now all right great this meeting is being held in conformance with the open public meetings act adequate notice of this meeting has been posted on the township website and sent to the newspaper record the agenda has also been posted on the township website and bulletin board at the municipal building at least 48 hours prior to the meeting the agenda items will not necessarily be heard in the order listed and the meeting will not substant continue substantially past and p.m. Viria could you do well call please Mr Johnson here Mr Hall Mr graciano here here Bo here miss Kingsley here Mr mados Mr Monaco Mr Kraut here Mr sternheim here Mr Leo here Mr robertsson here okay do I have a motion to adopt the minutes of the March 6 2024 meeting all motion second second and then the adoption of resolutions the extension request for minor subdivision approval application number n-1 d23 count Union Grand Street block 2011 lot two in the O bass zone anybody have any questions obviously we talked about it passed it last time and this is just formally adopting it is any you have any questions for Mr Robertson do I have a motion to Second um you need people that voted for it right oh okay to do a vot call so it would have to be Mr Poo or Miss POG or Mr Kraut or Mr steinheim so so moved second Mr Johnson yes Mr Poo yes Miss POG yes Mr KRA yes Mr sternheim yes motion carries 5 Z all right and then the uh extension request for Wells Fargo Bank application number sp-4 D21 Wells Fargo Bank NA 350 Springfield Avenue block 701 loot one lot one uh basically the same as same situation uh we heard the last time passed it now we're just formally passing the resolution motion to approve a motion second Johnson yes Mr Poo yes M po yes Mr Kraut yes Mr sternheim yes motion carries 5 zero okay we're now going to turn it over to M mrea about the presentation of preliminary investigation report we were going to allow him to sit there if you cannot hear him please let us know you you can stay there give it a try yes Mr Mr Ed where the testimony you give before this board should be the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes you please State your full name spell your last name for record Michael Musta m s t TTA I'm a licensed professional planner in the state of New Jersey um for over the last 20 years I'm also a licensed landscape architect I am a principal at the firm of Harvard Consultants with an with an office at 320 North Avenue East Cranford where I've been employed for over 30 years I worked as a professional planner for on behalf of the township of Berkeley Heights for over 20 years now in varying capacities um currently I'm serving as the Township's affordable housing planner and Township Redevelopment plan um I have a lot of experience doing Redevelopment studies Redevelopment plans in Berkeley Heights I have prepared at least nine Redevelopment studies and nine Redevelopment plans for Berkeley Heights including this Municipal complex property the former movie theater property at 450 Springfield Avenue the former King shopping center and the former Hotel Site 91 Lone Pine Drive which is known as the mil Creek or monara site Berkley Crossing Elite Property site at 663 Springfield Avenue 100 Locust Avenue age restricted development um prepared by developed by CED homes and the Church of Lil flower and patch of Library sites which are currently or have been since constructed with what's known as the Toll Brothers development at 110 Roosevelt Avenue and I'm here tonight to present one more Redevelopment study for three additional properties that are all located in downtown of Berkeley Heights and my testimony is generally going to track a report that I've submitted to the township planning board and it has been on file with the township planning board both electronically and in hard copy since the first week of March March the week of March 4th it should say the report that I'm referring to is entitled preliminary investigation report for 414 through 424 458 Springfield Avenue and 230 Sherman Avenue known as block 702 Lots 4 six and 16 which is a preliminary investigation report as an area need of Redevelopment without condemnation the report is is dated March 2024 and it is prepared by my company for company I work for Harbor consultant signed and sealed by myself Michael msta everybody at the at the day should have a hard copy and I have handed out some hard copies but I I brought extras with me if there's anybody from the public who also wants a hard copy of the study I'm also going to introduce two exhibits I've also handed those out one is an aerial map of the pro of the three properties these Maps is this the two exhibits are no different than the maps that are contained within the Redevelopment study so I don't know if we need to enter them into evidence or not but they're they're no different all I did was take the same documents that have already been published in this Redevelopment study and I just made them larger because it's a lot easier to talk about and easier on the eyes for everybody those two maps are the same figures in the map that are identified as figures two and figure 13 and I'll discuss those as I go through my report I've also have extra copies of those two maps if anybody needs those my testimony tonight is generally going to track the track the Redevelopment study I'm I'm clearly not going to read it word for word I'm just what my intention is to highlight what I think are the most important topics through the report I'd like to get through the report and then I'm I'm happy to answer any questions from the board from the public or anybody else um on my on my testimony um I'm going to start on page two I generally covered page one already um page two of my report just talks to the administrative history why are here tonight we're here because on November 21st 2023 the township committee I should say Township Council I apologize adopted resolution number 287-2250 2023 this planning board approved a resolution authorizing my firm Harbor Consultants to conduct a preliminary investigation to determine whether the proposed study area qualifies as a non- condemnation area and need of Redevelopment and pursuant to the Redevelopment and Housing law again those lots and blocks are block 702 Lots four six and 16 and very quick quick overview of the three properties and I'm generally going to discuss the properties that are highlighted in the first handout which is figure two it's the aerial photo which is same photo that's contained in the map just enlarged but these this aerial photo identifies the three properties that we're talking about this evening three properties as I already said are block 702 Lots four lot six and 16 four and six are are contiguous and they are adj immediately adjacent to what's known locally as the Terrace project as you can see in the photo the Terrace has it is just under construction in this aerial photo it has since been completed fully leased and occupied but just to give you a sense of orientation two of the properties are immediately West and contiguous to the lot line of the Terrace mixed to use building that is constructed between Springfield Avenue and Sherman Avenue the third property is located at the intersection of Springfield Avenue Lone Pine Drive and Sherman Avenue as three roadway frontages uh it's I know it locally as vom's garage uh auto garage and gas station and that's the corner property identified on your map as block 7 102 lot 16 table one on page four just summarizes the three properties um by lot by block by street address by the current property owner and it gives you an indication of the approximate lot lot area the lot areas identified are based on tax map only these are not based on a survey but collectively the three properties are approximately 1.1 135 plus or minus Acres within the report the study area has been mapped and evaluated based on the Township tax map New Jersey office of GIS aerial images fimma Federal Emergency Management agency National flood Hazard Maps the US Geological Survey USGS topographic maps USGS aerial images New Jersey Department of environment protection aerial images Google Earth images as well as the township zoning map and the New Jersey state development and Redevelopment plan figure one is just a tax map gives you again another orientation of the three properties figure two is the same figure that you have in front of you that is just enlarged as 11 by 17 handout figure three identifies the free properties in relation in relationship to the FEMA National flood Hazard area mapping one thing I want to just point out is this mapping has yet to be revised but will be revised based on the newly adopted njd flood Hazard regulations which has increased the flood areas on on these Maps so I just want to be very clear about that figure four is a topographic map um shows in 20t Contours in a red hatching or a red line on the map section B of the report in the bottom of page eight goes through a history of the study area through pages on pages 8 through 12 of the Redevelopment study the figures illustrate the progression of development in this section of our downtown starting with an aerial photo from 1930 through 19 48 1970 where you can see now the gas station property has been built out previously was all vacant the other property one of the other properties lot six appears to still remain vacant and now there appears to be a structure on a lot 4 1970 the 1998 starts to come more into Focus 2007 is another aerial image that has been provided continuing to 2015 and then there's an Google Earth image from 20122 one of the more recent ones and again you can see in 2022 that the Terrace is now under construction and the former movie theater property as you see in the above aerial image under 2015 has since been demolished and the Redevelopment activities are underway on page 13 we start with a series of Google street view images again I'm not going to walk through every single image but just for the record I just want to summarize um that there's images that have been provided for all three of the properties from 2007 and there's a progression from 2007 through 2021 the first couple are some nice pictures of some trees image three we start that we get to see the the single family residence that is on lot four also uh right below it on lot four um through 2021 image five is a Google street image 5 and six are Google street views of the office building that is existing today on lot six block 702 you see the progression from 2016 2018 there's no substantial changes in the building image 8 on Google Street View is now 2023 again same condition no substantial changes and this is the office building that is on lot six then we get into a series of images starting at the bottom of page 16 through the top of page 18 which are all images of lot 16 lot 16 again is the corner property with the gas station located between Springfield Lone Pine Drive and Sherman Avenue there's a series of progression of photos that takes us from 2007 2013 2018 20121 and now 2023 a highlight within the section of the neighborhood surrounding the study area is the fact that Berkeley Heights over the years has received a number of Grants to improve the streetcape on Sherman Avenue between lone fine drive and planfield Avenue to narrow the roadway for for vehicular traffic add uniform sidewalks and create a multi-use path be used for walking and biking to increase non vehicular traffic within the downtown area the multi-use path path will also connect the downtown area to the NJ Transit train station the study area is within the Downtown Quarter of these proposed streetscape improvements along Sherman Avenue with one property having Frontage on Sherman Avenue also under Section D of the report bottom of page 18 and starting on page 19 we have a series of images that are images image 13 through image 30 and these get a better view current day view of the buildings that we're talking about tonight starting with image 13 we have the front of the building of 230 Sherman Avenue this is the existing office building on lot six Follow by some photos of the interior of the building on starting with image 14 right below it showing one of the vacant office spaces inside the building image 15 is just another interior photo of office building at 230 shman Avenue located on lot six then we go to image 16 17 and 18 and 19 are all of Lot 4 four this is the single family residential home that fronts on Springfield Avenue at 458 Springfield Avenue the previous images I apologize very hard to see because of the Google street images of with the trees blocking the home but image 16 17 gives you a good view of the side of the residence and the condition of that residence same with image 18 gives you another view of the side of this existing single family structure and then 19 also the last photo we have of the single family home on locked board then we get into a series of photographs that start on the bottom of page 22 image 20 through image 30 on page 27 are all of lot 16 there's more photos of lot 16 than the others because simply because there's three independent structures on lot 16 so we just have a little bit more to show um you can see the existing gas station on image 20 some of the outdoor storage area that is located on also lot 16 with the trailers and and the outdoor storage item image 22 shows the storage of of vehicles on a under improved gravel parking area image 23 again our gravel driveway just showing some layout of the existing conditions of some of the cars in a layout image 24 shows a side of the building and some more of the outside storage continuing with image 25 also outdoor storage containers uh that are shown on the under improved gravel parking area and again image 26 more of the outdoor storage on lot 16 image 27 shows a single family home that is located also on Lock 16 along with image 28 and 29 is the vacant commercial building that is also on Lock 16 you can see a portion of the building at least in this photo at that time was boarded up and we had access to the interior and you can see image 30 shows some of the cracked foundation and some of the bracing on the wall that has been damaged on lot 16 of the commercial building that is vacant on lot 16 starting on page 28 there's a series of photographs just to give give you a feel for the surrounding conditions starting with image 31 this is the Terrace building which is immediately adjacent to lot four and lot six this is the new mixed use development known as The Terrace on lot uh that is adjacent to four and six image 32 I know it as Stratton house I think it's called the Claris now um former King's property former Hotel property have since been combined and are part of one Redevelopment area which the building is a little bit is further under construction that then what is shown in this Photograph it has progressed quite a bit but it's still under construction um on on the adjacent property as shown in image 32 image 33 is a photograph of the new multif family development known as Madera which is southeast of the study area so 31 32 33 are photographs of either new or under construction inclusionary buildings that are surrounding all through the Redevelopment process the properties that we're talking about this evening image 34 is our image of our train station which is located right down the street 2 miles away from the study area before I get into the existing zoning I would just refer to the second handout that I had tonight which is an 11 and A2 11 by 17 inch color map it's the same figure that is shown on figure 12 of the study area of the Redevelopment study report all I did was blow it up I thought it was important to take a minute as we talked about the existing zoning and land use regulations and as I get into affordable housing and inclusionary developments just to set the stage a little bit as you could see on this handout there's there's a areas that are mapped identified as one two and three and then we see R three properties that are under discussion for tonight item one again is a combination of a Redevelopment study and Redevelopment well we we did the Redevelopment study a number of years ago I think it was 15 or 16 Maybe this was the former King's property and there was a vacant piece of property that I knew as the former Hotel site that was that is one Redevelopment area that has been approved by this planning board and endorsed by the council and those two that project has now been combined into one structure one building and is again currently under construction it's important to note though that the front portion of this study area area and I'm talking about study area number one extends all the way up to Springfield Avenue and wraps around lot 16 on two sides so the front portion if you will has not been previously redeveloped although it has been designated as an area need to Redevelopment so lot 16 is obviously the out parcel but the remaining portion that front on Springfield Avenue and south of yeah south of lot 16 remains and that is the remaining portion as you can see in that L-shaped building that is on property identified as number one the first Redevelopment area that's our retail Center remaining portion of the retail space that is on the former King's property with the Redevelopment going on behind it the property identified as number two is the Terrace for I know it as a former movie theater property that there another Redevelopment project and then behind us behind one and two is I know it as the mil Creek property um that's another Redevelopment project I think it's important to just understand and how these three properties fit contiguous or in the same vicinity as the first three Redevelopment studies and Redevelopment plans that are currently either constructed or under or under construction because it's it's basically finishing out or completing this a good portion of this property in the center of our town what I want to make very clear and I'll just go back to the aerial image quickly is the two properties in the middle that are carved out are not part of this Redevelopment study and we're not previously studied and that's block 702 Lots 14 and block 7025 those are the two long narrow properties that are carved out between Redevelopment area one Redevelopment two which are more clearly understood by looking at the aerial map I don't have a lots and blocks on this map in we are in the DD Downtown Development Zone District the following permitted uses are the principal accessory uses and conditional uses which are identified on page 31 of the Redevelopment study again I'm not going to read every item on all of these blocks all of these tables but just to be very clear the permitted principal uses include retail sales mixed use structures personal Professional Services public open space and so forth um there are permitted conditional uses and then there's a list of under table four prohibited uses I would point out under prohibited uses you can see that automotive repair facilities are now prohibited uses fuel service stations are now prohibited uses in the DD Zone also outside storage of vehicles construction equipment or materials are now prohibited uses so the top three prohibited uses are already are existing pre-existing now non-conforming uses as identified in the photos and the description of lot 16 existing Automotive repair facility and fuel service center station located at 414 through 424 Springfield Avenue are now prohibited uses under the Berkeley Heights Municipal land use procedures ordinance and the recently adopted amendments that were done in December of 2023 therefore therefore as I said before causing them to now be pre-existing non-conforming uses the also the existing standalone single family home on that same property is not a permitted use in the DD Zone and is a pre-existing non-conforming use the amendments to the Township's Municipal land use procedures ordinance which this planning board recently adopted a new master plan and overhaul the permitted uses and prohibited uses in our downtown district um made these automotive repair facilities fuel service stations outdoor storage and single family homes now all pro prohibited uses which put a focus on the intent and the objective of the township that these type of uses are not conducive to the economic and aesthetic VI viability of our downtown corridor long story short these are the township planning board and Council has recently adopted a new master plan and said these are not the correct uses that we want in the heart of our downtown and has now prohibited them I talked about the master plan I just want to touch a little bit more there's a discussion on earlier Master PL that date all the way back to 1999 I'm going to fast forward to page 34 to talk about the most recent master plan in 2022 that was adopted Again by this planning board we highlighted some of the most um important goals and objectives under the vision for Berkeley Heights again item number one is the objective is to facilitate the revitalization of the downtown through supportive zoning and development Reg regulations number two improve the aesthetic character of the downtown also under Economic Development attract new investment and improvements to underutilized and previously developed properties under item three the land use element improve the aesthetic character of downtown and investigate additional sites that qualify as areas in need of Redevelopment or Rehabilitation so that's the goals and objectives of our recently adopted master plan by this planning board which is to investigate additional sites that qualify as areas in need of Redevelopment Rehabilitation when you couple that with the other goals and objectives and the fact that this this planning board has now prohibited three of the uses that are located on these three properties it starts to come together as you start building the evidence for the Redevelopment study criteria a review of the master plan documents over the past 25 years indicates the Township's consistent and robust objective to revitalize and redevelop our downtown the three properties in the study area in the downtown quter of the township are within walking distance of the Township's train station the potential Redevelopment of these properties supports the goals and objectives for downtown Berkeley Heights as outlined in their new master plan document then we go into a discussion of the Township's affordable housing settlement agreement I'm going to try and condense it so it doesn't go on for too long but our third round the numbers are our third round obligation which is 1999 through 2025 July 1st of next year 2025 we have an agreed upon portable housing agreement that says that we need to provide 389 total units and or credits not just units but units and or credits we had an RDP a realistic development potential of 359 satisfied primarily through the list of inclusionary projects that are in a table on some mized on table seven at the bottom of page 35 I think I've touched on most of these Redevelopment projects already through my prior testimony the plan that was adopted in 2015 also had a 30 unit unmet need and our current RDP gap of eight so what does that mean after we've done all this Redevelopment in our downtown every one of these projects has been completed under essentially an agreement with the court and fair share housing center every one of these projects and at the end of the day we still are 38 units short I shouldn't say units 38 credits short we have a surplus that we can dip into our rental bonus credits that will give us an additional seven if we build a rental project anywhere town we would pick up another seven so instead of 38 we would pick up seven rental bonus credits so we have a gap of 31 total units and or credits remaining to be satisfied project the Redevelopment projects that are listed here on table seven are primarily all centered around a downtown Corridor which are within walking distance to multiple modes of transport Transportation including our train station Municipal Building Library shops local Services grocery store restaurants and as I've already indicated contiguous or within walking distance to other Redevelopment properties and the three properties are all as you could see on the Ariel photograph fully developed fully covered with impervious coverage couple trees are on lot four I I agree with that but for the most part the properties are in the heart of our downtown already developed with buildings and structures covered with impervious coverage and you can see the condition of those in the images and the photographs the definition of sound planning would be to continue this trend further the goals and objectives of our master plan that was recently adopted in 2022 address those goals and address our remaining 38 unit unmet need through the continuation of Redevelopment efforts in our downtown when the township signed the agreement back in 2015 16 with fairshare housing center and adopted a housing element and fair share plan with that planning board at that time the document understood and recognized that we had a gap that we had an unmet need and specifically stated that at least an additional 10 affordable units are to be located in the Township's Downtown Development the Downtown Development district and by redeveloping these properties further in our downtown we would be meeting the goals of our master plan we would be meeting the goals of our settlement agreement meeting the goals of our housing element and fair share plan and also by doing this we would be revitalizing redeveloping underutilized properties that are identified in this report and therefore also be T taken off the pressure uh instead of developing more units that are outside of our downtown which you would need a lot more which would increase traffic and so forth or um could impact some of our more Suburban quiet residential neighborhoods essentially we'll be putting the mass in the Redevelopment where it belongs within walking distance of all these Services page 36 is the handout that I've already discussed so I don't have to touch that one again on page figure 13 page 37 we get into a review of the township records that we collected as part of this Redevelopment study when we kicked off the study we sent out Rec we sent out requests for records for the Township Tax Assessor construction Department um police fire health engineering and we collected all this data and we summarized it as best we could in a series of tables that starts on page 37 page 37 table 8 is a series of Records on a tax from the tax assessor on First on lot four and and then lot 16 and then lot six this is provide I'll discuss why as I get into the criteria table 11 gets into the construction Department Records that are all summarized in that table table 12 as a summary of the construction violations that were noted between 199 4 and 2023 on all three of the properties then we went into the Health Department Records top of page 42 which talks about some activity that was on lot 16 that again they did obtain a no further action letter however there is a minor environmental issues that were documented on page 42 which the records are contained within the report Table 13 summarizes the police calls from the records that we have from the police department on the three properties they're broken down by the street address for each of the different properties you can see the total number of calls that are summarized at the bottom again this is a 20-year period there's 189 calls over that entire time fire department record for some suiz on page 43 of the report 14 and there's a summary of the attach of fire violations on table 15 again this is a 14-year period through from 2010 through 2024 all listed in table 14 on pages 44 and 45 then we get into a review of the environmental documents search of the njd data Miner records Retreat six records at the de including one record 4 230 Sherman Avenue and five records for 414 through 424 Springfield Avenue the type of record the action taken and whether active or not which is very important is indicated all the way in the left hand or right hand most column most of those were taken care of and address there are still two that are open and that remain open today a 17 gets into a list of NJ DP violations on 414 through 424 Springfield Avenue and in all fairness and be be very clear again the violation status is indicated in the right hand uh column on page on table 17 as you could see each of the each of the description of non compliant have been identified as satisfied on the right hand column and then on page 48 there's one that remains pending or open and the remaining two are satisfied the source of this information is provided on page 49 then we get into a discussion of the re Redevelopment the statutory criteria for redevelopment area determination I'm not going to read all of those but under the local Redevelopment and Housing law for property to be determined to meet the criteria under the local Redevelopment Housing law each property individually as to satisfy one or more of the criteria identified on pages 50 and 51 of this report criteria a through criteria H and you're not supposed to and we have not collectively just put the properties together and say they meet this criteria we are required to evaluate the properties individually determine if they meet one or more criteria identify that criteria and then explain why they meet that criteria in our opinion and that's what we've done on the next few pages Pages 52 through the rest of the report is essentially the meat of the report or it's it's why we're here tonight everything up to this point is description evidence records tables mapping Etc on page 52 we get into an evaluation of the study area and starting on page 52 we begin to explain to the reader why in our professional opinion all three of the properties satisfy a criteria of the redel El and housing ball table 18 summarizes that but I'll go through a one at a time table 18 summarizes that property with the street address of 41 through I'm sorry 414 through 424 Springfield Avenue known as block 702 lot 16 satisfies statutory criteria a b d and H I get into y a minute property identified as 230 Sherman Avenue block 702 lot 6 satisfies criteria B and H and 458 Springfield Avenue block 702 lot four satisfi criteria H for being declared as an area need of Redevelopment again it's non- condemnation Redevelopment under local Redevelopment and Housing law on top of that Additionally the property at 458 Springfield Avenue block 702 Lot 4 also satisfies and be classified under Section 3 three of the local Redevelopment and Housing law which states that a Redevelopment area may include lands buildings or improvements which of themselves are not detrimental to public health safety or welfare but the inclusion excuse me of which is found necessary with without changing their condition for the effective Redevelopment of the area of which they are a part the three properties that comprise the study area may be determined by the township Council committee to be considered and declared as a non condemnation Redevelopment area where in the township shall not permit the use of emic domain our findings of this redevelop of this area Redevelopment study area are based on the evidence provided throughout the report including exhibits dependencies mapping photographs additional field investigations were performed on December 19th 2023 and January 23 2024 to identify the physical exterior and interior conditions of the buildings and properties we sent letters to the property owners we were granted permission to enter the properties and the buildings and we did that and we took a look and investigated both the perimeter of the sites the site improvements and the interior of all three of the buildings Additionally the study are was mapped and examined using as I said earlier the municipal tax data GIS aerial images Bea Maps topographic maps njd images Google Earth Township Zone map and state development and Redevelopment plan we've also compiled as I said before a review of an extensive list of the township Department Records I'm now on page 54 under statutory criteria a criteria a of the local Redevelopment Housing Law relates to the generality of buildings which are substandard unsafe unsanitary dilapidated or obsolescent or possesses any of such characteristics or so lacking in light air or space as to be conducive to UNH wholesome living or working conditions in our opinion one property within the study area which is block 702 lot 16 satisfies criteria a the Google street view images provide a history back to 2018 for the property which shows the building operating as a beauty salon at that time indicated by retail sign for the business by 2021 the street view image shows that the previous business sign is no longer present and there appears to be a for rent sign for sign for rent signing the window of the building by 2023 the font facade window appears to be uh was boarded up and then there's records in the police and fire uh tables that according to the fire department records there was a motor vehicle accident on September 25th 2022 where a vehicle hit the building on the property and caused significant damage to the exterior wall of the building at that at the time of the site visit undertaken during the drafting of this report it appears that the building damage remains and has not been repaired the building also remains vacant and untenanted it is like that the significant damage to the building has created a dilapidated and unsafe condition which has made it unsafe to be rened under thus block 702 block 16 meets criteria a criteria B of the local Redevelopment Housing law applies if there's a discontinuance of the use of a building or buildings previously used for commercial retail shopping malls or plazas office parks manufacturing or industrial purposes the abandonment of such building or building significant vacancies of such building or buildings for at least two consecutive years or the same being allowed to fall into so great a state of this repair has to be untenable in our opinion two properties within the study area block 702 lot 16 and block 702 lot 16 meet this criteria the top portion is just a restatement of the previous facts of the conditions of the home on bot 16 so I'm not going to restate all of that information I think I've been very clear about that so far um that does not dismiss the the text on that page 55 on the top which goes into describe how we support criteria B A Lot 16 number two under that under that criteria under 230 Sherman Avenue block 702 lot 6 this is the three-story office building and the surface parking area according to the property records the building was constructed in 1981 the property owner provided records indicated indicating that there are 19 leasable office suites within this building which range from 95 Square ft to 605 ft in area equal bu in a total leasable area of 5,508 square ft the current and previous owners of the building provided the rent rolls which are contained within the evidence of this report for the office building in two 2021 2022 2023 and 2024 which helped to determine the level of vacancies within the building for the previous three years as well as provid an insight into the status of leases moving forward Excuse me while there are 19 Suites office suites that appearer from the rent rols that two of the office suets are combined labeled as S10 and S11 in 2021 the vacancy rate for the office building ranged from 24% to 31% with an average vacancy rate vacancy rate of 27.5% and if S10 and F if the S10 and S11 Suites were connected the actual vacancy rate actually peaked around 37.8% in 2022 the vacancy rate for the office building ranged from 19% to 27% with an average vacancy rate of 22.67% in 2023 the vacancy rate for the office building ranged from 23 to 34% with an average vacancy rate of 29.5% at the beginning of the calendar year 2024 the vacancy rate increased to 43% due to the additional vacancies from leases that ended in 23 the current vacancy rate may be even higher due to the to a due to a lease indicated as ending 123123 being left on the 2024 walls and not provided as vacant further analysis of the rent rolls provides more details as to the level of vacancies the building has experienced overall year over year since the beginning of 20121 five to six of the total 19 Suites have been vacant for a part of the year or the whole year Additionally the largest office suite identified as S14 comprised of 65t Fe has remained vacant continuously from at least 2021 to present while the suite represents a share of 11% of the building as one of the bigger suites the unrealized rent could represent a larger share of the gross expected rent for the landlord one additional Suite labeled as GB comprised of 110 square fet was also consistently vacant from 2021 to present of the 12 presently leased occupied office suites one of the leases is a month-to month 10 of the leases end during the course of 2024 between February to October and one of the leases ends in 2025 it is unclear if these businesses will renew their leases which has been a trend seen in the rent rolls as up to 10 of the Suites have been had experienced some level of vacancy in recent years with a within a smaller office building the share of vacancies has a bigger impact on the economic viability of the building particularly when larger Suites are left vacant therefore for several years the office building a lot six has experienced significant vacancies and is trending towards increasing vacancy with the upcoming expiration of a number of existing leases and therefore in our opinion the property satisfies criteria B criteria D of the local Redevelopment Housing law will apply if areas with buildings or improvements which by reason of dilapidation obsolescence overcrowding faulty Arrangement or design lack of ventilation light and sanitary facilities excessive land coverage deleterious land use or obsolete layout for any common a of these factors or other factors are detrimental to the safe healthy morals or welfare of the community in our opinion block 702 lot 16 which is the property with the garage satisfies criteria B the first the next paragraph goes through the Damage Done by the mo motor vehicle accident which I've already discussed talks about the construction official um which led to the boarding up of the building until it is repaired the rear of the property is a gravel area which is used for parking of Auto automobiles trucks and outdoor storage of materials associated with auto repair use you can see the images that have been provided 21 image 21 22 23 24 25 and 26 the parking spaces in the rear are not strip or configured in a way that provide uniform Drive access driveway aisles or proper circulation in accordance with our Land Development code there's a section of the report that talks about the violations and the service calls and the fire department calls on this property um Police Department Records provide that from 20 2003 to 2023 they're all identified in the report there were 13 service calls at this address for different types which include and then there's just a list of the different activities that have taken place as well as the fire department calls from our site visit and walk of the property in a view of the aerial images it appears that the site does not have any onsite stormw management control or very minor stormw management control and is largely either impervious coverage or compacted gravel um due to the nature of the automotive use the site is SU suspectable excuse me to contributing to stormw runoff of pollutants and contaminantes off site which can be detrimental to the welfare of the neighborhood of the neighboring property owners and Community as a result of these site conditions it's exhibit it exhibits in our opinion the characteristics of overcrowding excessive land coverage dilapidated building condition and a faulty arrangement of the building and uses that are not compatible with one another as evidenced by a number of police calls fire department incidents incidents and violations and ngdp violations these site conditions are collectively detrimental to the safety Health morals and Welfare of the community and therefore in our opinion block 702 lot 16 meets criteria D of the local Redevelopment and Housing law criteria H is known as the smart growth criteria I'm not going to take up your time and read the next three pages that discuss criteria H and smart growth I'm just going to summarize it as briefly as I can we are this portion of our town is located in the metropolitan planning area pa1 which is UN know which is mapped on the state Redevelopment and development plan essentially what that map says is this is the area where future Redevelopment activities should occur this is where where development should take place in our state in our Township and in our County in the areas that are Ma pa1 they're already Disturbed they're located within the downtown they're well again I'm repeating myself a little bit but there was been walking distance of Transit facilities train station bus stops surrounded by Redevelopment areas that have previously been designated by the township they SW they sit squarely within and satisfy all of the smart growth and sound planning criteria essentially if you are going to develop if you need to develop especially to satisfy an unmet need of your third ground or any round of affordable housing where should you put those units or where should you redevelop or where where should you continue the Redevelopment efforts and that sits squarely on these three properties they fit perfectly within the puzzle that we've been putting together over the last 20 plus years it's exactly where you want growth to occur if you need to incur that growth and technically we do need to incur that growth in accordance with the agreements that we signed and said that we would move forward with especially addressing our unmet need and by putting the growth here we're taking the pressure off of growth and areas where we don't want growth the more environmentally sens itive areas the wooded areas the the areas that are green or further outside of a walkable downtown that's essentially in a nutshell what criteria H says it's the smart growth criteria this is where we should concentrate future Redevelopment activities it's also consistent with the goals and objectives of our master plan finally page 60 section three you know just just going to summarize it in a few words if I can while we've already identified it property at 458 Springfield Avenue which is the single family home that fronts on Springfield Avenue while it already does beat a criteria under the local Redevelopment Housing law if you have a property that in our opinion doesn't say didn't meet any criteria however from a sound planning perspective it makes a lot of sense to include that proper property then Section 3 allows you to do that but you can't just throw it in you can't just say ah we're going to use section three and everything great in our opinion because it's contiguous and I've already discussed the location how it abuts to the uh other property block 702 lot six if you look on the aerial photo it completes an entire piece of uh property that will that would now extend from Springfield Avenue down to Sher Avenue very consistent with the neighboring Terrace property that was redeveloped essentially what I'm trying to say is if you took lot four out and you only redevelop lot six you don't have as quality of a project or a piece of property to redevelop because you now don't have that double Frontage and you don't have that access and there's an opportunity to remove a non-conforming structure that was the single family home combin it into one overall Redevelopment study area you have a much more consistent and comprehensive area that could be redeveloped and the entire property now is consistent with the property line that extends along the entire Western property line of what's known as the teros mixed use structure and therefore we are also using section three on 458 Springfield Avenue finally summary in conclusion should the planning board agree with the findings of this preliminary investigation report and should the planning board adopt a resolution supporting the area in need of Redevelopment designation for these three properties The Next Step would be that the council takes the same action and adopts a resolution endorsing the planning board's decision in order for the township of Berkeley Heights to exercise the powers described within the local Redevelopment Housing law and then the Township's next step in the planning process would be to adopt a Redevelopment plan for one or more of the properties the local Redevelopment Housing law defined the Redevelopment plan is a plan that is adopted by the governing body reviewed by the planning board for a municipality for the Redevelopment of one or more of the properties that is sufficiently complete to indicate its relationship to definitive Municipal objectives as to appropriate land use public transportation utilities Recreation Municipal facilities essentially what I'm trying to say is adopting the Redevelopment study in and of itself does very little it creates a Redevelopment designation but the underlying zoning remains in place and will remain so until the governing body at some point takes the action to adopt a Redevelopment plan Redevelopment plan then creates it's essentially a mini master plan as everybody on this planning board has seen the master the Redevelopment plans for any one of these Redevelopment projects stick with the Terrace for example it creates a whole new vision master plan like I call them a mini master plan new zoning new design criteria new pedestrian standards everything that you want parking and so forth It's its own set of zoning and design standards for that project or for that parcel that is customized strictly for that one piece of property or properties if you combine them you can get very creative that's why I like you using the local Redevelopment Housing law because under the zoning criteria and our Misan you saw the very strict interpretation and you have little wiggle room uh under Redevelopment you can get a little bit more creative and come up with a nice looking plan for our community that includes my test thank you thank you you have any questions for Mr mraa very thorough thank you I'm sorry but I have to do no no in a good way thorough in a good way thank you a question okay okay and this is really more for my own when we came when we did this why did we not think to add 70214 and 72 15 into the study I can only speak from my knowledge with the township but I've done this is my ninth Redevelopment study for the township so far and at least in my experience the township governing body mayor and Council has only authorized a Redevelopment study on properties where they're earmarked for redevelopment I'm not aware of any contact uh essentially what I'm saying is these Property Owners from what I understand have not have no interest have not expressed an interest in any Redevelopment activity on their properties so let me ask we let's say we had done them in there they don't have to be changing now but should they change their mind the study would still be valid wouldn't it or do have the study if the St if the township I've I've adopted I've prepared Redevelopment studies for 70 properties 60 properties in entire downtown um some communities like to take that approach other communities like to do it property by property very carefully very slowly you know and and take its time and look at each property not that the other way wouldn't but the other way is like more of a blanket approach just throw them all in there they're all close enough the Approach at least I can't speak for the governing body it's way out of my Lane but at least the approach that's been over year plus has been to go one step at a time and that's what we're doing tonight we're taking uh we're looking at just these three properties and nothing else just a followup I mean does the township initiate this or does the property owner initiate I've seen it work both ways sometimes the township reach out to the property owners hey do you have an interest we have you know this Vision this need this idea and you go literally knock on somebody's door and I've also seen it the other way where somebody comes and says hey I've got these properties and what do you think so it's it's kind of a I've seen it work both ways does that apply with the Redevelopment plan as well the next step that initiation can happen both ways or does the government have to move on that's initiated once in my opinion once should the planning board agree with these findings and adopt a resolution that they meet this criteria resolution then goes to Township Council Township Council would vote on it then we send a copy of it and notice down the DCA Department of Community Affairs and we record this action this Redevelopment study action stop that completes what's known as phase one and it just sets the stage if you will under Redevelopment the next stage is to prepare a Redevelopment plan that Redevelopment plan I would encourage you there's nine of them that we've done in town they're very extensive they're very detailed if you want to know what they look like um you they they they can get very specific I mean down to color of a brick and the you know type of window and the type of use the setback parking height I mean every design standard that you come up with amenities onsite offsite they could be very detailed most of them them are very detailed that but that's why at least I'm a big proponent of Redevelopment because it opens the door and allows you to throw all those items on a table and you can get really in in your design and customizing the property specifically for that one property and that one site I'm not sure if that answered your question but but how it it's initiated it's a conversation but it starts at the governing body level so for my own edification and enjoyment um why does it not meet criteria e why did criteria e is talks about title and the diversification of the title and so forth um I felt I had more than enough enough criteria already evidence already where I didn't have to go and through go and throw in criteria E I think I used criteria e on this property when I did the municipal building property because I had a title report and it showed how uh all the all the issues with the title and the easements and so forth um it would not be a stretch to use criteria e i just that's not necessary I honestly I think I could have used multiple criteria I I these satisfy a lot of criteria I didn't think had to go down that road it's exclusions not necessist doesn't make a difference that's correct okay thanks you're welcome mat do you foresee one two or three Redevelopment plans being developed for these three individual properties do I foresee a Redevelopment plan I'm going short of one two three well I mean there's three separate properties yes sir would you have a Redevelopment plan for lot four lot six and lot 16 it would be no I it would I would at least if I'm asked I the reason why we're combining four and six is you get that larger comprehensive property you come up with a much better project with one project on those two pieces combined it'll be much better for the C more than likely there will be two that would be my push yeah 100% there would be one for four and six and there would be one for 16 but to be very clear and that's why I I want to I don't want to be very clear about this 16 this is really important if you look at this exhibit and this is the blowup of exhibit 12 it's the color one you have in front of you lot 16 is what we're talking about tonight to be very clear to everybody the Audi everybody the one there is a Redevelopment designation that means all of these properties what is known locally as the former property and the former Hotel property has already been designated as an area of needed Redevelopment so what I'm getting at is the property there's my North Arrow South and West on both sides of lot 16 have already been declared an area need Redevelopment now they haven't been redeveloped because you got the what I I know a station something different now sites is there but you got Delicious Heights behind it you got a list of retail you got the uh L-shaped retail storage but you have other area on this piece of property be specific I'm talking about lot 17 is that the parking lot that has already been declared an area need of Redevelopment so if you did a Redevelopment plan for lot 16 it does not necessarily have to stay within the boundaries of lot 16 because the neighboring piece of property has already been declared so we're merging we're adding that piece of property to that puzzle if that makes any sense so you're saying somebody could buy that there no buying there the I'm just saying merging the properties from a study but you so they could all be developed cohesively yes so what I'm what I'm really trying to say is and I I apologize I don't have the Lots in the blocks on this one but lot 17 is right next to and right behind or on top of lot 16 lot 17 has already been declared an area need Redevelopment and is being redeveloped in the back portion of the property so that leaves the option I just want to be clear that the front portion could be redeveloped you don't have to go back and restudy 17 because it's already been it's already met that criteria any other questions so uh Lots four and six they're own by two different entities correct yes sir are they same principles yes sir okay so that's why they're considering them being merg into one property yes sir okay any other questions do you know to what extent the flood zones map has changed I believe yes if you go to good question figure 387 excuse me how many months ago they adopted new storm water rule not storm water the new the new flood Hazard rules um at the much expanded all the flood is expanded okay it's my understanding and I don't know this this is not based on a line verification or anything official from the DV but it's my understanding that the light blue which on this map is identified as the 500-year flood would extend up to right below lot 16 what is block 702 lot 16 I don't know how much it jumps into Sherman Avenue right there I think it's somewhere along Sherman Avenue as Sherman Avenue extends behind lot 16 safe to say it's going to be below or behind lot 16 safe to say it's going to be below because the as you know the the elevation it's all based on elevation and you know you can see the lower elevation what there's approximately 12 to 14t change in elevation from Sherman Avenue to Springfield Avenue so that will that's a pretty cons change in elevation so that will keep it basically on Sherman Avenue side corre so that's not a concern it's not a concern which makes it one more box you want to check as a property that should be redeveloped y thank you you're welcome I open it to the public anybody in the public any questions from adoms Real Estate uh question on um the tax rate I guess it is if and when the uh zoning changes to Redevelopment uh will my existing taxes change I operate my business you know as is now follow defer to Legal also but it's my understanding that the adoption of the Redevelopment study alone will not have an impact why because we've just declared it as an area needed Redevelopment stop no other action has been taken so my answer would that's what we're doing tonight my answer may be different after the governing body went through the Redevelopment plan process that and that could change but the Revel study what we're doing this evening no so that question would be better addressed to the town committee well I think that the question is by just declaring it as an area need of Redevelopment to answer your question no and that's what tonight is about so I don't want to you know when if I don't I don't want I don't really want to go down that road because I I can't speak on behalf of the governing body as the next action who would you recommend I asked that question too has has this come up before in other properties I'm I'm not trying to not answer your question I'm trying to be clear that the Redevelopment study designation in and of itself doesn't change your zoning it doesn't change the use it doesn't change how you operate um I've you know some town they adopt the read of them study and nothing happens for a long period of time sometimes very long period of time so it a quote unquote new zoning or new use on your property could be a long period down I don't know I can't get yes well this doesn't trigger a tax change that's what this so technically tax change there's no reason not value because you're still a business is still running on that property which is the basis for how the tax rate is determined okay uh just one other question um Sherman Avenue um what is the official designation of the part of Sherman Avenue that which is behind my property which goes to the parking lot is that a is that private property is that part of Township Road is there some sort of agreement with the property owner of the town I I I have documents of it as Sherman Avenue sections of it being a public right away and then as it extends across slot 17 behind you as an easement on lot 17 however I wrote Redevelopment plan but I can't remember what I wrote and there's a Redevelopment plan the section of Sherman Avenue that you were referring to is addressed in a Redevelopment plan entitled former King's property Redevelopment plan I think it was adopted in 16 20 modified in called the Straton house one like21 I think I wasn't part of the modification but the 161 that I did write it's speaks to where Sherman is a public RightWay and where Sherman was a private easement and that's as far as I can go because I wasn't part of amending that Redevelopment plan they just amended it again council meeting last night okay so I should yeah and I'm sure it's a public document you get a handle you can get you a copy of it so I if it was just amenda last night I'm I want to talk out of hand because I don't want I don't know what I'm talking about so just to uh just explain a little more about the non-conforming use that my property has now as DD and we know we're not conforming right um well in 20 it was it December of 20122 the planning board here adopted a new master plan after the new master plan was adopted the township Council then enacted du ordinances for the DD Zone Downtown Development Zone District which moved some items from permitted to some items to prohibit it and the items that are prohibited in the DD zone are listed on table okay so that's the AC well on page 31 table four it's been DD for a long time correct yeah but they what they did was the the town planning board and governing body changed amended what was permitted and what was now prohibited in 2022 and they did that through the adoption of a comprehensive Township wide master plan my understanding basically DD was first floor retail second third floor housing yeah there's a list of there's a whole you're correct that's one of so yes they wouldn't fit that criteria well that's no you just you just named and mixed you structure so yes that's one of the items but there also the other permitted uses are retail sales personal Professional Services municipal buildings theaters professional Offices Medical Offices houses of worship schools and child care facilities and what you described as a mixed use building with the retail commercial on the first floor and apartments on top so all of those that I just List have a gas station and have apartments above it I'm sorry you're not front of me you're in front of the zoning board and I wish you luck thank you thank you okay so um Mr Robertson yeah uh action before the board as a result of the hearing is the board will have to vote on uh the uh recommendation to the township Council uh Des recommending that these Parcels the study area be designated as areas in Le need of Redevelopment for the based on the criteria set forth in that Mr mrea testified to in the uh local Redevelopment Housing law and there's a resolution that was drafted I believe it's been circulated uh outlines the generally testimony from Mr the up or at least the findings in the report that were prepared was prepared listed the criteria uh and a finding that the board recommends that the council declare the study area to be a non- condemnation area in needed Redevelopment pursuant to the provisions of that local Redevelopment Housing law the the the one caveat that resolution I would mention in in reviewing it it does not appear to reference section three that is included in the report I think that should be included and added to the uh to the resolution so if on page 101 under the now therefore there's a listing of the criteria that uh criteria a criteria B criteria D criteria H and my recommendation would be if the board uh is going to vote on this resolution it should include another bullet point that would identify section three uh and a description SE section Ray is listed on page 60 of the report which says that Redevelopment area may include lands buildings or improvements which of themselves are not detrimental to public health safety or welfare if the inclusion of which is found necessary that change of the condition for the effective Redevelopment of the area of which they are part and in particular that referred to lot four so uh if the if the board is going to take action on this resolution uh it would be with a recommendation that that additional condition be added to uh on page 13 of the draft resolution anybody have any questions for Robertson okay do I have a motion to pass the resolution uh so moov um one other I should have mentioned earlier uh but but uh just so that there is a a record the the uh study that was done by Harbor Consultants has been on file that reported file with Town know that has to be an exhibit uh the blowup uh exhibits those are included within the study itself so don't necessarily have to be exhibits but because there is a hearing it's public hearing there's right to appeal it uh my suggestion would be we the one of the copies of the report the investigation report as hc1 for and hc2 would be the uh figure number two and H hc3 would be figure 12 from the report those are just enlargements of figures that are in the report itself that way the uh with the hearing and any transcript these documents are already there they're all together uh so with that addition I think good do Regina Mr Johnson yes Mr graciano yes m h yes missley yes poo yes Mr Kraut yes Mr sternheim yes Mr Leo yes motion Carri 8 Z okay very good all right do I have a motion to adjourn all right a good night everybody