Ridge Oak seeks approval for 29‑unit age‑restricted building; board presses for lighting, trash and access details

Ridge Oak Management asked the Bernards Township Planning Board on April 7 to approve a preliminary and final major site plan to build a two‑story, 29‑unit age‑restricted independent living building on Block 1611, Lot 40, with access tied into the existing Ridge Oak 1 development.

Attorney Luke Pontier, representing the applicant, said the project is included in the township’s fourth‑round housing element and fair‑share plan and that the township adopted ordinance No. 2573 in April 2025 creating the SH‑4 senior housing zone that contemplates this type of development. “We are here this evening seeking preliminary and final major site plan approval with some design waiver relief,” Pontier said.

Project engineer Rob Miciello described the site and proposed improvements, including demolition of an existing two‑story house, a new driveway tying into Ridge Oak 1, a 39‑stall parking lot to serve the 29 units (with 29 assigned spaces and roughly ten unassigned visitor spaces), a 12×25 trash enclosure to be serviced by a private hauler, stormwater basins and a porous‑pavement system, and two means of emergency access (Manchester Drive and a stabilized‑turf emergency path from East Oak Street). “We are proposing to construct the property with an affordable housing project consisting of 29 age‑restricted independent living units,” Miciello said.

Miciello said the project will remove 26 trees and plant 78, exceeding the township’s replacement requirement, and that a small wetland feature on the western property has a 50‑foot DEP buffer; work in the buffer will require NJDEP permits and a transition‑area waiver. He estimated roughly 2,000 cubic yards of material will be exported during site preparation and said the applicant will coordinate hauling schedules with the township engineer.

Board members repeatedly pressed the applicant on operations and neighbor impacts. Concerns included how elderly residents would access a distant trash enclosure in winter, whether assigned parking and a single elevator on a two‑story building provide adequate service and emergency access, and how delivery, trash and emergency vehicles would navigate the parking area. Miciello and the applicant said management staff from Ridge Oak would operate and service the building and that deliveries would typically be small box trucks staged at the drop‑off.

Lighting was a focal point of the hearing. The applicant requested exceptions from the township’s lighting standards (the ordinance limits sidewalks to a maximum of 0.2 foot‑candles and parking to 0.4); the applicant proposed an average of 1.6 foot‑candles for sidewalks and parking to accommodate an older resident population. Several board members asked for comparative photometric data and nighttime measurements of the existing Ridge Oak lighting (a 2018 approval had averaged 0.6 foot‑candles) so the board could see examples of what 0.6 versus 1.6 foot‑candles look like in practice. The applicant agreed to provide manufacturer photometrics, one or more nighttime site measurements and a revised lighting plan before the continued hearing.

On wetlands, environmental consultant John Peel (PK Environmental) offered a written wetlands‑absence letter for the adjacent Ridge Oak parcel (Lot 22.01), concluding no NJDEP‑regulated freshwater wetlands or transition areas occur within 50 feet of the proposed improvements on that lot; he confirmed there are pending NJDEP transition‑area waivers for portions of Lot 40 where limited disturbance is proposed.

Architect Mary Jo Hennison testified the building will contain 29 one‑bedroom apartments (14 on the first floor, 15 on the second), a central elevator, a multipurpose room with a covered porch, and an amenity area with a gazebo and raised planting beds. She said the building will be fully sprinklered and use slab‑on‑grade construction; units will have through‑wall air conditioning and the common areas will be served by the generator for life‑safety systems.

Before continuing the hearing, the board asked the applicant to submit a consolidated list of all exceptions sought, updated plans showing required EV spaces and make‑ready locations (the applicant said the plan will be updated to show two active EV spaces and four make‑ready stalls to meet the state 15% requirement), manufacturer photometrics and nighttime light‑meter readings at the existing Ridge Oak site, mailbox/post office confirmation for the proposed mail kiosk, and an operations plan describing trash handling for residents. The board continued the Ridge Oak hearing to May 5, 2026, with no further notice required.