 |
| Drawings of new duplex to be built on Evesboro-Medford Road |
The Evesham Township Planning Board met on August 15, 2019 to review an application by Habitat for Humanity to subdivide a property they own on the corner of Evesboro-Medford Road and Elmwood Road into 5 separate lots. One lot would be sold to Evesham Township for permanent open space for $1, and the other four would share two duplexes, with one half of each duplex on each of the four lots.
Habitat for Humanity purchased the land from WSFS bank. Much of the western portion of the land is wetlands. As it was formerly zoned commercial, it had been looked at over the years by commercial enterprises including a car wash and a Dunkin Donuts. However, since the develop-able land is on the eastern half of the land, away from the highly traveled intersection, no commercial businesses have attempted to develop the land.
 |
| Habitat for Humanity property in red. 1) St Isaac Jogues 2) 7-11 3) Tanglewood community |
The land had been rezoned recently for affordable housing, as part of the Township's plan to build 400+ affordable homes as required by the settlement agreed to with the Fair Share Housing Center and approved by the court. It was noted that nearby homeowners were not notified of a potential change to the zoning of the lot, but as the Planning Board's attorney noted, they were not required to be notified.
The plan by Habitat for Humanity is to subdivide the current 10.89 acre lot into 5 separate lots. New lot 3.01 would be sold back to Evesham for $1 for open space. This lot is approximately 9.2 acres. There is hope that once the town owns that lot, it will be easier to apply for the proper permits to build a sidewalk along Elmwood Road for the benefit of those living in Inglis Gardens.
 |
| Four new residential lots |
The remaining land would be new lots 3.02, 3.03, 3.04 and 3.05. A duplex would be built along the property line with one single family dwelling in each new lot. Each new building would have a shared driveway, but each new dwelling would be allotted 3 parking spaces.
 |
| Duplex built on property line with driveway on Evesboro-Medford Road |
The driveways from the road are 20 feet wide and each parking space measures 9' x 18'. A sidewalk will be provided in the front of the homes (though it won't lead anywhere). There will be pads behind the houses for trash, bicycles, lawnmowers, etc, along with a 6 foot vinyl fence shielding it. Each duplex will contain one 3-bedroom and one 4-bedroom home of approximately 1760 square feet with 1.5 bathrooms. The property will not be fenced.
Habitat for Humanity would find families based on need and ability to pay. The homes would be deed-restricted for 30 years, meaning they would remain as affordable housing for at least 30 years, even if sold in the future. Habitat for Humanity would own the mortgage to the house and would be provided at 0% interest. Each new homeowner would be required to provide 250 - 400 hours of sweat equity (volunteer hours). Each new homeowner would also be required to complete a 10 week finance class covering budgeting, repairs, credit and other topics. The new homeowners would be provided with a mentor both pre- and post-closing
There were a lot of residents from the Tanglewood community in attendance at the meeting to express their displeasure with the proposal. Their concerns can be divided into 3 categories: concerns about flooding, concerns about property values and concerns about the quality of homeowner that a affordable housing brings.
While the professionals from Habitat for Humanity, as well as those employed by the Planning Board, answered all of the questions asked, it does not appear that the residents of Tanglewood left the meeting satisfied.
Ultimately, the attorney for the Planning Board noted that the job of the Planning Board is to determine whether an application conforms with the law, not with the type of person who may live there eventually or whether it would be good for nearby homeowners, only whether it conforms with local laws.
The resolution passed by a vote of 6-0-1, with Friedman, Parikh, Veasy, DiEnna, Higginbotham and Marrone voting in the affirmative and Cortland abstaining (no reason given).
Like my Facebook Page to get the latest posts - A View From Evesham. You can email me at MarltonNeil@yahoo.com.
