Pine Snake Discovery Muddles Plans For Proposed Development
By Keith Hagarty
The fate over the construction of hundreds of homes on Grawtown Road may have hit a bump thanks to the recent discovery of a northern pine snake on the site, leading residents to ask the town to fund an independent study to determine if a proposed 493- home development on 303-acres, known as Grawtown Estates, should be rejected by the township planning board.
A report submitted to the board by the developer, Orleans Homebuilders of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, stated that no pine snakes, or any threatened or endangered species, are currently on the site.
However, resident Rich Gogan said he discovered the endangered species of snake on the site in June. His finding was later substantiated by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Residents are now calling for the board, with funding from the municipality, to fund its own independent study and settle any questions over whether there are any threatened or endangered species on the site.
Speaking at Tuesday's township council meeting, Garth Michaels, of Grawtown Road, asked the council for help.
"I think that maybe it would be really good if you guys could take a little bit of that extra money kicking around and maybe appropriate it towards a threatened endangered species study in the Grawtown Road area," she said. "We've got some pine snakes there. They've been spotted. They've been documented, and now they want to go and build almost 1,000 houses in that area.
"It's something that would be a very proactive thing to do," she said. "It costs a little bit of money, but it could save us millions and millions of dollars in building schools and getting buses, and everything else."
Michaels is concerned about the potential influx of motorists on the small country road, fearing the risk of traffic accidents could rise exponentially.
"Grawtown Road is on a curve around the (traffic) light, and they want to put two stoplights less than a mile apart," she said. "It is going to be a pile-up waiting to happen as people slam on their brakes to make a red light, and then five more people plow into them. It's just not the right part of the township to have that kind of density in the housing."
Township Attorney George Gilmore assured Michaels that the matter is currently being reviewed by township officials.
"The very issue you are raising is being discussed," Gilmore said. "It will be presented soon to the mayor and governing body."
With the rise in development in Jackson and surrounding communities, Michaels said the town has to do whatever it can to try and curb explosive growth, especially if it's a detriment to the environment.
"I know that the township at one point in time went for 3-acre zoning, but the Pinelands (Commission) did not go for it, I understand," she said, "but we have to use every tool in our arsenal to stop the overdevelopment because frankly, it's a tragedy waiting to happen. It's not good for anybody."
Other concerns Michaels has if the new development were to be built, it would put a further strain on the water supply and the overall environmental impact in the rural area.
"All those trees are going to have to come down," she said. "We're talking total deforestation. They can't leave trees, and still build all these houses so close together."
Despite her misgivings about the proposed Grawtown Estates, Michaels said she understands development is inevitable in any town.
"I'm not anti-development," she said. "I understand development occurs, but let's do it intelligently. Let's not do it in such a manner that can overcrowd our school system and destroy our tax base. I mean, we're not going to be able to ever tax one house as much for all the services they're going to require."
Former Committeeman Mike Kafton said he believes an ordinance was passed during his tenure on the board prior to 2007, which required developers to fund an independent study on a development's potential impact on the environment and threatened or endangered species. However, neither Kafton nor Gilmore was aware if the township planning board has been enforcing the ordinance.
Gilmore said he would look into the specific details of the ordinances, and report back to the council on his findings.
"It (the ordinance) simply says that a developer has to get an independent study, but that doesn't mean that we can't go out and hire them," said Gilmore.
If the mayor and governing body are in any position to support an independent study for threatened and endangered species at the proposed site, they would be "heroes of Jackson," according to Michaels.
"Generations will thank you for it because you'll be doing the right thing," she told the council. |
