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Crestmont Country Club proposes new exit and signal at Eagle Rock/Oval tied to parking expansion; attorney cites 2020 settlement and potential eminent domain
Summary
Crestmont Country Club asked the Planning Board to approve a plan adding roughly 32 parking spaces and a new, signalized exit at Eagle Rock and Oval Road to replace a steep unsignalized exit. Attorney Richard Schkolnick said a 2020 settlement anticipated such a signal and referenced eminent domain provisions; traffic experts told the board the signal is warranted and would improve safety.
Crestmont Country Club presented a preliminary/final site plan on June 3 that would add roughly 32 parking spaces, reconfigure an existing steep exit and create a new signalized intersection at Eagle Rock Avenue and Oval Road. Attorney Richard S. Schkolnick said the proposal includes road widening, drainage improvements and retaining walls that require variance relief.
Schkolnick explained the application was developed in the context of a 2020 settlement agreement that anticipated installation of a traffic signal at the Oval/Eagle Rock intersection. "It requires the township to use eminent domain authority to acquire property, which would be from my client, Crestmont," Schkolnick told the board, describing how the parties negotiated a cooperative alternative rather than litigating the taking.
Crestmont general manager Dana Cancellaro described safety and operational concerns at the existing unsignalized, steep exit. "If you've ever tried to make a left out of the club, it's difficult... we have elderly folks driving out of here," Cancellaro said, adding icing and winter maintenance issues on the slope that prompted interest in a safer, signalized egress.
Civil engineer John Cote outlined site work concentrated in the northeast corner of the 146‑acre property, including reconfigured parking fields, new detention/bioretention basins for stormwater management and the creation of a new exit aligned with the proposed signal. Traffic engineer Karl Penke described operational analysis and said the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) warrants a signal at that location based on existing volumes, sight‑line constraints and crash/safety considerations: "Based on the conditions... it is warranted to signalize," Penke said.
Penke and the applicant’s engineers described design elements that will accompany the signal: a widened section of Eagle Rock Avenue with added left‑turn storage, new sidewalks, crosswalks, pedestrian head signals and ADA ramps, plus modern signal detection and coordination with the nearby Laurel Avenue signal.
Members of the public asked about the history and scope of the settlement. Resident questions surfaced about whether eminent domain proceedings had been initiated; attorneys said the parties are pursuing a negotiated approach and the county and township have been involved in the design process.
The board accepted testimony and carried the application to the July 1 meeting to allow continued engineering testimony, landscape and planner testimony and public questions at a future session; no further notice will be required.
