By Sherry conohan
Staff Writer

EATONTOWN — The borough may purchase the Howard Commons Army housing complex in order to have more control over its redevelopment as it is turned over to the civilian sector.

A resolution authorizing the purchase of Howard Commons was passed unanimously by the Borough Council at its meeting July 10.

The council previously retained Kise, Straw & Kolodner, of Philadelphia, to draw up a mixed-use plan for redevelopment of Howard Commons.

Susan Bass Levin, state commissioner of community affairs, just recently assured the borough it will get a $50,000 "smart growth" grant to pay for it.

"The intent here is that once the plan is put in place we can implement the plan more precisely," Mayor Gerald J. Tarantolo said before the vote. "This is the first step and we are getting good vibes coming from the GSA."

Borough Business Administrator Michael L. Trotta said after the meeting he didn’t know what the price tag would be on the housing complex as the borough hasn’t had any negotiations yet with the federal General Services Administration, which is overseeing the return of Howard Commons to the private sector since it has been declared to be surplus by the Army.

"We’re talking more than $1 million," he said when pressed for a price.

Asked where the money would come from, Trotta said the thought is to possibly pre-select a developer that will work with the borough on the plan that’s proposed and participate in the purchase of the property.

"If there’s anything the council has heard from the public (about the Howard Commons conversion) it’s that the borough control the project," he said.

The borough has only just contacted the GSA about buying Howard Commons so all of the plans are in a "very preliminary stage," he said.

Tarantolo said legislation was working its way through Congress to specify that the money the GSA gets from the sale of Howard Commons comes back to Fort Monmouth.

In other action, the council introduced an ordinance to rezone an area along Old Deal Road that was the subject of a lawsuit brought against the borough and Planning Board by American Properties Development Group, LLC.

The developer sued the borough under the state’s Affordable Housing Law, which requires municipalities to provide a fair share of low- and moderate-income housing. The law resulted from a series of suits brought against Mount Laurel Township for exclusionary zoning.

A settlement of the lawsuit was on the agenda but was pulled until the next council meeting on July 24.

The proposed ordinance would rezone an area now zoned R-20 to R-MLC or single-family Residential Mount Laurel Contribution zone.

Jeffrey Surenian, a lawyer with the Lomell law firm in Toms River who represented the borough in negotiations with American Properties, said, when contacted after the meeting, that American Properties had originally wanted higher density zoning than that allowed so it could develop multi-family housing with 20 percent set aside for Mount Laurel low- and moderate-income units.

He explained that the development company negotiated down to 3.2 units per acre of single-family housing to sell at market price with no Mount Laurel low- and moderate-income housing.

Surenian said the borough will get a contribution from American Properties from the sale of those houses. That money will be used for new Mount Laurel housing, or rehabilitating existing structures in the borough or in another town where needed.

He said there will be both a base contribution and a bonus contribution. He explained the base contribution is 20 percent of the units built multiplied by $25,000. He said the bonus contribution will be 5 percent of the amount by which the sales price of the house exceeds $300,000.

By way of example, Surenian explained that a maximum of 32 houses can be built on the land. If 30 houses are built, 20 percent of the number of units is six, which then is multiplied by $25,000 to get a $150,000 base contribution, he said. He said he expected the sale of the houses to be extremely profitable with a lot selling for over $300,000, which would then allow for large bonus contributions as well.

Surenian said Eatontown’s "fair share" of Mount Laurel housing has been fixed by the state at 500 units of new construction and 29-30 rehabilitations.

"This settlement by no means is an admission that we have used our power to zone to exclude the poor," he said. "On the contrary, Eatontown is the quintessential inclusionary town. It is a prudent measure to control risk."

A public hearing on the rezoning ordinance is set for 8 p.m. Aug. 28.

The council also introduced two other ordinances, one to ban skateboards, roller skates and inline skating in Wampum Memorial Park on Route 35, and the other to amend an ordinance fixing fees for copying documents.

Public hearings on both ordinances will be held at 8 p.m. July 24.

A first offense for the skateboarding and skating ordinance would be punishable by a fine of up to $250 for an adult and, in the case of a minor, the issuance of a written reprimand by police to the parents or guardian.

On a second offense, an adult could be fined $250 again. For a minor, the skateboard or skates would be confiscated by police for up to 60 days and the parents could be fined up to $250.

A third offense brings a fine of $250 for either an adult or the parents of a minor and forfeiture of the device.

The council informally agreed to install a sidewalk along one side of Wall Street between Parker Road and Old Deal Road after hearing a presentation at its caucus from engineer Richard Maser, of Maser Consulting in Matawan.

Maser said big trees present obstacles, making construction more expensive between Old Deal Road and the West Long Branch boundary at Whalepond Road.

There are some sidewalk segments where new subdivisions were built.

Trotta estimated there was $70,000 in the budget for a sidewalk. He said when the council formally acts on the project it will have to amend the budget.

Maser projected a total cost of $76,000, with $21,000 for engineering and $55,000 for construction, if residents cooperate and grant needed easements, and the borough doesn’t have to condemn property and pay for appraisals.

"I grew up in that neighborhood. Let me talk to people first," Councilwoman Joyce Englehart said.

Trotta suggested the council members authorize Maser to do the engineering for the sidewalk for their next meeting.

The council also heard from a delegation from Ginger Mews at its caucus about problems with a detention basin behind their complex.

Daniel Morris, vice president of the owners association, said the borough cited the condo complex for having litter at the pond. He contended, however, that kids from neighboring Laurel Gardens were responsible.

Morris said the president of the owners association, Roy Weaver and his wife, personally cleaned out the area around the pond.

He said Weaver asked the borough Department of Public Works to remove the brush that had grown up around the pond, but the DPW refused. So the homeowners cut it down and put it out at the street, he said.

A week later, he said, it was full of litter again, but not from Ginger Mews.

Morris said the pond is a "kid magnet" and is a place where teenagers engage in underage drinking and then litter.

He said Weaver videotaped kids in the detention area as proof of the source of the problem, but the kids called police and the police told Weaver to quit filming them because it was an invasion of their privacy.

Laura Micelli, the treasurer of the association, complained that there are never any police patrols by the detention basin.

Councilman Theodore F. Lewis Jr. said that probably was because it was on a dead-end street. Morris said there’s a loop drive around the complex.

Council members promised to talk to the police and the DPW and try to resolve the problem.