In our Spotlight on Business Report tonight, another warehouse project gets the stamp of approval after ten months of vocal opposition.

Upper Freehold Township's planning board approved a controversial warehouse proposal last week, where developers want to build two facilities totaling nearly half 1,000,000ft Residents of neighboring towns say they have major concerns the development will cause flooding to the area and their homes, and also point out the land being high has historical significance.

As Ted Goldberg reports, both the mayor and neighbors now plan to fight.

The Upper Freehold Planning Board heard an earful after approving plans to develop a large new warehouse.

Mr..

Helpless.

Yes.

So I feel really good in spite of this loss, because since November I've been having, along with some county officials, conversations with members of, the Murphy administration.

And we've been talking about public private partnerships to preserve the land.

Sue Kozol lives in Upper Freehold and is one of many locals who've protested these plans, which would put 450,000ft worth of warehouses on this farm.

It sits on land where George Washington sent continental troops to intercept the British just before the famous Battle of Monmouth.

I could see as a use a park.

It would be a Revolutionary War park with part of the farmland preserved.

I could see us growing food for the homeless and food insecure, and making it available to different agencies in the state of new Jersey.

I see something very, very creative.

So many people want to see this project saved for historical purposes, for the impact on these residents, which, are going to be left with a catastrophe if this goes through.

We believe in the end this will be preserved and we're going to stop at nothing, to see it through.

This land comes right up against the border of Allentown, where some residents on Pro Basco Drive would be less than 100ft away from new warehouses.

Mayor Thomas Fritz says there's a major flooding concern that would come with that kind of development.

We are in, serious concern that our municipality will be flooded out based on prior flooding and emergency situations that we've had at our water plant in the past.

So, although that may not be a part of the appeal, and I can't guarantee that, I would say that that's another strength in stopping this project.

And we're going to continue to fight.

Active acquisitions owns this land and did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.

As part of their application, they applied for several permits with the DEP, and their freshwater wetlands permit was denied in August of 2023.

Last month, the DEP told us that the developer was still appealing, and Kozol is hopeful that this might kill those plans to build a warehouse.

And that's critical for the development.

If they try freshwater wetlands permits and other permits he can't develop.

So the developer's appealing that, through an arbitration process.

So we'll see what happens with that.

Without permits you can't do anything on that land.

So that was a big breakthrough.

Apparently the DPI did that a year ago, and we only learned about that on November 18th.

So a lot of strange process here.

If the DEP approves the developer's appeal, the borough of Allentown could also try to stop the project with a lawsuit.

We're excited about it.

It's a step to tell the developer that this community is completely committed to preservation.

Mayor Fritz says Allentown will sue if Upper Freehold passes a resolution to get the warehouse plan going.

We believe that multiple members on the board never were able to look at this project objectively, and had preconceived, plans for this to happen.

All along.

They were in full, approval of these warehouses coming.

So we have, statements made by some of these members in public meetings, and we believe we have a strong case in that appeal alone.

Fritz says the lawsuit also attacks the application itself, not just those who approved it.

They should have gone before the zoning board before this project ever came to the planning board, simply because the driver, was only made for single use, not double use with two warehouses, even though using one driveway it is double occupancy and they are looking to use two different uses out of, something that doesn't conform that way through the variance.

We reached out to Upper Freehold Mayor Robert for Shella for comment and did not hear back by deadline.

He also sits on the planning board and voted to approve the warehouse with a DEP appeal and a possible lawsuit.

Those plans still have a long way to go before they lead to a new warehouse on this farmland in Upper Freehold.

I'm Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.