Bernardsville News from Bernardsville, New Jersey • Page 1

10 Serving Bedminnter, Bernards Township, BernardtvUle, Far and Penpack-Gladtone VOL. 83, No. 21 BKRNARDSVILLE, NJ, THURSDAY, MAY Hearings Due Next Mon On 600 Housing Units In Twp. By PATTI PIERUCCI BERNARDS TWP, The race to bring multi-family housing to Bernards Township will continue next month, when three public hearings on proposals to build up to 600 townhouse 'units will be heard by the Planning Board. At a meeting Tuesday the board granted preliminary site plan approval to the developer of the proposed "Villas at Basking Ridge." a townhouse complex planned on a 30- acre Bardy Farms tract off South Maple Avenue.

The board also heard conceptual plans for the 150-unit "Country Place" complex proposed for a 29-acre parcel off Mt. Airy Road next to the Somerset Hills Cemetery, and the "Lord Stirling Village," a 150-unit project proposed lor the Somerset Hills Airport land in South Maple Avenue. And as the race, escalates, developers iif the proposed townhouses are anxious to learn which will be permitted to build under the township's Balanced Residential Complex (BRC) ordinance, allows up to 600 multi-family units to be constructed at various locations throughout the township. Applications Show CM Units Since the ordinance was first adopted, it has attracted proposals from five developers, with the number of townhouse units proposed in the township totalling 686, in excess of the number allowed under the ordinance. The board has agreed to hear the applications in the order they were received, and may force one developer to scale down his plan if preceding applications are accepted as presented.

Representatives of the Connecticut- based firm of Baker-Firestone, lnc the last to submit an application to the board, were told Tuesday that the Country Place complex may have to be scaled down to include only 64 townhouse units if the Ijifd Stirling Village and 150-unit "Liberty Greens at Bernards." are accepted Since all pending applications have been declared complete by Peter Messina, township engineer, the board will hold a public hearing on the Liberty Greens application on Tuesday, June and will hear the Lord Stirling and Country Place applications on June 23 and June 30, respectively The fifth multi-family housing application to come before the board, the 104-unit "Ridge" condominium complex, was given full approval recently by the board The Ridge, proposed by developer Casper Bocina for a 24-acre tract off Knollcroft Road, near the Lyons Veterans Administration Medical Center, attracted considerable public attention when it was first heard by planners in 1979 Got Facelift neurone-proposed complex complained the buildings, as designed, would create a nuisance to adjacent properties. After receiving a facelift by the developers, the project was given (Continued on Page Two Rush-Hour Trains Cut From Gladstone Branch (Photo by Eugene Shenrsky Jr.) READY AIM I I UK Members of the Brigade of the American Revolution show how it's done at the Fifth Annual School of the Artillerist held May 8 and HI at h'wff Farm in Pluckemin, adjacent to llenrv Knox's Artillery Park, the winter encampment of the Continental Artillery during 1778-1779. The event was made possible by the Hills Development Corporation, owners of. the property, and the Pluckemin Archaeological Project, which is researching the campsite. Doing the firing are Doug Macklnnon, Richard Hayes and Al Florio, brother of the gubernatorial candidate James Florio.

By DANIEL JONKS Fares for commuters on the (i lad- stone Branch of New Jersey Transit Corporation's railroad line will tjc increased 15 to 30 percent July 1 and two rush-hour trains will be eliminated An additional £0 percent increase probably will be tacked OJ later this year or on Jan. 1, 19X2, although no decision on the additional increase was made by Transit board of directors. The rush-hour trains ttiat will be taken out of mo that leaves (iladstone at 7:05 a.m. and arrives in Hoboken at 8:14, and the 419 that leaves Hoboken at 5:20 p.m and reaches (iladstone at 6:30 m. Depends On Reagan Budget Fare increases and service reductions were decided on Tuesday for allot, the transportation agency's commuter rail and bus lines as a means of eliminating part of an $K0 million shortfall, according to Guy T.

Baehr. Transit spokesman. Fare- increases will provide an additional $27 million in revenue, said. Baehr. Added revenues, coupled with a $13 million reduction in operating costs andf 8 million in wage deferrals, will eliminate $48 million of the overall shortfall But the figure could change, depending on passage of the Gramm-Latta amendment to the Reagan Administration's budget proposal.

Passage of the amendment, which has the full blessing of the White House, would mean an additional shortfall of $12 (Continued on Page 2) Midland Run; Rebounding From Financial Disaster, Attracts Full Field FAR HILLS It wai year ago when the Midland Hun drew BQtne Of the world's best mud. racers in field that a major national magazine called the greatest Held ever assembled From a running standpoint, the race a tremendous success But from a financial standpoint the race was a disaster, losing some Hoping to make that loss just a bad memory, the Midland Hun committee will be greeting more than 2 i(Kl runners at Mom land Farms here Sunday for the 15-ktlometer main race and the three mile fun run Entries for the 15-kilometer run were closed out at the limit two weeks ago and similar action has been taken lor the three mile run this past week There vvill be-no post the day of the races. The program Is being staged for the benefit of the Midland School in North Branch, which serves children with learning disabilities from II Central Jersey counties Runs' In addition to the major race and the fun run. some youngsters, ages 10 and under, will be engaging-in then own 'nuni-cntii petition." The) will be participating in several "Lollypop Loop Classics" which are informal races ol about 2(MI yards Umn, Organized and directed bj Mr and Mrs John II Cowperthwaite Jr of Flooding, Power Failures Caused By Storm The violent thunder storm that dropped three inches of nun on the area Monday and Tuesday helped-fill reser VOirs, but also caused mtiior poweT failure! and flooding in the Somerset Hills Several Bernardsvilie homes the Mine Mount Road area had a few Inches of water III basements Three feet of water was reported in one of the basements that area according to police There were no power failure report blackout at about Monday night and lights flickered for a few seconds later that night in Basking Ridge I'owet was out for a few moments Monday night in Far Hills Village and Peapack and Lake roads were flooded slowing the movement of cars to a crawl but not completely stopping traf fie. according to police A few of the cars stalled because ol wet wires and distributors', police said There were no accidents or storm related injuries reported in any of the towns ed in Bernardsvllle but part of Pluckemin in Bedminster, sections ol Bernards Township, the village in Kar Hills and the sewer plant in Peapack experienced blackouts Blown fuses at the sewer plant in left the plant without power most of Monday night Electricit) was out in the southern part of Pluckemin for 45 minutes during the early morning hours of Tuesday homes in the southern end of Bernards Township.

Libert) Corner and Lyons, experienced a two minute Bedminster. the competition will be twofold one run for those eight and under, and the second for youngsters The day-long program seeks To attract tailgate picnickers similar to the Essex Hounds Race Sleeting held each year in October "We are most pleased at the number ol patron and contributor reservations which indicate many people are turning out out to be part of the overall said Frank .1 Torpey. president of the school's board of trusted "Pops" Concert Scheduled Consistent with the 'Family Day in the Country," theme continuing entertainment will lncludcVHiv IMK minstrels, mimes, clowns, acrobats and banjo players highlight ol the day will be a Tops concert by the Somerset Count) College Community Orchestra which will take place from the show mobile stage of the Somerset County Park Commission at mid-afternoon Spectators are urged to arrive early before the start of the musical entertainment The schedule calls for the first of two Lollypop Loop Races to start at noon followed by the three-mile run at 12 15 Gates will open at 11 am The main event will start below the hillside reserved parking. The course goes off Moorland Farms north on I'eapack Road to Peapack east on Willow to Lake Road, past Ravine Lake to Route 202, then west to return to Moorland Farms. It is the same course as in prior years, but reversed at the request of the Far Hills Police Department Race coordinator Harry Brown is impressed by the extent of local entries our wish is to make the Midland Run a top-notch New Jersey event, arid with more than 90 percent of the entrants this year residents of our state, we are achieving that objective." A highlight of the day will be the tailgate competition, whereby several anonymous judges pass through the crowd and make their selection as the most attractive tailgate-picnic spreads on the ground Winners will receive magnums of champaign for their culinary artistry Reserved parking for the "Family Day in the Country" porgram is available Patron parking includes finish-line location and four admission badges Contributor parking includes preferred location and two admission badges Ample general admission parking will also be available Call the M.dland School for more information.

Pat Parsons, the voice of WCBS afternoon radio, will be providing progress reports for the 15-kilometer run to the estimated 10 000 in attendance Sunday Parsons lives in Bridgewater. HHHHBUHMI 50-Gallon Water Ban Lifted, But Conservation Still Urged by Skranky Jr BUT WAIT 'TIL IT HEALS Brian Hemline of Prapark watches the action during opening day of Chester Little I. while IMMU Caffrey ef Pcapack Ms eaat. lays play far Utadpark By PATTI PIK.Rl (I The drought of 19WI-W may be waning in northern New Jersey, now that the 50-gallon pet day water regulation has been lifted all Somerset Hills communities But its effects will not soon be forgotten, according to state officials and water company spokesmen The alter effects of the drought are both good and bad, according to Kd ward Cash, a spokesman for the Flizabethtown Water Company, which supplies water to I'eapack Gladstone Not only have area residents learned how to conserve water, they appear to be continuing the trend even after the ban has been lifted good for the con sumer, and bad lor the water company, said Cash But the drastic decrease in water use brought on by the ban has also prompted water company officials to request rate increases Commonwealth Water Company in Short Hills, which supplies portions of Bernards Township. Bei nardsville, Bcdminster and Far Hills, was recently granted a 7 1 percent rate Increase, effective last Thursday And Klizabethtown Water has requested its iid increase in the past six months for the water companies and bad for the consumer "We may never sue using the amount of water they used prior to the ban, 11 adding that consump tion has continued to remain at 20 per 1 MOIT Money' on the other hand said Caih und we need more reservoirs lar ewer- water supplies another ex- pense to tne taxpayer the severity of the drought decreases questions of water management in northern New Jersey have also been raised Although water conservation and an increase in rainfall hav beef) helpful in easing the drought, many point to the state utility regulators as the culprits responsible for turning the water shortage into a severe drought severe lack ol rainfall last fall and eaih this vear was a major factor nutted (ash Hut some mis management of the utilities by state officials may also be to blame We have had ample water during the entire drought.

said Cash, explaining that the Spruce Run and Round Valley reservoirs both state owned, are used only by Klizabethtown customers and were at to 70 percent of capacity throughout the drought omprtltlsn Blamed Cash said the water companies are ontrolled" by the the state that "if we could have done something, we would not have been permitted." ll.i Filtppone. chairwoman of the tie River Coalition, based in Basking Ridge, claims thai competition among water company lack of long range plawntsf by state of- pr ompted the drought We need good emergency plan We're also due und if we act catastrophe northern New Jersey com munities. served by the Hackensack Water Company, have been hit the hardest by the drought and are still under the state water ban, Somerset I'ounty was fortunate to have ample reserves of water Last Friday In the Somerset Hills were told they are now under a stand-by rationing plan, meaning the M) -gallon restriction has bwn lifted but could be reimposed at any time Car Washing Still Oat The use of outdoor water, including car washing and lawn sprinkling, is still prohibited However, residents fill swimming pools and water vegetable gardens with buckets and waste water. Monday's rainfall, which dumped 3.4 inches in the area, brought reservoir levels up to peak capacity at Commonwealth, according to company officials. The Round Valley and Spruce Run reservoirs, which supply Elizabeth town, jumped from tl percent cap to nearly 75 percent "There is still a great need for conservation," said Cash "If the ban was entirely, people may get the feeling that the crisis has passed, and that's not the case." In response to the potssMftl countering unusually ties has Erected all water conn continue to moni plans should snathe So far i total rainfall levels antictpai.