A resident addresses Lumberton Township officials and representatives of homebuilder D.R. Horton at a community meeting on the development plan on May 21.
Property tax breaks from Lumberton Township are part of the redevelopment agreement for Lumberton Village, a $77-million project of 857 proposed residential units on 186 acres of undeveloped farmland and wooded acres in the relatively small town.
National homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc.'s project, which the Burlington County town maintains is an essential part of its commitment to affordable housing, is scheduled to go before the Township Land Development Board on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Despite requiring board approval, the Horton project is viewed as a lock because of the affordable housing component, Township officials said at a community meeting.Â
"We're stuck. We're under court order. We have to proceed," the Township affordable housing lawyer, Michael Herbert, of the Parker McCay firm, told residents at the May meeting in Bobby's Run School. Herbert said the property at Newbolds Corner and Eayrestown roads has been part of the Township's affordable housing plan for many years.Â
Lumberton Village would include 506 market-rate townhouses, 179 senior citizen townhouses, 92 affordable family apartments and 80 age-restricted affordable apartments.
A 30-year Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program for the 172 affordable and age-restricted apartments and a five-year tax abatement/exemption plan for the 179 age-restricted market rate units are included in the Township redevelopment agreement, which was signed in August.
The project would increase the number of housing units in the town by about 17%. The Census Bureau's American Community Survey estimated that Lumberton had 5,036 housing units in 2024, when the population was estimated at 12,882.
Under the plan, not all of the 412 acres that D.R. Horton purchases would be used for development. The Burlington County Commission in June approved spending up to $3.73 million to preserve 226 acres at the southern end of the property under the Farmland Preservation program.
A traffic light will be installed at one of the development's two entrances on Eayrestown Road. D.H. Horton's traffic consultant, Shropshire Associates LLC of Atco, projects that the residential development will generate 449 trips during the weekday morning peak hour and 435 trips during the afternoon peak hour.
The yellow border shows the 411-acre property. D.R. Horton plans 857 townhouses and apartments in the northern half and Burlington County will preserve the southern half. Eayrestown Road runs along the left side of the property and Newbolds Corner Road on the lower left.Â
