Planning Board Approves Site Plan for Elton-Adelphia Rd. Development

The Freehold Township Planning Board approved the preliminary and final site plan for a development proposed by JSM at Eaton, a division of Edgewood Properties in Piscataway, on Thursday, Feb. 17. The developer has planned a commercial project on a parcel of land at the intersection of Route 9 South, Elton-Adelphia Rd. and Jackson Mills Rd.

The development includes a 5,950-square-foot restaurant; a 6,300-square-foot restaurant; a 2,958-square-foot bank; a two-story, 8,352-square-foot daycare center; and an 8,000-square-foot commercial building, according to documents JSM at Eaton presented to the Planning Board. TD Bank was identified in the proposal as the financial institution that would occupy the bank site.

According to John A. Giunco, attorney for JSM at Eaton, the commercial building would house offices and small stores rather than a large retail facility.

The site includes entrance and exit lanes on Route 9 South, Elton-Adelphia Rd. and Jackson Mills, as well as 30 percent more parking spaces than zoning on the property requires.

Additionally, JSM at Eaton would install sidewalks along the Route 9 South portion of the property, as well as on Jackson Mills and on Elton-Adelphia from the intersection at Jackson Mills to the entrance, Giunco said.

“This piece of land gave me nightmares about when it would be developed because of the traffic pattern. This is the best you could have done with what you have. It’s a tough spot,” said Freehold Township Mayor David Salkin, a member of the Planning Board, at the Jan. 20 meeting in which the site plan was presented by the developer.

Salkin noted that three applications by other developers have been denied in the past for this parcel.

“The applicant is to be commended for the sensitivity to the topography and the neighborhood,” Salkin said.

The developer will need to receive approval from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection before permits can be issued by the township for construction to begin.