Wetlands park will be created next to 41 homes BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer MONROE - Some 41 single-family homes will be built alongside 71 acres of preserved open space under a development plan approved last week. The Planning Board gave preliminary approval Oct. 26 to Georgetown Estates LLC/Rocky Brook with the stipulation that the open space be turned over to the township. "We're getting the open space for not just idle space, but we're having the developer create a wetlands park," said Planning Board member and township Open Space Manager John Riggs. "So, it's a very positive, environmentally sensitive project." The designated open space will include walking trails, and the developer will plant 15 varieties of seeds for flowers and wetlands grasses, which will aid wildlife in the area, Riggs said. The board also requested that Georgetown/Rocky Brook provide public access to the area, along with a parking lot with pervious cover. The property is located on Disbrow Hill Road, off Butcher Road, behind the Renaissance at Monroe active adult community. Georgetown/Rocky Brook submitted a cluster housing plan after its original plan was rejected by the board. The original plan would have required the developer to import thousands of truckloads of soil to the site. The cluster plan will see the developer building the same 41 homes on the originally planned 41 lots, but the lot size will be decreased from three-quarters of an acre to one-half of an acre. The development will take about two years to build, Riggs estimated. The developer will come back before the Planning Board for final approval in 30 to 90 days, Riggs said. It is first required to obtain approval from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for the wetlands portion of the site, and from the Monroe Township Municipal Utilities Authority for the water and sewer plans.