HOWELL - The township's biggest pending housing proposal will not be decided until next year, while the Planning Board has greenlit a high-end maternity shop and microbrewery.

The Views at Monmouth Manor, a 319-unit housing proposal that plays a major part in Howell's ongoing obligation to provide more affordable housing, will have a hearing sometime in January, with the date to be decided when the board reorganizes Jan. 6.

The development, if approved, would include 92 condominium units set aside for low- and moderate-income families, 72 market-rate single-family units, and another 155 market-rate townhomes.

The developer, FP Howell LLC, first submitted its proposal over a year ago, with its first scheduled appearance before the Planning Board in September 2020. Its application is "very close to conclusion," according to its attorney, Kenneth Pape, but he asked to be split off from Thursday's packed meeting schedule.

Planning Board members have rankled at the township's mandate to provide affordable housing, which was a component of a settlement in 2018 with the Fair Share Housing Center.

"This tells me nothing more than how screwed up the state is," the board's chairman, Brian Tannenhaus, said in September when testimony was given on The Views.

Board member John Leggio added at the time that the proposal "seems overwhelming."

In the meantime, the Planning Board has given the go-ahead for a new boutique maternity store on Route 9 and a microbrewery on Colts Neck Road.

Tall Oaks Farm and Brewery, the future sister brewery to Mike and Chelsey Ziolkowski's Bradley Brew Project in Bradley Beach, is planned for 450 and 454 Colts Neck Road. The site plans include a hops field, open pavilion, patio and outdoor seating.

For subscribers:New craft brewery and farm coming to Howell from family behind Bradley Brew Project

And Tzipora and Jacob Knobel, who have already run a maternity business in neighboring Lakewood for 20 years, have gotten approval for a new shop at 6846 Route 9, in what used to be a rental car business.

Pape, who also represented the Knobels' application, called the future shop a "specialty high end store."

The board heard the beginning of a proposal for new office space in an existing building on Business Route 9 and more testimony for a proposed subdivision on Michele Boulevard, but both were continued to 2022.

Alex N. Gecan covers local news and unsolved mysteries for the Asbury Park Press. You can reach him at 732-547-1365 or agecan@gannettnj.com, or follow him on Twitter @GeeksterTweets.