06/06/2023
Debunking the Crawford Hill Myths – Part I
In a mailer sent to Holmdel residents, Crawford Hill Holding LLC (CHH) purports to share the truth about their proposal for a townhouse development at Crawford Hill, home of the historic Horn Antenna. It then asks to go to their website to get the “facts”.
I. When is Preserving NOT Preserving?
CHH claims that the Horn Antenna “is not at risk and never was at risk.”
Let’s take a look at the facts. First, CCH’s own attorney filed a Planning Memo with the Holmdel Township in October 2022 that said “It is anticipated that the Horn Antenna will be relocated to the Bell Works or any other suitable site." A concept plan submitted to the Township about a month later in November showed the Horn Antenna to be missing.
A revised concept plan dated Feb. 2023 now shows the Horn Antenna but relocated to a different location, more than 800 feet away. Moving the 18-ton structure that is more than 60 years old is not only risky but could potentially jeopardize the National Historic Landmark designation.
A member of the Holmdel Historical Society mentioned at a recent Holmdel Township Committee meeting that Dr. Cooke’s medical office (located next to the Village School) was not granted a National Historic Landmark designation even though it is the oldest medical office in the United States because the National Park Service indicated that it had been moved.
The definition of the word preserve is to “maintain (something) in its original or existing state.” Is this a case of “preserving” but NOT preserving?
II. When is LOW Density NOT LOW Density?
CHH claims that the development is for 86 townhouses and that the “project is LOW Density.”
Almost by definition, a townhouse development (in contrast to a single-family development) is generally considered high-density. See the picture provided by CHH below. Does this look like a low-density development?
Much of Holmdel south of the New Jersey Transit train tracks consists of residential subdivisions with lots from 1 to 2.5 acres. The Crawford Hill property consists of 43 acres. Without taking into the topography of the property, this works out to be 1 residential unit per ½ acre. This alone means that the development is 2 to 5 times higher density.
However, Crawford Hill is not only the high point of Holmdel but all of Monmouth County. Roughly 35-50% of the property is on very steep slopes which makes building difficult. So, if you take this into account, the density for the proposal is approximately one residential unit per ¼ to 1/3 “buildable” acre or, potentially, 4 to 10 times higher density.
Is this a case of “low-density” but NOT low-density? Should we believe CHH’s claim that this is a “LOW density” development?
More Debunking Crawford Hill Myths to come.
