Land near Havens Cove on developer's hit list 11-home subdivision hearing postponed 2nd time to Dec. 13 BY COLLEEN LUTOLF Correspondent Willie deCamp BRICK -- A hearing on a controversial 11-home subdivision opposed by at least 20 of its closest Havens Cove neighbors and a local environmental conservation group has been rescheduled for Dec. 13. Danitom Development Inc., Paramus, presented an application to the Planning Board back in July to clear-cut over 12 acres of woodlands, a portion of its wetlands, to build 11 2.5-story homes on lots sized between 27,000 and 44,591 square feet. The homes would be located on a cul-de-sac, a dead-end to a proposed Atlantic Drive extension road that is part of the project. The July meeting ended with the public portion of the meeting remaining open for additional public comment and the applicant intending to submit updated plans. Danitom decided to move forward with the application Oct. 10, without updating site plans or providing new maps. But interested members of the public had already been told that new maps had not been received, which led them to believe the hearing would be postponed, Planning Board Secretary Judy Fox-Nelson said. That's why the board postponed the hearing to Dec. 13, Fox-Nelson said. Neighboring residents believe the project will make an already flood-prone area even more flooded with the amount of impervious coverage the project will add to the area. Residents testified in July that an insufficient amount of drainage pipes and gutters will cause flooding to their properties and expressed concern over the loss of wildlife and 12 percent of the area's wetlands. Members of the environmentalist group Save Barnegat Bay also opposed the project. They believe Brick Township could purchase the land as open space, something the township was committed to doing in previous years, then sell it to the federal government as part of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge due to its close proximity to the protected woodlands. "Save Barnegat Bay shares the concerns of most people in the neighborhood that storm water considerations make this a questionable site for a development," Save Barnegat Bay President Willie deCamp said Monday. "The land is wet. The fact that this land is in the Reedy Creek woods makes it an especially inappropriate place for a development. Save Barnegat Bay would like to see the land purchased for conservation." The 12 acres Danitom proposes to develop is actually a portion of a larger 35.7-acre tract owned by the Diocese of Trenton. The township's previous attempts to purchase the tract as open space from the diocese failed in previous years. As a compromise, the diocese is offering the township the remaining undeveloped - and environmentalists say undevelopable - 23 acres for free. The township looks at the land deal favorably, with only board and state Department of Environmental Protection approvals standing between the proposed project and its fruition. The board's engineer, James Priolo, also said at the July hearing that he has concerns regarding the project's drainage plans. Priolo and Danitom Development President Tom Critelli could not be reached for comment. DeCamp, whose testimony was almost denied at the July hearing due to his affiliation with Save Barnegat Bay and the lack of attorney representation for the organization (deCamp was finally allowed to comment as a private citizen), said he is ready for the December hearing. Save Barnegat Bay had retained Princeton Hydro, Ringoes, to testify on behalf of the organization. "We plan to be at the Planning Board hearing on Dec. 13, and I know that a lot of people from the neighborhood plan to be there also," deCamp said.