HOLMDEL, NJ — The Planning Board was unaware that the Township Committee would direct it to study reclassifying the former Nokia site - which includes an installation of the historic Horn Antenna - as an "area in need of redevelopment."

But the board voted Tuesday to undertake the study in the hopes it could better control the future of the 43-acre site in the Crawford Hill section of Holmdel, board members said.

Township Planner Kate Keller told the board that, under state law, the Planning Board is the only body that has authority to make such a study, and there are many steps in the process. The site must meet specific state criteria to be designated as an area as in need of redevelopment, she noted.

The Planning Board, when it reconvenes next year, has the option to decide, once a study is made, if it chooses to designate the area as in need of redevelopment, she said.

Keller was asked by a board member about the cost of the study. She did not have a figure for that. She said the study would be paid for by "a developer's" escrow account created in an escrow agreement with the township. No developer was named at the meeting.

But the property was sold by Nokia to Rakesh Antala, an area technology executive, in January of 2021 for $3.6 million, said Douglas Twyman of Colliers International, who handled the transaction. Twyman has said the owner has been supportive of preserving the Horn Antenna.

The meeting was more well attended than usual with residents concerned about the development of the highest point in Holmdel that also is home to an outdoor installation of the Horn Antenna, an historic artifact of a Nobel-prize winning scientific breakthrough in the 1970s.

Residents in attendance were not permitted to comment on the matter at this meeting.

A petition has, in the past few days, garnered more than 2,500 signatures to preserve the Horn Antenna and the area it is sited on. Citizens for Informed Land Use (CILU), Friends of Holmdel Open Space (FOHOS) and Preserve Holmdel are all sponsoring the petition.

CILU said in a statement Wednesday that "since the Holmdel Planning Board voted affirmatively last night to begin the study into whether the Horn property should be deemed an area in need of redevelopment, we will keep an open mind and wait for the results of the study.

"If it is determined that this site fits the criteria as one in need of redevelopment, we, along with other interested groups in Holmdel, will be very involved in trying to preserve this property and the Big Bang Horn Antenna, which has historical significance way beyond the borders of Holmdel," CILU Co-president Regina Criscione said in the statement.

A watchful eye was also promised by outgoing Planning Board President Serena DiMaso, who led her last meeting after years of leadership on the board.

"I will watch for it; I will keep an eye on it. I will make sure it gets done the way it should get done," she vowed at the meeting.

She likened citing the Horn area as one in need of redevelopment to the issues presented by what is now Bell Works, which she sees as a "jewel in the crown" of the township. She said the township was able to demand certain requirements for the Lucent/Bell Works site and had more power to determine how the area was redeveloped - and by whom - because it was designated a redevelopment area.

Board member Ron Emma was the only member to vote "no" on the decision to proceed with the study, simply saying he "was not for it." Zach Gilstein, one of the Environmental Commission representatives, voted to go ahead with the study, but reminded the board that the commission recommended the site become a park and that the Horn Antenna be preserved.

In a separate statement, another advocate of the Horn Antenna said he was disappointed with the decision to proceed with the redevelopment study, especially since residents were not allowed to comment.

Jerry Buffalino of Preserve Holmdel said "Crawford Hill and the Horn Antenna are a National Historic Landmark site and should be saved from development and protected as a park."

Meanwhile, the Holmdel Township Committee issued a statement late Tuesday afternoon on its action to direct the Planning Board to study the site.

"There has been significant interest among Holmdel residents in preserving the horn antenna as well as maintaining a public right-of-access to the landmark. The Township Committee’s action initiates a process under the LRHL (Local Redevelopment and Housing Law), which provides the Township with numerous powers that may assist it in an effort to preserve the Holmdel Horn Antenna, such as allowing directly negotiating with a developer to acquire property," the statement read in part.

According to Township Planner Kate Keller, who also spoke at the Planning Board meeting, the Township Committee’s authorization of a redevelopment investigation "does not change the applicable zoning in any regard," the township's statement continued.

"Rather, it begins a comprehensive, multi-step process that will take place over several months. Throughout the process, there will be multiple public meetings and members of the public will certainly have the opportunity to voice their opinions and ask questions of the professionals involved. Any such meetings will be publicly noticed in accordance with law. At this time, the property at 791 Holmdel Road is owned by a private developer and does not in any way belong to the Township," she said in the statement.

Holmdel Township Mayor Greg Buontempo has emphasized that this project is a priority for the Township Committee.

“While the former Nokia property is now owned by a private developer, the maintenance and preservation of the historic Holmdel Horn-Reflector Antenna remains an important goal for this Township Committee,” the mayor said in the news statement.

He added that, “we look forward to continuing to work with the property’s owners on developing a plan that takes into account the National Historic Landmark that exists within our community.”

However, the way in which the resolution was raised Nov. 22 by the Township Committee didn't sit well with the Planning Board, some members said.

The resolution to direct the planners to study the site was not on the agenda for the meeting and was proposed by the mayor, and approved by the Township Committee as part of the consent agenda.

DiMaso said she was "very disappointed to hear it got added at the last minute. Very."

Planning Board member Emma, who said he attended the Nov. 22 Township Committee meeting as a resident and asked about the resolution, said he had to request clarification that it even referred to the former Nokia site. It was only identified by lot and block number, he said.

Listen to more comments from the entire Planning Board meeting on the Holmdel Facebook page.

The property at 791 Holmdel Road is home to the Bell Labs Horn Antenna, once used by Bell Labs scientists Dr. Robert Wilson, who still lives in the township, and Dr. Arno Penzias, to study microwave radiation from beyond the Milky Way, CILU says.

The scientists' "research confirmed evidence of the Big Bang Theory as the origin of the universe and earned both men a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978," the land use group said in a news release this past weekend.

Preserving this landmark of scientific discovery will be an issue not just for Holmdel, or even the United States, but " for scientists around the world," Criscione has said. Karen Strickland is also co-president of the group.

In 1989, the Horn Antenna was named a National Historic Landmark.

"While the Horn Antenna provides rich historical context, the site is also the highest point in Monmouth County, providing remarkable views of Raritan Bay and Manhattan along a potential network of hiking and walking trails," CILU said in its statement last weekend.

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