Board approves Palante LLC four‑lot subdivision on Route 38 with sidewalk, fencing and HOA conditions

Jonah Singer, representing Palante LLC, asked the board for preliminary and final approval of a four‑lot subdivision on Route 38 and Laurel Ridge Road that would create three single‑family lots and a common lot for a private shared driveway and a stormwater basin. The applicant’s civil engineer described a 3.8‑acre site plan and said most checklist and professional comments could be resolved administratively.

Planner and board counsel told the board that Hainesport’s recently adopted tree removal/reforestation ordinance sits outside the land‑use chapter and that any relief or final reforestation calculation would be determined by the Township Committee; the applicant agreed to provide additional buffering and landscape plantings while the final tree counts would be set during committee review. The engineer said additional soils testing is planned; if tests require, the basin bottom may be raised and its footprint widened or shifted on the common lot to meet stormwater volume requirements, subject to Township engineer review.

Board members extensively debated a requirement for sidewalks along the Route 38 frontage. Supporters argued sidewalks improve safety and future connectivity to a nearby potential affordable‑housing site and commercial uses; opponents raised concerns about disconnected sidewalk segments and maintenance responsibilities in the DOT/state right‑of‑way. After discussion the board registered a sense vote favoring sidewalks (7–1) and specified in the motion that sidewalks will be required along Route 38 as part of the approval, with county and state coordination where right‑of‑way approvals are needed.

The board also addressed HOA responsibilities (road, basin, trash pads, snow removal), fencing (applicant proposed a six‑foot tan vinyl fence along Route 38 with split‑rail fencing around the basin), lighting details, and sidewalk termini near a paper street (Sandra Lane/Creek Road) and recommended that HOA documents and budgets be reviewed prior to plan signing. The motion to grant preliminary and final approval included requested checklist waivers and multiple conditions: professional resolution compliance, final stormwater design approval by the Township engineer, HOA documents review, specified fence types/colors as planner‑approved, and Township Committee resolution on tree reforestation. The motion passed on unanimous roll call.