Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • October 23, 2013 Franklin Lakes Residential mix planned for golf course property by Frank J. McMahon A residential mix of 60 single-family detached homes on half-acre lots, 160 carriage homes with garages, and 55 affordable housing units without garages, totaling 275 dwellings, have been tentatively planned for construction on the 131-acre High Mountain Golf Course property in Franklin Lakes. Mayor Frank Bivona announced the tentative agree- ment with the developer, Toll Brothers, Inc., at last week’s borough council meeting. Bivona advised that the plan has been the subject of discussion between borough officials and the contract purchaser of the property since March of 2012, when the sale of the golf course was made public by the current owners. The Galenkamp Brothers Partnership and High Moun- tain Club, Inc., which includes about 75 shareholders, some of whom are members of the McBride family, are the current owners. The lease of the property for use as a golf course does not expire until the end of the 2014 golf season. Bivona said the council will consider a draft ordinance to rezone the property to conform to the tentative plan at the Nov. 7 work session. He said the ordinance would then be referred to the borough’s planning board for its review and recommendations before coming back to the govern- ing body for a public hearing and consideration for adop- tion. If the ordinance is adopted, the developer would return to the planning board for site plan approval. A public hear- ing that could extend over several planning board meet- ings would be scheduled as part of the site plan review process. Bivona emphasized that all the council and planning board meetings will be open to the public. The proposed layout of the homes on the site was not released last week, but Bivona advised that the perimeter of the site is expected to contain single-family residences comparable to the existing single-family residences in the borough and in Wyckoff that are currently adjacent to the golf course property. The carriage homes would be clus- tered in the interior of the site, with the affordable housing units nearer to the borough’s nature preserve. “Everyone would love for this property to stay as a golf course. I know I would,” Bivona said, “but in reality we have two owners who want to sell it and signed an agree- ment with Toll Brothers to develop it.” He explained that the property is currently zoned for one-acre lots, which could produce about a 100 homes, but the developer wants higher density on the site and the reason the borough would agree to higher density is to avoid going to court and having a judge require even a greater density than has been tentatively agreed to at this time. Bivona pointed out that there is already an instance in the borough where eight units to the acre has been required by a court and, if that were imposed on this site, it could result in 1,000 dwelling units. “That would be devastating to Franklin Lakes,” Bivona said. “We now have about 3,500 homes and so adding another 1,000 would be pretty difficult to swallow in one chunk like that.” He said the borough’s objective is to have this devel- opment be consistent with the quality and the feeling of Franklin Lakes as a whole. He described the proposed development as a “pretty high-end complex.” Bivona pointed out that, under the tentative agree- ment, there would be one road weaving through the hous- ing complex from Ewing Avenue to Franklin Lake Road with no other entrances or exits. Franklin Lakes Borough Administrator Gregory Hart advised that all the buildings would be no more than two-and-a-half stories and 40 feet high. Bivona indicated that it will be difficult not to change the lot coverage requirement for some of the lots and he wasn’t sure of the development’s impact on the assessed value of the borough. He did point out, however, that the developer will be responsible for all of the cost of the roads, sewers, utilities, sidewalks, etc. in the housing complex. While the development is expected to bring about 120 school children to the borough, Bivona emphasized there would be no need for another school building because the enrollment in the district is expected to decline over the next few years. According to Bivona, the plan does not include the preservation of any land for the future need for a firehouse or any ball fields, although the borough may receive some money for the maintenance of the nature preserve. Vista hearing (continued from page 7) The applicant will provide for sufficient dust and air quality control measures during construction. All utilities will be installed underground. Refuse and recyclables will be stored inside the build- ing. HVAC/roof top equipment will be screened. Additional screening will be installed if required by township offi- cials. The applicant will install and maintain landscaping as approved by Wyckoff Zoning Board of Adjustment, includ- ing the irrigation of ornamental landscaped areas. The applicant will explore providing additional land- scaping and buffering along the loop road in the vicinity of the residents living on Emiline Drive when the applicant seeks approval from the Borough of Hawthorne. Perimeter lighting will have back shields on the light fixtures. Most of the other stipulations apply to necessary per- mits and compliance with Wyckoff’s building code.