Traffic Concerns Highlight Master Plan Hearing

As the township of Howell looks at how it will develop in the future, one of the questions that has arisen is what the Route 33 corridor will look like going forward. At Thursday night's planning board meeting there was further evidence of just how many questions need to be answered before any conclusion is reached. 

While discussing the town's master plan, questions were raised at the meeting about what would have to be done to further develop Route 33 while improving any potential traffic problems. 

Board attorney Ronald Cucchiaro said the planning and zoning boards have seen several applications looking to change the look of the road even before changes to the master plan are made. Over the past seven years Cucchiaro said more than 30 use variances have been submitted and 10 interpretations of the use variance ordinance have also been heard by the boards.

The attorney said all the applications have raised several questions about the road. "Because of those requests and because we see a lot of applications in front of the boards, that tells us that we should go back and reassess what these ones are, if any amendments should be made to the ordinance to change the zoning in a way that balances proper development with environmental conservation and takes into account the surrounding properties and land uses," he said. 

Board member Paul Schneider said he did not believe the board could even look at changing the zones or making any changes to the road at this point. "I'm a firm believer that nothing is going to happen on Route 33 whether we put sewerage or water in or not without a traffic study and improvements from one end to the other," he said.

Another problem presented with changing Route 33 is that it is not a township road, but rather a state road, meaning the Department of Transportation has final say on all changes to the roadway. That includes whether the road should be widened, whether traffic lights should be installed or whether the timing of the lights should be change. 

Cucchiaro said that while the township did not have the ability to decide anything on the road, the board could make its opinion known through the plan. "We have an impact," he said. "We have a seat at the table, we can certainly communicate with the other jurisdictions ad DOT that have the power but it's not something this municipality on its own has the ability to improve."

One example of the lights in question is at the corner of Route 33 and Colts Neck Rd. Plans have been negotiated for quite some time to put a full signal at that intersection especially since the construction of the Equestra development. It was also part of an application for a proposed that was voted down by the zoning board. 

Schneider said in the five years since Equestra has been built the township has been waiting for the DOT to put the light at the intersection. "I'm a firm believer that Route 33 will never, no matter what we do, be developed to its potential until the council and the state sit down and work out a plan to improve that highway."

Two residents of the Equestra development spoke at the meeting as did an attorney for another resident of Route 33 asking the board to consider the traffic implications to any changes made to the heavily traveled corridor. 

Councilman Robert Nicastro who is the representative of the governing body to the planning board, said he believes the state and county are working to expand Route 33. "We are in the same sentiment that we believe that Route 33 needs to be widened," he said of the state, county and local governments.

Board Chairman Vincent Tantillo said in response to a question from an Equestra resident that for the past 30 years people have been talking about what to do with Route 33. "Nobody's done nothing and it's time for them to do something," he said. 

Echoing that sentiment, Schneider said with Nicastro and other members of the council he felt confident that change would come to the area. "It is an intolerable situation," he started. "It just has to be corrected." Schneider added, "If they make up their mind they want to do something and accomplish that, they're going to accomplish it."

For his part, Nicastro said he was glad to be part of what he hopes will be a positive solution for the township. "For too long its been ignored," he said. "I take great pride that this planning board and this governing body is starting to look at Route 33 and Route 9 and say we have to make it better."

When it came time to vote on whether to approve the ideas, Schneider said without a better idea on the traffic picture and even with the state having the final say, he could not vote in favor of it. 

He asked that it could be tabled until the next meeting so that better language could be included in the plan. "I would urge all my board members to reject this until the proper wording to study the traffic and the problems on 33," he said. 

Cucchiaro said part of the problem for the township is there is no way of knowing when the DOT might implement the changes whether the board voted for the plan or not. "If we route 33 as it is and the DOT comes in and does widening people are going to lose frontage," he said. "It doesn't matter if it stays this way or another way. If they come in and take land, they're going to take land."

Because of all the uncertainty, the attorney said the board should continue its regular business. "There's no guarantee that they will do it or when they will do it, it doesn't mean the township stops zoning," he said. 

In the end it was agreed that in the master plan it would "promote the coordination with all other government entities having jurisdiction to come to an amicable resolution to promote safety," Cucchiaro said as a rough idea for the board of the changes. 

The plan was then tabled until the Dec. 1 meeting when more discussion would be held.