne, has agreed to post two performance bonds to ensure that the drainage plan for the three houses to be built on the subdivided site will perform as designed. One of the bonds will ensure the proper performance of the drainage
system for three years, and the other bond will ensure the maintenance of the drainage system for two years after that period of time. The proposed subdivision site is surrounded by residential properties on three sides and High Mountain Park in Wayne on the south side. It is located in the borough’s A-130 zone, which permits 80,000 square foot lots if water or sewer service is available. United Water NJ has already indicated that water will
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be provided to the site if these plans are approved. Attorney Jerome Vogel’s agreement to post the bonds came in response to the board’s continuing concern about the potential effectiveness of the drainage system proposed for the property, which would experience a lot of disturbance during construction. One of the proposed lots is located at a much higher elevation than the homes on nearby Dakota Trail. The board, especially board member Joseph Pullaro, expressed the concern that the failure of the drainage system planned for the site would have a negative impact on the homes on Dakota Trail. Pullaro had suggested building the three houses on the two lots on the west side of the property to avoid disturbing the third lot on the other side of Omaha Way, which overlooks three homes on Dakota Trail. However, Andrew Hipolit, the professional engineer who prepared the plans for the three lot subdivision, claimed that suggestion would result in much more disturbance of the property, more excavation, higher retaining walls, and the removal of more trees. Hipolit previously told the board that his plan must meet the state’s residential site improvement standards, which require a 50 percent reduction in water runoff during a two-year storm, a 75 percent reduction during a 10-year storm,
and an 80 percent reduction during a 100 year storm. He claimed that the property owners below the site would see less storm water runoff after this project is built than exists now. The planning board previously agreed that it would not be advisable to extend Cheyenne Drive, which ends west of the site, to access this subdivision because that area may be a habitat for some endangered species, and there would be more environmental elements preserved by not extending the road. The developer intends to build the three houses on large estate lots. If the subdivision were approved, the buyers of each of the lots would have to return to the planning board with site plans showing the exact locations of the homes on those lots, including any fencing that would be installed. James Kelly, a professional engineer with Boswell McClave Engineering, the borough’s engineering firm, has advised that confirmed state maps indicate that a threatened or endangered habitat is located within the site area. He has recommended that, should the application be approved, the properties be restricted from closing off or fencing in the subdivided lots to encourage the continued free roaming and habitation of the undeveloped portions of the property by the threatened or endangered species.