Holmdel Family Apartments (Middle Road and Laurel Avenue)

CILU continues to follow the progress of a builder’s proposal to construct a 50-unit apartment building on a 3.87-acre parcel near the intersection of South Laurel Avenue and Middle Road.  These homes will be within Holmdel but will be on the municipal border shared with Hazlet Township.  Commonly known as “The Holmdel Family Apartments”, this project is part of a settlement agreement made on Jan. 11, 2019, between Holmdel and the Fair Share Housing Center.  All 50 homes will be applied toward meeting Holmdel’s state-mandated requirements. 

In July 2020, Holmdel Township Committee, through an ordinance, approved a plan that designated three new developments intended to meet its affordable housing obligations.  The Walters Group introduced a proposal for one of these projects at the Laurel Avenue/Middle Road site. 

August 2020, three important events occurred: 1) Neighboring Hazlet Township sued Holmdel to stop the project arguing that the proposed project was too large for the size of the parcel.  Hazlet homeowners were also vocal about the proximity of the buildings to their existing homes. 2) State Superior Court approved Holmdel’s overall affordable housing plan, making the township immune from so-called builder’s remedy lawsuits until 2025, and 3) The builder received preliminary site plan approval for the specific project.  A year later, Hazlet and Holmdel reached a settlement agreement in which Hazlet dropped all lawsuits.  This settlement required changes be made to the building spacing, drainage, and landscaping, all intended to lessen the impact upon Hazlet neighbors.         

To facilitate their proposed project, in 2021 the Walters Group petitioned that Holmdel request the state Planning Commission amend a portion of its Critical Environmental Site (CES) Designation Metropolitan Planning Area (from PA2 to PA1).  The state Commission granted this request by expanding the lands encompassed by PA1 (their Resolution 2021-06).  Since the new borders of the PA1 included some environmentally sensitive areas, Holmdel passed its own “defensive” ordinance (2021-14) to ensure that the change does not hinder the township’s own municipal zoning regulations, especially for future projects. 

The NJ-DEP has recently notified Holmdel that the state has received an application seeking its approval for the 50-unit development.   A Holmdel Planning Board hearing is scheduled for May 3, 2022, at which time the board will review a revised project plan. 

CILU will continue to monitor the approval process for this project.   

Written 4/22 by Randy Rauscher