e e Township of Monroe planning board March 28 2024 6:30 p.m. um please rise and salute the flag to flag United States of America to the stand naice in accordance with the open public meetings act it is hereby announced and shall be end entered into the minutes of this meeting that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by the following hosted on the Bolton Board of the office of the Township Clerk posted on the bulton boards within the municipal complex printed in the home News Tribune and cranberry press on December 29 2023 posted on the Monroe Township website and sent to those individuals who requested personal notice please read the role Mr Rothman here Mr rigs Miss brosky yes I'm here Mr Patel miss damiani here Mr wiberg Mr weiner yes here Dr Kenzie here councilman vanzora here mayor's representative Mr Patel yes here chairman Gaffrey here okay um Lura circulated the minutes from our January meeting we did not have a meeting in February um and uh if is there any respect of those minutes is there a motion to accept motion second second all in favor I I any abstained one um any denied the minut are accepted okay we have one application tonight we also have a discussion item there do you want to go ahead and do that first yes um there's a request for an extension of time in regard to Apple reality LLC PB 121 18-19 the reason for the request for the extension is that there is a uh a death in the family regarding the applicant owner which has caused other difficulties TimeWise also the applicant is still within resolution compliance and the plans have been forwarded to the county of middle section has not uh as of yet received approval so I would recommend that you pass the extension of time the resolution is in your packet stating what I just indicated and it would be an extension through March 25 2025 there any questions any discussion do we have a motion to accept the extension second second1 The Voice vote Mr Rothman yes Miss brosky yes Miss damiani yes Mr weiner yes Dr Kenzie yes councilman vanzora yes mayor's representative Mr Patel yes chairman Gaffrey yes okay the application we have tonight is pb1 1245 d22 neon and n n h um Mr Mr too no no no what that the engineer and and who from is anyone from Mr to's office okay can proceed hi thank you uh my name Isa and I'm here for uh getting the approval for the minor subdivision of our property at 95 Hy Road uh since you've been made discuss facts with us we'd like to swear in so raise your right hand okay you swear to tell the truth all truth and nothing but the truth so hope you got yes okay State your full name for the record n okay can proceed proceed have you completed your statement um yes I'm here for um getting the approval for my property at 95 Hy road for the minor subdivision hello my my name is Daniel joran I'm a licensed engineer planner and surveyor here in the state of New Jersey I have been a member of the firm of William Doran Sons for over 35 years I've previously testified in front of this board and Boards similar to yours throughout the state your credentials are accepted thank you just where to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth help you back yes I do again for the record State your full name Daniel Doran d o r an thank you I have two exhibits the first exhibit is the uh subdivision I mean sorry it's a survey plat that was submitted with the subdivision application plans and the second uh exhibit is the plot plan which will show the proposed conditions and just to orient ourselves Dan you can take the microphone just to orient ourselves when I'm referring to the first exhibit we have Hy re Road at the top of the page Cranbury Station Road on the right side uh this is the site itself North is pointing up the page when I refer to directions I'll say that Hy Reed Road is traversing north and south and cranberry Station Road is traversing east and west and that should be marked A1 I did that and I dated it for today's date that's what we need okay the site is technically known as block 1409 lot 7 it's located at the intersection of Hy re Road and cranberry Station Road it's 3.18 acres in size there's an existing dwelling located in in the southwest corner of the site that dwelling there's also the remnants of a old barn located in that Southwest area an Loi has been issued by njde regarding the boundary of the wetlands that are on the site and as you look at the plan what I just highlighted that is the boundary of the wetlands Municipal Water is located in howy Reed Road and on Station Road Municipal sanitary sewer is located on Mission Drive Mission Drive is a development that is or with located within a development that's to the east of the property or in the rear of the property and when that Pro when that development was created uh the developer at that time was asked to provide a sanitary sewer easement that would provide sanitary sewer to service the subject property as far as the proposed conditions go and I'd just like to turn that page over now you mark that one A2 A2 yes uh the existing site improvements that I previously spoke about will all be removed from the site the applicant as you know is proposing a minor subdivision to create two lots two lots that are basically uh the same size proposed lot 7.01 will be located on the left side of of the property and proposed lot 702 will be located on the right side of at the intersection of the two streets the lots are being created for single family dwellings the applicant is proposing to dedicate a 25 foot wide strip of ground along the entire Frontage of haly re Road and the purpose of that is for Road widening uh the applicant is proposing to install concrete curbs and sidewalk along the entire Frontage of both streets Street trees are also proposed along the frontage of both streets the site is located in the r60 zone and the proposed Lots meet or exceed all the bulk requirements of that zone there is one variance that the applicant is seeking and this has to deal with a 60 foot wide landscape buffer that is the ordinance requires the buffer to be in the front yards of the property and when I looked at this I I started to look at all of the properties that are designated throughout the Township in the r60 zone because I wanted to see how that 60 foot wide landscape buffer was implemented on these existing zones and where the existing houses are located and what I found was that there are two instances of where that buffer is placed and it is on corner Lots which is what we have here a corner lot from where you have two frontages and on lots that are what I call through streets where you would have a street that the house fronts on and you have a street in the rear yard of the uh dwelling and what those buffer requirements did was they would block out or or buffer this side on a corner lot it would buff buffer the side yard of the proposed dwelling and on on the lots that were through streets it would buffer the rear yard of those dwellings so what the applicant is proposing to do because the ordinance also states that where there is existing vegetation the applicants supplement that existing vegetation and on Station Road the dwelling is going to be approximately 110 ft away from the right of way on Station Road and the applicant is going to be leaving uh the area where there is existing vegetating currently located and they're proposing to supplement that existing vegetation the variance that we are seeking is not to have a a buffer landscape buffer in the front of the house in between the front door of the house and the street line which is what takes place in all of the other r60 uh zones none of those houses in the r60 zone have a 60 foot wide buffer landscape easement in the front of those properties in between their front door and the street line that being said um I I don't believe that the granting of that variant is not to have that buffer uh implemented on haly read road but to allow it only on Station Road does not create any substantial detriment to the Zone plan Zone ordinance or the public good we are also in receipt of of Mr rimo it's his memo dated March 7th 2024 and we'll be happy and be able to provide him with any information that we haven't already done or already spoken about before we go Miss wlik we've already approved the extension okay that's anything just for clarification the not the legal notice provided by the attorney indicated that there was a a variance for minimum lot Frontage along cranberry Station Road of 77 feet where 200 is required and Mr conry I had spoken and that was brought up at the the TRC meeting that we had attended and when I went back and I took a good look at that I realized that the ordinance also goes further and states that where your funed is based on a curve you are permitted to or you need to have at least 60% of that required two uh 200 ft we have 123 where that 60% would bring it down to 120 I had spoken to the board's planner regarding that and uh they had agreed with us that that that was correct that we would not need to ask for that variance okay just make we're making sure that record is great thank you thank you anything further Mr foot yes just um so let me just uh back up what Mr Duran just said uh that is correct um he did speak to uh my colleague uh malap and uh we did clarify with Mr Duran that uh that is in fact the case that the proposed uh Frontage along uh Cranbury Station Road uh does meet the requirements of the ordinance um and then just one uh one other question uh you noted about the Municipal Water and Sewer so it is the intent to use Municipal Water and Sewer for these properties that's correct okay all right that's all thank you Mr asot thank you Mr chairman uh my review letter dated March 7th 2024 the applicant agreed to provide uh um any information I requested and uh agreed to meet the comments in that review letter that's correct and just for the record uh you are pro providing Road widening along uh baly Reed Road that's correct as well as curbs and sidewalks are going to be installing yes uh and just confirm that all the sidewalk will be ADA Compliant yes thanks um the last thing with regard to the buffers uh you indicated there was a stand of trees that were going to remain on the cranberry station roadside that's correct the tree the existing trees that are located in between the proposed driveway on lot 7.02 and cranberry Station Road we we will um supplement any of those trees that are there so based on the plan with some of the grading there I just like to see that area delineated on the plan because it's not clear what what existing standard trees is going to be remaining so if we just have that clarified uh you know should the board approve that that would be a part of the compliance review thank you any questions from the board a couple of quick questions looking at your uh plan you could help me out um there's a large circular uh path or or delineated marking on the plan going through the two proposed Lots uh on the southern portion of it is the 50 Foot marker indicating the wetlands buffer but is that entire uh circular path uh starting and ending at two points on Hy Reed Road is that just a buffer or forgive me my eyes um or is that a driveway of some type that's existing and going to remain the driveway for that proposed lot on I mean for that proposed dwelling on lot 7 .01 will parallel the southernly boundary line of the property is what you're talking about this shaded area here that area it circulates all the way around yes what that is is that the buffer the entire buffer or is that an existing driveway I'm just not clear no no no it's the it's associated with the buffer of the wetlands so that that entire circular area is is the buffer that's correct all the way through okay that's I just wanted to clarify I wasn't sure if that was also it the way it's shaped and looking on the plans that it might be a driveway which would have raised a bunch of other questions right no we're we're keeping the driveway away from the wetlands okay thank you thank chairman just just one more question um to the east of this property there is a detention Basin for the Stratford development correct is there alall pipe that is directed towards this property and the wetlands in particular no I did not find any anything like that no I believe that the alal structure is actually at the intersection of elely drive and cranberry station if I'm not mistaken so it probably controls the water coming out of that Basin and then is tied into a storm sewer system okay thank you and one other one other question just uh one of our comments was uh the driveway curb width should be clarified um do you can we clarify that now or we can also clarify that during the compliance phase I believe we had it somewhere in the range of about 12 feet okay any other questions um do you have any further Witnesses what do you have any further Witnesses no okay um anybody from the public wish to be heard on this okay yeah gra grab the microphone we're gonna swear you in too everybody a witness great truth all truth nothing I do may I U Brian brell I'm a neighbor hello at 93 Hy Reid Road I just want to point out uh for the planning board and I'm not certain that this is the appropriate venue or not um but with respect to the widening of this of the road and the in installation of curbing um Hy Reid Road on the Monroe side those of you that aren't aware uh our neighbors across the street are residents of cranberry and we're Monroe the Monroe side of the street U doesn't have any visible uh drainage um on the street and wondering if uh there would be an opportunity here um to partner between the township and this particular project uh for that to give the residents some relief in that area so i' would like to uh ask the board to consider that chairman uh the applicants agreed to provide the curbing as well as any drainage that's required um you know the road will have to be graded to to allow for that drainage and maybe the engineer can just clarify if there's an inlet proposed along that curve line I'm sure yes there is there's actually a high point on Hy re road which is about in the center um of the road from where it bends to go towards house and towards cranberry Station Road so we've um maintained that existing drainage condition the wetlands that I pointed out has a swell or a ditch located in the middle of that wetlands and it currently goes through a head wall that then enters into a storm sewer system located in howy Reed Road the applicant is going to be widening the road removing that head wall putting an inlet at that spot so that all the water that's dra along the two curve lines um that are on the Frontage of this property will drain into that Inlet and then continue on uh Into the Storm sewer system so perhaps it's a greater discussion for the engineering department but I would advocate for an additional Inlet in Hy Reid Road uh north of the proposed uh construction we we'll take a look at that um when they submit revised plan for compliance review we'll look at the drainage and the uh and the grading along that section of roadway just just to be sure that that's not going to create a drainage issue okay thank you I have a secondary question if uh you don't mind if you don't mind just just before we leave that just so that I understand it would a inlet at our common boundary be a benefit to you or are you speaking further down the road um actually further up the road um it seems like water coming down would be would benefit from an additional Inlet on the street itself which I understand is not uh your project but it's uh something that I'd like to be considered that that's further closer to Cranberry Station Road you're saying no it would be farther away up towards closer to the CAC side oh so you're heading south okay I'm sorry sorry I I misunderstood I thought you were going the other way um um I don't know have you looked at that I I I'll say at our common boundary line that does pitch to the north and will get into the inlet that we are proposing I haven't done a a lot of toppo work past your house I know that in front of your house it still goes in that direction it will be you know that that water will be permitted to Traverse uh along the edge of your pavement then once it hits our curb line along that curb line to get into um the ex the proposed Inlet so again so I can understand Brian you're saying further down towards the culdesac are are you right next door to this property or correct yeah I'm right next door so is the issue in front of your house or is it closer to the culdesac so water essentially just travels down and there isn't quite enough pitch uh on the street so there is just some ponding and sitting in front of homes because there isn't the pitch and there there aren't inlets throughout the street for the water to kind of uh deposit into and then get into the sewer uh so there's no curbing out there if I no there's no curbing so uh really the request um is more on the township side is there an opportunity here to kind of combine um this project with a a future uh project on the Township in order to alleviate some of that I I'll I'll reach out to our Public Works and we'll take a look at that at that and to see if there's something the township can do down there to help improve those uh those ponding areas I'd appreciate that sure uh and secondarily on the plans uh it does reference um at least on the application uh that there's going to be natural gas servicing uh the homes and I just would like to clarify uh where that service uh is generating from if I may the uh plan notes that if there is not um natural gas that would provide gas to the proposed two dwellings that there would be have to use an alternate propane used the dwell so no it hasn't been verified whether or not there's any gas out there at this that would be able to service the two RS well for the record if you do find any I'd love to tap into it thank you for your time thank you welcome anyone else come folk going for the microphone tell the truth yes yeah I'm in uh Mission Drive okay yeah I'll need your name and address please my name is last name gri can you spell your last name please you talk into the microphone please yeah uh g duu p o o r i gurri my last name thank you and you can take the microphone out of the stand okay so uh we live in um Mission drive so my this property is behind my home and uh I would like to know there is uh um dryness pipes in next to my house is going backyard so is going to impact anything for that and the other thing is we heard that backyard is B lands is there so I would like to know what is the area they are going to build the new houses the easiest way that I can explain to that is the boundary of the wetlands is in this area here on proposed lot 7.01 there'll be a drive that comes down parallel to the southerly boundary of the site and that dwelling will be in this area located outside of the Wetland this may be a better way to do it okay here here is one dwelling housy re road is out here cranberry Station Road is here there's one dwelling there that will be located outside of the Wetland area here's the second dwelling that is outside of the Wetland area also both of these Lots will there the houses will be fronting on housing so the midle the we need I'm sorry we need this on record micrones please yeah so where is the Wetland located here and where is the Mission Drive the Wetland line is right here oh okay so there we have some trees right so you are going to leave those trees like that that's correct yes okay we will not be able to disturb anything in the Wet N area Okay okay so where is the Mission Drive here sir Mission uh Mission Drive is over here here is El drive and that gives it goes to an intersection and Mission Drive uh there yeah okay yeah I just want to make sure uh that's what I heard that there is a wetland and next to my home that is a dryness pipes going backyard so we just want to make sure it's not going to impact anything very good thank thank you anything else no no thank you so much anyone else wish to be heard okay um move to to close the public on on this application motion second make a motion second all in favor I I opposed anything further no okay um as as I see it there's a a motion to approve the bulk V uh approve the uh minor subdivision with a variance for the 60 foot buffer I heard that correctly um does anyone does anyone want to make a motion on that I'll make a motion to approve with the stipulation and with the variance about the buffer second I say Mr Rothman yes M Bry yes Miss damiani yes Mr weiner yes Dr Kenzie yes councilman vanzora yes mayor's representative Mr Patel yes chairman Gaffrey yes been approved very much thank you so much thank you everybody thank you have okay um next on the agenda we have one memorialization tonight is the pb26 0-23 Costco Wholesale Corp is there any discussion on this make a motion make a motion second Mr Rothman yes Mr brosky yes M Miss damiani yes Mr weiner yes councilman vanzora yes mayor's representative Mr Patel yes chairman Gaffrey yes okay we'll move into the open public portion um is there anyone from the public that wish to be heard on any topic okay motion to uh close public portion so move second second all in favor opposed okay we we've done the one discussion item no correspondence so we can move to adjourned anybody want to move