WALL TOWNSHIP — The 12-year-long planning board saga on Ramshorn Drive LLC’s application to develop two medical office buildings off Route 70 continued Monday night – when impassioned residents presented their final expert witness on local flooding concerns.
No decision was reached and the planning board review is scheduled to resume on July 10, when final objections and legal arguments are to be heard before a possible vote.
The applicant is proposing to build two 17,800-square-foot medical office buildings at 2691-2697 Route 70 – located north of Route 70 and south of the Four Seasons residential complex.
The office building application, which is vehemently opposed by residents on Ramshorn Drive, Fox Lane and Horseshoe Drive, reached a tipping point Monday night with testimony from expert witness Geoffrey M. Goll.
Mr. Goll is a licensed engineer representing Phillip Abbott, one of the principal objectors to the medical offices proposal. Mr. Abbott lives on Horseshoe Drive, which is located north of the proposed medical offices. According to testimony given in March, his property on 1582 Horseshoe Drive [Block 99] has had extensive flooding in his backyard and basement since he purchased the property in 2012. The flooding was caused by runoff from a man-made swale located on the applicant’s site, which sits about 10 feet behind Mr. Abbott’s backyard and that of several neighbors.
Mr. Goll referred to the proposed development’s low elevation in the predominantly wooded site as additional cause for concern regarding neighborhood flooding.
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