Forest Avenue Senior Living Center Site Plans OK'd

The Shelter Group got the green light Thursday for the 139-unit senior living facility it plans to construct on Forest Avenue.

The Thursday night hearing was the last step in the application's site plan approval for the senior facility portion of the property. Plans for the Greenland landscape business portion of the property will be reviewed on May 23.

Last May the board granted The Shelter Group the okay to go ahead with a senior living facility at the site. They returned this February to begin site plan approval.

On Thusday night, discussion focused on requested variances for the senior living facility. An 8-foot fence as opposed to a 6-foot one was proposed for the rear of the property.

David Holland of The Shelter Group said the 8-foot height was a standard in the industry, a form of protection to ensure that no resident would attempt to climb the fence.

"A decorative 8 foot fence should prevent them from going over and causing themselves personal harm," said Holland. He added that this is not a common occurence but it has happened. The center sets out to provide a safe outdoor environment as well for which its residents can wander, including those with dementia, and therefore an 8-foot fence would be required.

A change to the traffic plan was seen as an improvement. The county has given the okay to allow for a lane to be created on the Forest Avenue side which will allow for a bus stop to be located right in front of the center. 

It's expected that some of the facility workers will commute to and from the center by bus. The center should have little impact on local road traffic during peak hours as the facility shift changes are on off-peak hours, explained traffic engineer John Harter.

The applicant was also given the okay to put up two signs on the property which they claimed made sense aesthetically.

Although the Shelter Group was given the okay to build this facility last year,  handful of residents who have been opposed to the project from the start brought up challenges once again such as flooding concerns. The residents were told drainage plans have been discussed and considered and will still be finalized with the state DEP before the facility is built.

Bernard Nickel raised his opposition to the plans calling it "commercial" property and questioning the need for more senior housing when properties should be made available to younger people.

"Are we going to get saturated with senior housing like we have with shopping centers?" questioned Nickel.

Project attorney Stuart Liebman said this facility would indeed serve the community by providing a place for older residents who grew up in this communty to live. At the same time it creates opportunities for those starting out as a number of homes would come on the market from the older residents who sell, he said.

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