good evening everyone welcome to marro Township zoning board meeting February 27 2024 please stand to salute the flag I pledge allegiance toag of the United States of America and to the rep stands one nation God indivisible liberty and justice for all announcement of the Sunshine Law in accordance with the open public meetings act it is hereby announced and shall be entered into the minutes of this meeting that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by the following posted on the bulletin board of the office of the Township Clerk posted on the bulletin boards within the municipal complex printed in the home News Tribune and cranberry press on December 29th 2023 posted on the Monroe Township website and sent to those individuals who have requested personal notice Madame secretary roll call please miss Carrie Pres Mr Lupo yes Mr Masters Mr busman here M katori Mr tany here Mr jaffy Mr Cole Mr jice here chairman L here uh Mr judice tonight you'll be a full voting member in absence of some of our members okay board members we need a motion to approve the minutes of our meeting held January 30th a motion a second a second all in favor I I there's one abstention here I don't let you heard it yeah who's abstaining Gary Gary's obain okay application va-52 47-23 Monroe solar 1 LLC please come forward he Council good evening is this okay sir um good evening members of the board um I'm Bill Harrison from Genova Burns I'm attorney for the applicant Monroe solar 1 LLC we will have three Witnesses tonight a representative of the applicant our engineer and our planner and unless you want to hear me Babble I'll call our first witness sounds awesome please proceed good evening if you could raise your right hand for me do you swear the testimony going to provide us the truth all truth and nothing but truth yep I do if you could state your name spell your last name and give us your address for the record please my name is Lawrence Shing l a w n c space XI n Mr Jen who do you work for and what is your position with that company uh I work for the project development team at Dimension renewable energy and what is the relationship of Dimension renewable energy to the applicant council could you just get that mic a little bit closer to you please uh Dimension renewable energy is the owner of Monroe solar one okay and and what um what is proposed at this site yeah so we are proposing a 3.3 megawatt DC 2.6 megawatt AC Community solar project uh Community solar is part of a state run program that allows for uh industrial landfills and rooftops to be used to deploy for clean energy um so part of this program is that uh local residents are able to subscribe to a share of the power that's produced and they are able to see Financial savings on their electricity rates and uh another requirement as a part of the program is that as a developer we have to subscribe 51% of this project to low and moderate income subscribers and what is the discount that the customers will get yeah so Dimension has committed to a 25% savings for low to moderate income subscribers and 21% for other residents and about how many households will be served by this facility uh we're projecting about 400 to 500 households okay and why was this building Cho chosen for the site of the community solar facility the landlord was interested in maximizing the output uh of their rooftop CP it wasn't being used and they found us through a third party broker and other than allowing you um access to user roof do the owners of the property have any role in the operation of the solar facility uh they have no other role in the operation okay and was an analysis done to determine whether the roof of the building could support uh the facility yep so we hired a thirdparty structural engineer uh they went out and conducted a visit and they uh ran their models and we found that the rooftop has a lot of sufficient capacity for solar I'm going to ask him a questions about what the lease allows the engineer will show on the plans where are the various things I'm asking about but just so you know there's a legal basis for doing this um does the lease allow for um a location on the property where you can stage while you're constructing the facility yeah we have written language in our executed lease with the landlord uh that has uh that allows us to use part of the property for construction staging and that would include the storage of vehicles and Equipment overnight uh while the panels are being installed y that's correct um and does the lease provide for a location for a ladder to access the roof y so part of the lease we also have written language allows us to install and maintain a ladder on the exterior of the building for uh construction as well as uh operations and maintenance okay and um once the facility is installed how frequently will someone have to come to inspect the facility yeah we will do maintenance on a by anual Cadence um the um and does the lease allow parking how many vehicles would come when the maintenance is being done uh maintenance should just be one standard van uh I think we should be able to use their regular parking spots for that and the lease allows for that yeah um okay and uh after we submitted the original plans did the landlord request the ground equipment be be located from the front of the building yeah so we originally have the Transformer and ground equipment being shown in the truck Port um they thought that was a little invasive to the current building tenants and their operations so we have relocated the Transformer to the back of the property um they've told us the building tenants rarely use the back of the property and that's also where our construction staging is going to be um how do customers sign up to for the electricity that will be generated uh as we're getting closer to uh bringing the project online there will be a simple enrollment process that they can do online um I have no further questions with this witness you can bring your next witness forward and at the end we'll uh we'll ask our questions B Kei Smith our engineer all right you could raise your right hand you just wear the testimony going provide is the truth the all truth and nothing but truth yes if you could state your name spell your last name and give us your address please for the record my name is Keith Smith Kei th Smith uh my address is 1800 Route 34 in Wall New Jersey you want to give the board your benefit of your professional background yes I'm a licensed professional engineer in the state of New Jersey since 1988 I pred for over uh 40 boards and agencies and represented both municipalities and the state as a council we'll accept we'll accept them as a professional okay thank you okay you want to go over the design of the facility yes uh so the project involves the installation of approximately 6,3 uh rooftop solar just St close to the mic as you can so it's recorded if you have to get up for any reason try and slide it over so we can pick it up so everyone can hear okay all right thank you so as you can see the blue uh Imaging on the top of the building is the the panels themselves uh there are approximately 6,3 panels that are uh situated on the building as well as the inverters which are the uh equipment that converts the DC Electric into AC electric for to go back back to the grid um all of that is on the rooftop the uh switch gear is located to the south side of the building um the switch gear is located to the rear in the south side of building adjacent to the existing stairway that that exits a building at that location uh the conduit that runs down a building will be painted to match the building color so it will blend the trans Transformer is being uh located to the rear of the building in in the back left corner adjacent to where you see on this particular plan the red uh images those red areas are the areas that are designated for storage and for uh trucks during the construction of the array they'll be you know uh lifting the panels and and the equipment onto the roof the panels themselves are on a racking system system uh which is angled to catch the sun uh the bottom of that panel is approximately 4 and2 in off of the roof and the top of the panels about 11 and 1 12 inches off of the roof so they're actually less than a foot off of the roof uh the panels themselves are uh ballast mounted which means that they're uh on the roof by weight they're not attached to to any mechanical means but they have kind of like landscaping blocks bricks that uh a certain number of them to offset the wind and that's all calculated through the racking system Mr Smith if I could just stop you for one second what you're referring to as your exhibit is that a page from something that was applied to the board yes that is the uh most recent site plan and that's that was submitted to the board um what are the setbacks of the panels from the edge of the roof uh there are a minimum of about six feet from the edge of the roof and are there Pathways to provide for access for both maintenance and any emergency purposes yes there they're Pathways throughout the array um obviously there's also areas where there are no panels because there are is existing rooftop mechanical equipment and uh the panels themselves need clear areas so that they don't get shaded out and and they can produce electricity and um is everything located in accordance with the national electrical code yes um okay then it described where the ground equipment was how does the electricity get to the utility lines along angle heart drive so there is existing utility Pole located at the front of the um cility on angle heart uh Drive currently the Transformer which is located at the rear of the site re corner of the site um there will be a uh conduit that extends from there to the front front of the site uh below grade and then it will um be uh interconnected to the existing power uh pole through a series of poles which have different equipment on them for disconnects Etc um and for Access are there three driveways that provide access to the site yes there were three drives the driveway to the north which uh or to the right side of the page is for the office and the office work parking there's a second driveway uh which is on the North End of the uh which is used primarily for the trucking and the trucks going in and out of the site and there's a third driveway which is located all the way to the south side of the property uh that's a driveway that we anticipate uh being used for the delivery of the equipment during uh construction okay and um the initial re the review Memo from the board engineer requested a number of changes to the plans were those changes made uh actually there are some changes still need to be made they're primarily um you know adding in signature blocks and some other things that need to be uh addressed as part of plans they will be added to the plant okay and with the location of the saging area where it's proposed will that in any way interfere with the warehouse operations no the staging area and the construction equipment and the deliveries all be at the rear of the site okay and the act the ladder that provides access to the roof is that located at the rear of the building as well yes that's also shown on the site plan it is on this site plan it's the uh yellow box at the rear of the site um that's the uh approximate location obviously it will be located as necessary on the building yes uh is any fencing proposed not at this time everything is on roof uh is any new lighting proposed no and is any signage proposed other than there's certain signs required by the I guess the elect fire code other than that are any signs proposed no okay I have no further questions to this witness thank you Council next witness we'll get to them let just let them just jot it down Okay Marina do you the testimony going to provide us the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes I do if you could state your name spell your last name and give us your address please sure hi there everyone my name is John McDon my business address is over in parsipany 101 jaal to drive and I'm the project planner I'm assuming you served before boards before and so on and so forth yes I have on the town side and on the advocate side I I get to do this throughout the state on on a nightly basis and I've actually been here before okay we'll accept we'll accept your credentials as a professional Council you want to give the planning justifications for the variant requested sure pretty straightforward application we're hearing your Li light industrial Zone District which as you know allows for a wide variety of uses but it does not call out this somewhat unique land use uh we've got solar panels rooftop solar panels which is I'll say typical in today's inv environment but now we have this community solar facility which actually uses the electricity to go out to uh I'll call it third parties or second principal use on the property it's a use that's not expressly permitted I don't see it as being expressly permitted anywhere here in the community so that's why the applicant is asking for D1 use relief uh we've got good neighborhood compatibility we've got good site compatibility here from a physical planning standpoint we're talking about a single tax lot here it's a very large lot 17.2 Acres it's a single tax lot block 4701 lot 204 it's got a very large Warehouse on it presently this is a land use that likes to follow the large rooftops because it needs the capacity uh to deliver and serve its purpose of of delivering electricity to the public uh it is developed as I said as a warehouse and related parking it is part of a much larger Industrial complex or industrial buildout um that is hundreds of Acres with multiple buildings that stem off of uh angle Hard Road and again other buildings in the area being Industrial in nature I'm seeing there are solar panels on some of those buildings as well so from a pure physical planning standpoint looking at something here that is not atypical of what we see in the neighborhood um again the proposal is to install a community solar facility on the roof rooftop is going to be slightly more than 6,000 panels up there they're ballasted racking on a flat roof relatively lowprofile structures these are not going to be sticking out uh on a sharp angle where they're readily obvious to the the public realm and as you heard the electricity that is going to be produced by these panels will be converted or conveyed to a ground mounted Transformer and then the electricity will be connected to the grid and available for uh electric customers at least 51% of the subscriptions will be available to persons of low and moderate incomes and you heard it's going to serve approximately 400 to 500 households in terms of the relief that the applicant is seeking here the existing use the industrial use is permitted in the zone so this is not an expansion of a non-conforming use it's an approved and permitted principal use but because we have this technicality that Community solar facilities are not expressly permitted in any Zone here in the community the relief is needed uh you have a new master plan a nice fresh well-written master plan that actually encourages renewable energy and we may see the zoning change in in this application's favored down the road but as we stand right now it's not a a permitted use in the zone the test relatively easy before the board this evening I know you typically deal with the medich case uh this is an even easier case in terms of justification because we're dealing with the use that our courts have found um and not only our courts but our legislature as well as being of such importance that they are quote unquote inherently beneficial uses uh that being said the ml definition of inherently beneficial actually includes the word photovoltaic energy facilities and structures the language actually applies to photovoltaic whether it's accessory or principle which is the case here so we're spoton with an inherently beneficial use under the statute whenever we're dealing with inherently beneficial uses we're looking at a relatively simplified four-part test the Cox book calls it an analytical shortcut we don't have to go through the more detailed proofs that you would need to see under medich so prong number one is to identify the public interest at stake the public interest of course it's echoed in your master plan as well is renewable energy uh environmental sustainability including the provision for low and moderate incomes additionally as I said our courts have established that inherently beneficial uses serve the public good by their very nature and the positive criteria are effectively automatically satisfied renewable energy and environmental sustainability are core goals of your your new master plan and solar is is included in that umbrella second part of the test moves us from the public interest at stake and looks at potential impacts with this buildout on this rooftop um as you've heard there's good testimony here that the use itself is going to be functionally inert and Visually it is going to be visually innocuous again lowprofile structures on the rooftops generally these are structures that absorb light they don't reflect light um and will integrate nicely into the landscape and also uh similar to what we see in the buildout of the area it is a non-residential area as I said hundreds of Acres of industrial buildout and industrial buildings so certainly not impairing the character of the area or impeding the intent and purpose of your Zone plan and ordinance the third prong of the test is where the board comes into play and our courts Envision an interactive process uh where the board may take a good plan take a look at it and offer suggestions or comments to take a good plan plan and make it even better um as I sit here now I don't see any uh any suggestions that would make it better than what's already been proposed in terms of getting here but again it's it's an interactive process between the boards and the applicant uh the board can certainly impose reasonable conditions to help make this good project even better the main thing is the degree of departure from The Zone scheme in terms of at least what the master plan envisions with rooftop rooftop apperances um is not not substantial here the fourth part of the test is a very simple balancing taking that heavy weight of an inherently beneficial use and weighing it against the relatively light impacts associated with a fairly innocuous rooftop um installation uh based on that and based on all the testimony you have before you both Visual and and verbal um I think the board can clearly find the weight is on the the positive side here so in conclusion the test is pretty straightforward and I think the application is pretty straightforward we have an applicant here that is ready willing and able to deliver a permit a beneficial use with minimal if any impacts the criteria certainly met and with that regard I would offer that approval as warranted here that's all I have on Direct I have no further question testimony Council okay we're going to start with mik our professional thank you chairman um I have a couple of questions from your first first um expert to the engineer um one of the concerns was location of U you know the staging area so thank you for moving that at the back um in terms of where the new Transformer and the other equipment that's to be located switch gear thank you um the accessory setbacks are being uh met right in terms of the 20 foot setback from the property line yes the okay sorry I'm yes the the uh both are approximately 30 ft thank um in terms of uh um refuse and recycling would that be in terms of you know any broken panels and all how often would that generally in your uh experience does that happen or how often and is there an operations manual as to how it'll be replaced uh yeah so our systems are managed remotely 24/7 so if anything breaks will know right away and we'll be able to dispatch a technician to the site next day to get that fixed okay um in your experience a project of this scale how long is the construction period that you would be experiencing the construction vehicles as well as these panels to be in the rear of the site uh generally 6 to 8 months 6 to 8 months um you did mention in your testimony that uh 51% of this project would be you know sorry 400 to 500 households would be served the existing Warehouse would that also be getting benefited by this no so the electricity would be sent directly off the site all right um and uh in terms of um you know performance standards the only thing that we have um kind of heard about when it comes to solar panels is the noise generation the state statute requirement would be met in this category right yes the the noise L at the property line would be met all right thank you thank you thank you m thank you Mr chairman uh they've agreed to meet the comments in my uh review letter January 16 2024 uh I know they made some uh uh minor changes to the plan that's before us and I just want to add some conditions uh to my review letter based on the new plan uh i' ask for a copy of the survey that the plan is based on um the license area that you show is that that's temporary only for construction for the six or eight months and then that area will go back to the warehouse that that the idea yeah it's it's uh during construction phase okay as far as um roof access uh where's your access to the roof I see something called a ladder license area yeah so we will be installing an a ladder on the exterior of the roof so in that area there's there's a uh railroad track is that track abandoned is that being utilized by the warehouse and how is that how is your access uh going to be impacted by that railroad line yeah I think we can I think it's abandoned it's not being used by the I'm sorry it's not being used by the warehouse so I'd like to see something that um you know saying that because your access to the roof is in the railroad in the railroad tracks are you are you walking across railroad tracks to get up on the roof that so I need I need a little more information on that okay yeah we can okay some more details um with regard to the pavement detail you'll need to provide a pavement detail I know it just indicates existing you'll match existing pavement um you'll have to follow our our current code for that um as far as the pavement thicknesses site concrete 4500 PSI concrete on on all your slabs and need details of the ballards as well that you propose um chman uh oh one more thing there there is a um there is an access that cuts through this property to the adjacent property in the rear will um will that access be able to be maintained open while you're doing all your staging and your construction it cuts right through the middle of your license area that you call uh can you I'm not sure if that's being actively used or not but you're you're you're shows a access easement to the property behind you that's right between the two red shaded areas I don't think we we we had a title commitment done I don't think we flagged anything that was an issue for shown on your plan so came up in a title search apparently yeah I don't think there was any like flag that was an issue you need a little more help counselor counselor or we're gonna need an answer so there is an accessment the acement as shown on the plan is based on the title documents that we've received today so uh it would be my understanding that access easement which basically runs very similar to between the two areas that were showing for a construction say uh will be maintained or they'll you know there there's also adequate room for vehicle to go outside of that access SE I don't anticipate that to be anything that would restrict access so your equipment for staging is generally going to be in the two red areas and the middle will be open and accessible that's the intent um will any of the warehouse trucks be utilizing this area while you're under construction for the six or eight months all no they don't use so they they don't they won't it's open Mr chairman I have nothing further can any board members have any questions I know Mr L I do a second um what can I go can I go in yes qu question building at this magnitude uh got roughly 330,000 square feet um at least I can't see it um they usually put your air conditioning and your Heating units on your roof I'm not seeing it uh are they going on your roof and or is it going on the ground and um another question is why why the the plan that I'm looking at I see a space to the right versus the rest of the layout what is that for is there any reason for that well the as far as the rooftop equipment believe that's what's shown in these boxes where there are no panels is that down on the bottom is that where you're your your air equipment is that where your air conditioning units are going to go the building's already built the air conditioning units are already in place they're all there and the panels are going around where they're located we're going around them that's why these areas are open cuz those are existing toop units and the panels have to work around those and we have to provide access to those for maintenance that's that's what I wanted to that's what I figured I seen a a deviation there so I figured something must be in there okay thank you Mr busman uh you indicated that uh you're uh you have 247 uh computer viewing of the rooftop facility um my question is what ex you it also indicated that you have by anual maintenance M can you please explain what by anual maintenance means if it's always monitored on a daily basis in any repair work that needs to be done will be done immediately as you indicated uh yes so the the remote monitoring is for all like the Electrical uh equipment making sure that's all running the by anual maintenance is just to make sure like all the physical equipment is like in place and it's not out of shape uh have you is your company done more than this facility type of facility or you have you done other solar uh installations yeah so in New Jersey we currently have seven operating projects that are also like this like rooftop uh what's your experience again on the maintenance of those how often do you really find that there are issues and does the B M by anual uh maintenance procedure uh is it adequate yeah I I think generally we don't find there's any issues it's just part of the standard procedure um so um in total how many residences in the state of New Jersey or or the seven or so that you mentioned are benefited by this uh project yeah we currently are serving over 2,000 residents from those existing projects can you indicate to communities that you uh have these facilities already in Place yeah we have projects in Franklin piscatway and moristown thank you in in addition to those facilities that are now operational have you received approval for additional facilities in the state yeah we have a couple other projects that have a program award from the BPU so the community solar program that um they released their permanent program last fall we have a couple additional projects that were awarded and now we're going through this process and trying to get more projects developed yeah I have an additional question though uh are there any batteries on site no thank you I have one simple question um uh the exterior ladder what kind of security measures are there on that exterior ladder so that nobody can access other than the uh folks that are maintaining uh well it'll be in the back of the property um we can put in some sort of fencing or um signage just to make sure that people know not to use it but it's very away in the back of the property um also a note from earlier there there is an existing ladder um I forgot to mention there's an existing ladder on the warehouse and we received verbal confirmation that we can use that for maintenance if needed so the ladder license area is if we decide that we want to build an extra ladder okay but there is an existing ladder that we're allowed to use K as long as that's indicated on the plans yeah we can get that added any other questions I just want to put on the record that Mr Masters came in he's not eligible for this application but he will be here for the remaining of the meeting for any future applications we hear tonight okay I have a few questions we plan on or anticipating putting up the generator in anywhere no no okay your Transformer and your switch gear why can't they be combined together why is the switch gear on one portion and the Transformers located in the back and are they going to be individually fenced off and is it going to be classified as high voltage the switch GE is is an enclosed panel um so it's not fenced in it it's located at the uh position that it is primarily because it gets the conduit that comes directly down the building to that location and from there it feeds from the switch GE to the Transformer the Transformer was located further back on the property because there is a somewhat limited room between the building and the access drive that's on the side um the Transformer is your your pretty much your standard trans that you see around their self-containing closed metal structures they're not open on any uh way for any um sort of electrical danger yeah are there any transfer switches involved any transfer switches involved uh honestly that's a electrical question I'm not so do you have any plans of in closing the switch gear on the side of the building any ballards going up there to prevent someone from hitting it using that access driveway or that easement driveway we would Place B ballards on the sides of the at the corners protect the the gear itself and and there are ballards already shown at the around the um Transformer okay and there's no further poles that are going to be required on the property to transmit or everything from that conduit is on the ground to the street pole everything uh from the Transformer comes below grade up to the front of the there are a series of poles that are located at the front of the site to make the interconnection to the power the roof with the panels does this building have any parit walls that will conceal some of the panels and the angle is going to do the deflection of the Sun or absorbing of the sun where it won't be seen all around or with no parit walls we have a flat roof he going to be more more obvious to the naked eye we have a flat roof totally flat and we have basically a the as I said the panels themselves are a minimum of six foot back from the edge of the the roof line the panels don't extend up above the roof further than top of the panel is about 11 and 12 inches so from grade you will not see the panels okay and you said it's going to serve low to moderate income families and it who that's that price structure what what determines if they're low to moderate income okay that that is set by the Board of Public Utilities establishing the program and they're um you know that's separate fre region but that that is set and um I I'll let Mr Jing testify further loty system do people have to apply how how are they yeah it they it'll be first come first and we have local Partnerships in Middle sex County um where we will be uh using them to find our load and moderate income subscribers okay one additional question getting back to the ladder uh I'm going to highly recommend that there be a cage at the bottom where it's closed it's in a remote area there's a lot of there could be loitering taking place and it's very simple to get up under those ladders if it's not closed off okay I have no further questions mark chairman yeah I have one more the the installation of the wiring uh from the five utility poles out front through the buffer um you're showing restoration of the lawn however it looks like you're going to be impacting some of those Trees and Landscaping I would you say any impact or any removal of trees that those trees would be replaced yes they and any impact of vegetation will be restored the there is a note on the plan you we can't show the exact alignment of the conduit because the cond will be adjusted based on what's in the uh in that area and so there is a note on the plan that the contractor has to adjust the routing as necessary to minimize the impact to the vegetation okay and so I would just ask an additional note be provided that any trees or uh you know bushes being removed need to be replaced in kind right um also the burm is going to remain correct yes okay thank you okay m Mr chairman sorry couple of followup please um going back to the question regarding those polls in the buffer area um Monro ordinance doesn't allow any kind of um signs or anything in the buffer area so that would be an added variance that the board is considering tonight um would you please clarify what the height of these polls would be in the buffer and BM area okay I think these are all existing polls correct no there are a series of new poles that have to get installed the part of the electrical design for the inner connect um and I would anticipate that the polls I I don't have the the height but I can't imagine po being any higher than what is already there there is a pole present on the site and there there would be no uh reason for any other po to be higher because we're making the interconnect to that particular Pole okay so um there is one existing and then four other polls are being proposed based on the diagram in front of us so um just for board's consideration that would be a variance to allow the polls in the buffer and the birming area um and to go back to your question regarding the parit uh chairman I just want to clarify the the plan does mention there is a parapet height of 2 ft surrounding the okay so we shouldn't see any PS anyway exactly yeah thank you okay can can I go back to your question about there's no sign proposed in the buffer I think the signs he was mentioning around the building yeah that has solar for firemen purpose yeah that if the power goes out there's an alternate means of power feeding that building yeah that's why I asked if there's an ATS an automatic transfer switch you know to to make them live from solar but that building is not using any of the solar is that correct yeah correct yeah I didn't say I was just referring to our ordinance says no sign or any kind of use is permitted in the buffer burm area I was just quoting the ordinance so these poles would be something that's in the buffer and BM area so VAR yeah no no sign in I know that thank you I do have one question before we go to the public I understand this is a great system and you're touting it and everything why wouldn't the existing building take advantage and use this okay why are they not exercising their option to if this they have all the square foot footage here and there it's on their building why are they not using this the the pro the program is for residential customers so they're not considered a residential yeah B BPU set up this program to benefit residential customers and it is set up so the electricity as Mr Zing testified goes directly into the grid um and then they're not eligible because they're not a residential customer to sign up for it um you know that's that was a vpu decision and they wanted to maximize the number of residential customers who were getting uh one reduced power uh cost power for everyone and two the number of low and moderate income households who would benefit so was it safe to assume in the future if this owner of this building wants to install his own solar panels it can't be done is that what I'm going to understand once you're up there however long your lease is to be up there that's it am I correct correct I mean arguably rights to put any of his own solar panels up on his roof on the roof correct I mean there I'm sure you've seen there parking lots where people with solar panels above par require them to come here so yes I once we give approval should it pass solar panels could be on that roof so if you decide to vacate it your your authorization is going with the building not with you uh well arguably Mr chairman the planning testimony was for a specific type of community solar so you would have to have another Community solar project come in they couldn't just put in a facility that would serve this building because the planning testimony that Mr McDonna gave was specific to that use if if the if for whatever reason they left the building and the owner wanted to come back he would have to come you because it'd be a different use than what we testified to unless they wanted to put in the exact same type of UN okay anyone from the public wishing to be heard on this application and this application only at the time please come forward you guys could just step back Council you could stay there Public's going to sit right there well yeah please no problem sir if I could just swear you in quickly if you could raise your right hand for me do you swear the testimony you're going to provide us a truth all truth and nothing but the truth yes thank you if you could state your name spell your last name and give us your address please George Gman sh she knows my name I know your name um I have a a couple of questions uh what is the life span of the panels uh we generally have these projects for 20year terms but the panels can last H how long is the lease that you've acquired from the property owner uh it's 20 year time so the okay um is the tenant that's in the building the owner or is it the owner is a separate entity from the tenant it's a separate okay what is the life cycle stage of the roof that's on there now uh it was just replaced in 2023 and it should be good in for 20 years okay um I don't know if it's possible with this system that are plugged into uh to identify users but I think the town would have an interest in having an input in who the users are we're currently involved in uh low-income housing we're also involved in veterans housing uh many of those would qualify as low mod users it would seem that we would have a vested interest in having this in the Town available for citizens of the Town residents of the town uh particularly uh our veterans and I I don't know what it would take to get that relationship established with the system that you are plugging into for identifying users um but it would be interesting to see something like that happen yeah and just and in other towns with approvals have been given we've pledged to work with the municipality to um facilitate their Outreach to their residents to make them aware are you will to do the same here yes is there is there a allocated percentage or number that you can commit to or uh I mean you're still going to get customers it's irrel you you're going to get your customer at the end of the day we're going to uh prioritize Monroe Township okay so that's on the record you're going to prioritize Mon Monroe Township yeah yeah and we also already have a uh resolution support okay that's all I have Mr chairman thank you anyone else in the public wishing to be heard or wishing to speak on behalf of this application seeing there's none I make a motion to close the public portion motion Mo have a second second all in favor I I okay board members we have an application in front of us it's out for a vote Mr chair I'll make a motion to approve under the stipulation that uh the applicant adhere to all our professionals um I'll second thatman second Madam Secretary roll call please M Harry yes Mr Lup yes Mr busman yes Mr KY yes Mr jice yes chairman L yes thank the vo very much much and I thank your professionals they've been very helpful and your secretary who has been exceedingly helpful okay we'll give them a second to clear out next application please get ready it's ba-52 38-23 again I want to put on the record that Mr Master showed up and he is a full voting member tonight that gives a full Board of seven yeah I know that's I have no sister yes Mr P whenever you're ready sir thank you very much Mr chairman board members board professionals public all good evening Dennis P of the firm hbr Pape on behalf of the applicant your applicant is Stanley olbris as the executor of the estate of Elanor olbris the request that we have is essentially a subdivision to create a line to separate a residential home that exists from the balance of the property which is currently be used for an industrial purpose before we begin our substantive presentation would you confirm receipt of our notices and jurisdiction established and I will confirm for the record that we have received the affidavits of mailing and publication and everything is in order the board does have jurisdiction thank you very much so this is a property that has been before the board a number of times in recent years the vast majority of the property is being used as a mulch um Mulch Center and but there is one pre-existing residence that is out on the main road that we're asking this board to allow us to subdivide from the remainder the subdivision triggers a D2 variance because we would be removing a small portion of property that was previously part of what was granted the approvals for the The Mulch operation it's it's a D2 variance the single family residence exists there's some limited bulk variance relief that's requested because of the size of the the lot that's proposed Mr Matthew Wilder is here he is a professional engineer in professional planner he'll present the testimony we could have him sworn and he'll share his credentials with you um Mr chairman may I just sorry to intersect but uh Mr Pape just to clarify the previous use uh the mulchin uh recycling center operation was a use variance that was approved is that correct so it would be basically a D1 variant still because it is um it is not a lawfully created pre-existing non-conforming use it's a use that was permitted via use variant you grade the papers that's not my understanding my understand it's a D2 but we'll go with okay go with your analysis thank it's the same relief yeah you raise your right hand you swear the testimony you're going to provide us the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes I do thank you Mr Wilder please share your professional and educational background could quickly give us your name spell your last name and give us your address please of course Matthew Matthew Wilder w lde r 137 Central Avenue Island Heights New Jersey I'm a licensed engineer and planner in the state of New Jersey I'm also a certified flood plane manager and a certified Municipal engineer uh I have been before this board on numerous occasions on this property I have quite a bit of uh insight into the history of this property but we we'll accept your credentials thank you Mr chair Mr wal I'm goingon to ask if you could begin by introducing the property to the board it's the um loton block location and overall size sure U so the property is commonly known as 556 Spotswood Englishtown Road it's lot 15.07 in Block 53 uh the property exists uh along spots with Englishtown road which is County Route 613 and the property is slightly over 35 Acres when you consider both the residential Pro the residential portion of the property and the closed landfill mulching operation in the rear what is the property zone so the property is zoned in the r60 zoning District um and as we previously mentioned uh a use variance was previously granted for the property to allow the mulching operation the there is the property that we're at asking to subdivide from the industrial portion is that presently improved with a residential structure it is was that residential structure in place at all times during the hearings that this board conducted with regard to the use variance it was I'm going to ask if you could take describe the technical elements of the subdivision size of the lot that we're asking to create and the bulk variance relief that's associated with it sure and I I have an aial exhibit that I'll pass around I haven't mounted on board but I think it helps to just sort of see what we're proposing so if I can pass that around real Qui sure if we can mark that exhibit A1 please if you just add today's date which is 227 2024 thanks so uh before I sort of start running through the areas um I just I find it a little bit easier to look at the aerial to understand what we're proposing to do so the yellow outline on the plan is presently the boundary of the property the red lines that you see are the adjacent properties and simply what we're looking to do um you'll see a dashed yellow line on the property we're looking to Simply subdivide off that residential portion from the uh closed landfill in the rear of the property so you'll notice we have adjacent residential homes to the South and to the to the north that are essentially the same size and configuration as what we're proposing so from a a zoning standpoint the we're creating two separate Lots one for a single family residential home and then one which will contain the the mulching operation in the closed landfill the property which will contain the single family home is a hair under 33,500 ft it does require variance relief as 60,000 ft is proposed and the lot which will contain the mulching operation will be a little bit under 35 Acres um so it does comport with the minimum lot area requirements but that also has some variances because it's a uniquely shaped property um the variances that we do need this evening um there's three on the single family home and then there's two on the remaining parcel the for the single family home the variances are for lot area and then lot width and lot Frontage um so for lot Frontage and lot width for the residential lot which is proposed Lot 15.05 200 ft is required for both and we're proposing 165.1 that's simply the land available to us for that for that property for the remaining portion which again is the closed landfill the minimum lot Frontage the property is a little bit like a flag lot now with two stems that go out to spot to W English Town Road those two areth corner property where I'm pointing to here and then the actual residential portion of proper so when we subdivide the resed portion off we're left sort of one C and that would have a lot width of 18579 ft and a lot Frontage oh excuse me a lot Frontage of 18579 ft and a lot wi of those are the VAR that we're speaking subis and I do think it's that the think you touch the button on the bottom I apologize um how far do I have to go back good okay um speak of reverse maybe it's worth noting that for the industrial property or the mulching operation when you get to the rear of the residential units you have a lot width that exceeds 1,000 fet so it's a technical variance just because it's a somewhat uniquely shaped property um but it does nonetheless require a variance so the variances that we're seeking we're asking for them to be granted under the guise of the C2 variance criteria what's commonly referred to as the flexible variance criteria and I'll speak to the D1 use variance after I speak to the bulk Varian as I feel like the bulk is a little bit quicker to go through so 40 colon 55 d70 C2 States when an appeal relating to a property would Advance the municipal land use law and furthermore more the benefits of the deviation substantially outweigh the detriment the variance can be granted so first looking at the detriments associated with the property we're not proposing any improvements um there were some concerns about the an existing shed and that shed is going to be relocated into a conforming location and there was some there was a request that we provide some screening along the rear of the residential property to sort of buffer it from the mulching operation and we agreed to provide a row of Evergreens to provide that screening aside from that there are no improvements proposed we're not proposing any structures what you see on the property now is what will be there albe it with the relocated shed and some additional Landscaping so there are no no detriments associated with the variances that we're seeking this evening um but when I look at the positive aspects of the of the development I see two really distinct positive aspects what you currently have on the property is a non-conforming use for a multitude of reasons what you you have two principal uses that exist in the property in both the mulching operation as well as a single family home that have no interconnection to them so it's a it's really a non-conforming use by splitting off the residential property from the landfill we are creating bulk variances but we're eliminating a use variance we're eliminating something that does not comport with the master plan of the township so I think it absolutely is a benefit to create greater consistency with respect to the use albeit at the sacrifice of some bulk variances and when you look at the properties which exist along spotwood Englishtown road to the South and immediately to the north we're creating a lot that's identical to those other adjacent Lots all three lots to the South are 200 by 150 200 depth 150 width essentially identical to what we're proposing the lot immediately to the north is a little bit more irregularly shaped it has a width a little bit over 150 ft and its depth is about 2011 ft so for all intent intents and purposes the residential property prop that we're proposing is directly in line with the other residential that you'll find um and then the other sort of purpose of planning or goal that I believe we advance is goal e of the municipal land use law which is to provide appropriate population densities this is a pretty unique application but what we're proposing is a residential property that's developed in a residential fashion and the immediately adjacent properties are of similar size so that their density is of comparable to what we're proposing to evening so I do believe that you know without detriment this the the variance is for the uh both lot area lot within lot Frontage for proposed lot 1508 which will or 1505 excuse me which will contain the residential property and lot 1508 which will contain the mulching operation uh can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without impairing the intent or purpose of the Zone plan or the zoning ordinance moving on to the D variance whether we I'll make the arguments for D1 use variants and the question is is this property particularly suited for the use I would argue that it is because it's historically been the use of the property um the the home on the property dates back nearly seven decades as does as does the landfill so what you've had on the property um is what has historically been on the property um the landfill was closed down in 2000 and it's part of a 30-year closure plan um and as part of that closure plan uh the state provided an approval for a natural recycling or mulching operation to occur on the property so when you look at the mulching operation and which was permitted by use variants this was sort of looked at when the landfill was being closed as to what you can do on the property the property was not suitable for residential use so this was determined to be a good use for the property and the same is true for the residential element or aspect of this development um as you'll notice driving up and down spots with Englishtown Road you have especially in this area a lot of residential uses and like I said the immediately adjoining property to the South are three single family homes in a very similar design size and lot size and the same is true for the property to the north um so I I I do believe the property is particularly suited for what we're proposing just because of the historical use of the property and I reached the same conclusion when looking at both the positive and negative criteria as it relates to the youth variants again I see no real detriment um but I do believe it advances several uh purpos the planning and I think cleaning up the use is important um so H taking two principal uses and separating them onto their own lot in a manner that is consistent with the township requirements uh I think is appropriate and and a good planning alternative to what currently exists on the property Mr Wilder have you had an opportunity to review the professional reports provided by the board's professionals I have going to ask if you have any issue with any of the comments raised in Mr rimo since February 19 2024 I do not with the except and it's not take that there was a question relative to the maintenance of the access easement and the maintenance of the access easement would be uh by the property owner of the mulching operation so proposal lot 15.8 that property owner would be responsible for the maintenance of that easement important to distinguish it's not that the tenant has that burden it's the property owner has the burden whether the property owner chooses to impose it on the tenant is business but the property owner takes the responsibility of maintaining these chairman I I would just ask that the board be provided a copy of that Course and there was a request that it be recorded with the deed and we take just let me clarify the mulching operation still going to continue to use that driveway correct um and that's the only driveway they're using is that correct that is correct there is no proposed change whatsoever to how these properties operate um for the board members who are carryover from when the mulching operation occurred we spent a lot of time talking about access points and it was determined at that point that the the driveway that is on the same property as this residential property was was the most appropriate driveway for that facility to use so we're not proposing to modify any of those conditions uh as to how these sites operate so getting back to your initial statement you were going to put trees on the back of this property to segregate it at what width are we leaving open there for our to get their stuff in and out because that's who's operating there there's currently a chain link on the property sorry Matt you turned it off again it's okay the there's a currently a chain link fence on the property for a chain link on the sides and Rears the Landscaping would be within that chain link fence So currently there's a free and clear access along that driveway so the plantings would be limited to just those areas and would have no impact on access to that mulching facility Mark just correct me if I'm wrong I think the last time they were here with this application they were supposed to provide a gate there to close it off and it was supposed to be a certain distance back so when the trucks turn in they're not on English town spots with ro am I correct with that that's correct I believe there is a gate yes sir but it but it is it's not shown on your plan it's deeper into the industrial lot it's uh it's at the end of the driveway right so we'll update the plan depict it um we were trying to limit the obviously we did not show the entirety of the property but if there's a concern relative to that existing gate we'll add that we have to make other plan revisions we'll include that on a revised plan so Mr chairman yes the the gate has been installed per the last approval it's just not shown here but they will update the maps and I'd also ask for a copy of the uh access and utility easement agreement sure as well and we'll modify it as requested to Encompass the entirety of the driveway no issue there sorry for the interruptions so aside from that one comment that I just wanted to elaborate on we take no uh issue with the remaining comments within Mr razo's letter did speak to the variance relief that's the planner report I'd ask if there's anything further that's requested of Mr Wilder from your plan m I want yeah I'm sorry I'm sorry okay go ahead please uh Mr Wilder um thank you for the D1 use variance testimony um is it in your professional opinion whatever conditions were approved in the previous use variants um that are to remain as is and shall be complied with absolutely and um other than reducing the lot area by about 33,000 approximately 33,00 500 square ft nothing else on the mulching um um mulching process or the use of that site is going to change that's correct and and when you look at how this property is constituted that 33,000 plus or minus square feet has nothing to do with the mulching operation as it is so it really has no impact on that use okay so in terms of hours of operation and everything there are to remain correct um a question was raised in our memo and part of the revision we were provided in the building coverage and the impervious coverage calculation um to clarify for the larger lot uh the building coverage uh did mention that there were some trailers on the property um just to put it on record there are trailers on the property and there are and they're used for storage by the property owner um I don't have an accurate accounting of the uh what's stored but there were notices of violation on this property going back and that has been cleaned up so what exists on this property um is is legally existing okay um so what we wanted to do and I use a lot of aerial imagery to try to give it as accurate of an accounting as possible so that any future development of this property that came before this board we have an accurate accounting of of all the different building areas in the in the impervious areas as well yeah so thank you so basically on record the one uh I believe it's 1.04% as the building coverage is what exists and approved on the property right it's yes that all right that is correct yep thank you um in terms of the um the parking space it's being complied for the smaller lot which is going to be a residential use um the the buffer um and thank you for clarifying that that's only one shed that's being relocated uh the buffer that's going to be provided along the rear one of the suggestion was also some some row be provided along the side from the adjacent residential is that also being considered or not um in which area along along the side of the shed in this area yeah um and not to the whole length only along the shed just to make sure that it's we could certainly add a couple of additional Evergreen planting um I I don't see any issue with that okay thank you um and the fencing you testified to is to remain as is um sorry there was one question I did want [Music] to and as of record the uh the proposed new lot would be confirmed by the tax assessor right I mean this is just a temporary 15.08 or 15.05 yes I think I'm pretty good I'm hoping I'm right but we would need to confirm with the tax assess the the lot numbers all right thank you thank you Mr chairman Mar any uh questions uh yes uh you've agreed to um my review letter uh with regard to curb and sidewalk are you proposing to install curb and sidewalk along the front edge we are not we're asking for relief of that and uh uh we'll provide a contribution yes yes well we don't want to install curban sidewalk in that it really doesn't go anywhere and the option is curve and sidewalk or a contribution so we would make a contribution okay so you're agreeable to a contribution for both curve and sidewalk thank you um the proposed trees that that you've identified that you're going to be providing we like to see them on the plan of course and obviously the details of of what you're proposing um meets and Bounds to the minor subdivision needs to have the meets and Bounds of all the property um I don't know if they just you know got uh left off of the main lot but uh provide all of them and let's see um as our planner pointed out uh all the conditions of the previous approval still apply we'd ask that that be noted on these plans as well to highlight that and lastly I'm looking at your survey and looking at your proposed lot and it looks like there was a rightaway dedication to the county based on your survey but that's not reflected on your subdivision um I did not my surve and I just picked up on that while I'm sitting here that would certainly modify our quest for the variance for lot area um bear with me one second I will tell you what that number should actually make so the resulting lot area would be 35 hold on never given an engineer calculator okay you want to take a quick break you can do calculations very quickly okay so we're gonna we're take a five minute recess just so you give your Mr Wilder a chance to do some calculations and then we'll be back in in session okay thank you great thank you so much put his phone are they good they're as good as they thank you everyone we are now back in session wer do have that calculation I I do and I appreciate the board taking a break so I could do my math Engineers don't work well under pressure yeah at least this one um so it there's a couple of things so it does in increase the variance that we're seeking as it relates to lot area um the result in lot area is reduced slightly by slightly under 8,000 square F feet the dedication was 44 ft from the center line so the proposal is for 25540 Ft for lot area I think it's important to note that this really doesn't change the aspect or or any of the prior testimony um because this application was before this board and an application was made to Middle sex County they had requested this dedication based on their master plan RightWay with if any of the single family homes for whatever reason had to apply to Middle sex County for something related to a site plan approval or a subdivision approval they would likely have to provide that same dedication um so it does increase the right of way and decrease the lot area furthermore it does actually create a new variance for lot depth because the property as it exists now is 200 feet deep that we're proposing but the resulting lot depth as a which was caused by the dedication to Middle sex County uh result in a 177.1 foot4 foot depth and again the prior testimony and the proof that I provided relative to planning for the lot area lot Frontage lot width would apply to the lot depth as well um so while and I appreciate Mr reso catching that because the last thing I want to do with tell a client I have to come back here to get a new variance um but again I don't think it substantially changes the merits of our application any other Witnesses Mark you okay with that answer CH I I would just ask the building coverage and uh impervious coverage that triggered an additional variance there and just just trying to get the record clear sure um I can tell you that real quick it it would not trigger any new variances on the uh mulching operation site but let me just confirm on the other lot it would trigger a variance for impervious coverage but not building coverage the impervious coverage would go up to 34% where 30% is permitted um the building coverage would go up to approximately 18% where 20% is permitted um so it does trigger an impervious coverage variance but I think again what we're not proposing anything this evening um this is simply a result of the dedication that was required by middle sex County um so I I reached the same conclusions I did relative to all of the variances um but we would also need an impervious coverage variance as well Mr chairman um you know I I I would agree I just ask that the chart be updated bulk chart and I would defer to our planner for any any additional comments M thank you thank you Mr chairman uh thank you Mr Wilder for clarifying so is it in your professional opinion even though U the lot size is being reduced for the proposed single family use um the size would be be appropriate appropriate and would uh be able to um handle the impacts associated with any single family um use on this property sure uh so right now the property has a single family home a driveway a septic field a shed it has your your standard residential single family home improvements with customary accessory or incidental improvements um the reduction in the lot size with a lot depth as a result of the dedication to Middle sex County um does not prevent or prohibit the the appropriate use of the property with the buffer width also reduce just to clarify say that one more time would the buffer width requirement also reduce yeah so we're not pro providing the full 60 foot buffer we're providing Evergreen planting so we're sort of asking for a waiver from that requirement anyway um so that the planting will provide that that year round screen along the rear property and along with the couple of planting We'll add on on the side of the shed as well okay so currently it was shown as 77.5 and it will kind of go a little bit more inside and uh you will clarify what that with absolutely all right thank you thank you Mr Mo anything else no nothing any board members have any questions and I apologize because I wasn't here previously it's my second meeting with the board um but if you could just briefly so that I can stop asking this question in my head I see on the property that it looks like there is another entrance driveway at the very bottom of the bottom of the map at least that I'm looking at is there a reason why that wouldn't be the entrance versus having access through the question it had to be here I'm sorry yeah is there a short answer so the short answer is um we had you said so we had numerous uh meetings for this application and at that application and those prior applications there was an objecting neighbor and the objecting neighbor was right across the street from that driveway so with the horse trading that went on to obtain approval it was agreed upon that they would utilize this main Central driveway for their mulching operation that driveway is off limits we spent a lot of time talking about driveways thank you for the short answer your only question Kelly um yeah all my notes her about driveway access thank you any other board members seeing there's none I'll open this application up to the public anyone in the public wishing to be heard please come forward where you Mr wer please step back public in good evening sir I can SAR you swear the testimony to provide us truth the whole truth and nothing but truth if you can state your name spell your last name goes your address please for the record Thomas Bartley 559 spots with Englishtown Road Monro Township New Jersey okay I'm the one that lives directly across the street from this uh landfill slash mulching operation because I lived in an area now in mon Township for 55 years I am a little scared they're monitoring Wells from the on this property right now being watched by the state of New Jersey yes so there's monitoring Wells on the property and as part of the 30-year landf closure plan they are monitored is there any findings on that on that property that it it's toxic or or dangerous to people have horses right across I do have to um I do have to interject for a second um I understand your concern and I think a lot of these things been addressed previously with the application unfortunately they're here tonight just for that one piece of land just a section to cut it out so the house becomes standing separate nothing else on that lot currently is pertaining to what's taking place tonight I was just notified to be here recently Ken over here mailed me a letter and um I'm not here I'm fully behind this thing happening because it's a beautiful precedent you're setting for that neighborhood instead of R 60 nobody needs an acre and a half to build a house today okay I'm fully for everything I just want to know about because I do have horses in the area are there any toxic soils or or uh runoff from this uh landfill so the the property itself as part of the landfill closure from the testing that was done is not suitable for residential development so you couldn't build a town home or single family home development there are no in there were no restrictions uh put in place by the state for any of the surrounding adjacent properties and like as I indicated there are monitoring Wells that are inspected I don't know the frequency with which which they are inspected but it's still within the 30-year landfill closure plan so it is still an ongoing um uh investigation or or the the process of the closure itself is still reviewed and and commented on by the state and the their professionals thank you thank you very much last question are there any findings off of these report reports that state there is toxic water or it's a toxic area with this landfill portion of the just come up use the mic please portions of the closed landfill property does have contamination that exceeds the the allowable for residential development which is why where what what when the landfill was closed that's why it was earmarked for a muling operation so it wasn't and it wasn't High to the point where it had to be condemned couldn't work on the property it just exceeded the residential threshold and the threshold in the state the highest threshold or the or the lowest threshold however you want to look at it is for any residential contact because people live there all the time but there was nothing like that imposed uh on this property for just gen General use and as I indicated the mulching operation was considered when the landfill was closed there's no sort of there was nothing put in place no monitoring Wells installed on adjacent properties to track any contamination that that was not a concern to the time of the landf closure thank you I was at all the meetings for this property I haven't been to all the meetings that you had because I wasn't notified by Mr P until recently um so really what you're saying is is that this property you just stated cannot support a residential subdivision is that correct no the the landfill portion of the property which is the rear portion is not suit suable for residential development one piece right now right right but the existing home is able to provide the the existing home on the subject property as well as the adjacent homes there's no concern whatsoever related to contamination for those properties should be noted that the full report the full report of the landfill closure has been given to this board each time there's been an application I note that Mr Wilder again with this application made it a part of the submission so it's there there's $150,000 Bond the work is now some close to 20 plus years of the 30 years has been ongoing there's annual reporting every year and just as Mr Wilder indicated there's no restriction on the use of the rear of the property other than it cannot be residential thank you so there is no future subdivision planned in the back there that's going to be involved that contaminated field as much as I enjoy appearing before this board I hope this is the last application for this property that we do what you this is what you see is what you got so so the uh applicant here is testifying the fact that there are no dangerous chemicals or toxic waste on this property that I have to worry about my horses out there correct can you use a microphone correct thank you good thank you anyone else in the public wishing to be heard seeing there's none I make a motion or I need a motion to close public portion so move second second all in favor public portion is now closed okay board members we have an application in front of us for this house to be separated from the existing property the driveway will continue to be used as an easement uh they're going to meet all the professionals recommendations uh is there a motion on the table to I'll make that motion Mr busman a second that you're making a motion to say yes or no yes yes Kelly I'll second with the yes with all the conditions that were agreed to at the hearing right um and the revised uh stances that are needed Madam Secretary roll call please miss Carrie yes Mr Lupo yes Mr Masters yes Mr busman yes Mr tany yes Mr jice yes chairman LF yes thank you very much board members thank you all good night he Mr P some extra what did you just do what's wrong with me put no no you think you should walk up with a memo objection Jeffy come on watch Twitch TV I only brought a couple because most guys same you only brought a couple you got to bring some for everybody otherwise you can't hit it out all right I'm done yeah here this is all right yeah it's an explanation on some of the aspects of what's occurred since some of you weren't here for the initial hearing it's it's a leftover from the use variants that uh it's a new it's a this is the first this is the first hearing of the second portion of this application it is a bifurcated use variance so the use has been approved the site plan has not and any bul variant relief and parking parking variants there's a parking variant they Bank Park actually for our planner did a very good job with her I do understand this thank you say that loudly I thought it was on the it is and I'm sure it'll come right back at me one of those cooked Mach all different flavors just ice [Laughter] cream okay everyone sh next application is ba- 5246 d23 Waterside Monroe realy LLC evening Mr chairman uh board members board professionals Jeff Chang from Fox Ro out of Princeton uh it's nice to be back before the board uh as you may recall uh we received a uh this is a bifurcated application we got the use variant uh last summer actually uh we're back here for the preliminary final site plan portion um so just want to confirm a few things uh Mr venola if you can confirm that this board has right jurisdiction to hear this application and notice was proper I can confirm that I reviewed the affidavits of mailing a publication and the board does have jurisdiction to hear the application perfect so just as a you know brief refresher I know we talked a lot about this at use vars but some of the board members have changed and this is a you know new application uh the applicant seeking a preliminary final major site plan approval with bulk variances for a proposed 68,69 58 foot uh addition to the existing building uh where the total gross floor area would equal 19654 3.69 Square ft um it's uh known as one Overlook Drive block 20 7 lot 9.04 in Monroe um we previously as I mentioned uh you got a secur use variance for 65 additional uh age restrict departments we call it senior transitional housing um that's added to the existing 99 uh senior transitional housings that brings us to 164 uh it' be a combination of Studio one-bedroom and two-bedroom uh uh breakdown uh the existing property is about 6.65 98 acres in size um and the use VAR was uh granted on March 208th 2023 so actually spring uh and the property is uh located in the PRC zone so getting into the variance uh relief that uh our planner will just testify to later this evening uh there are three variances uh one from ordinance number 108-90 B1 variance for parking space size where 10 x 20 ft is required and a mix of 9 by8 and 9x2 ft is proposed uh ordinance number 10891 a variance for parking spaces located in the front yard yard which is prohibited we are um requesting parking the front yard uh and then lastly ordinance number 10891 E1 variance for parking spaces within 30 ft of outer walls of any structure uh as you'll see there is parking being proposed uh underneath the expanded uh area so with that being said uh we will get into the uh details of the application um I did circulate some op an operation memo dated February 7th 2023 that was submitted with with the use experence application previously um as some of your members have changed just kind of refresher that it goes through operational information Staffing uh amenities uh and generally the day-to-day operations of the uh facility uh it would be the amenities will be utilized by the quote new tenants uh assuming this is approved um this evening uh trash and recycling will remain the same location uh and have a similar uh refu removal schedule so with that being said I have the same professionals I had last time um Sharie ali uh professional engineer from amch engineering if I could have him uh sworn in and qualified and and just for the record the operations memorandum dated February 7 2023 will Market is exhibit A1 just so that way we have reference to what it is and and we can identify future yeah and apologize one thing I'll say I did bring the property manager here to answer questions however because we we did pretty extensive testimony last time you have the memo and also it was memorialized in the resolution it didn't seem uh necessary to call them but if there are questions if we need her I'm sorry she's here if we need her yes they're here if you need to have um okay additional information but I don't plan um calling them directly this evening understood so Mr Ali if you could you could raise your right hand Mr Ali do you swear the testimony going to provide us the truth all truth and nothing but truth I do you could state your name sell your last name and give us your address please uh Shere Ali l y you Mr tell the board that if we don't need since last you appeared and qualifi as an expert in the area of professional engineering have your credentials been detrimentally affected at all that was a question I'm good man I'm good man I the answer I I have my license on my father super duper the shock of many I know uh with all right Mr Le if you could uh take us in in the narrative uh to the plan of what's existing there what's being proposed if you could highlight the key elements parking circulation uh traffic emergency uh fire circulation loading areas um and landscape lighting sure great appreciate it how about we start with the uh General location just for the board as a refreshment um I believe last time we uh need to use the mic sorry no I'm not sure if we um we'll call this a 2 A2 I'm not sure if we labeled before when we uh were here before the uh us sorry they just application so we'll call it A2 so we'll call A2 and I have some uh 11 by 17 that uh would like to best bu oh one thing I did forget apologies again I did uh reach out to The Ponds with a complete set of this application uh we did receive a email from Chelsea Tio who's the property manager for the pond saying the board had no objections to this application I can certainly provide a copy of that email to the board um if this is approved an email or an official letter uh email uh because it was kind of a last minute hey did you guys review give any questions she just said uh she was fine with that but I'll provide that so pretty quick uh General location um if you at the uh mud and you come into the town hall here uh you'll be on I Valley and uh you'll hit the first intersection old church and the second one is the intersection of Halfacre and Union Valley Road that is the uh the back area of what we know as Clearbrook so what you see on the map is pretty much the whole entire Clearbrook Community uh 63 acres and our site is located at the uh um I would say the South uh Eastern quadrant of that intersection so as soon as you make the turn and you follow Union Valley and not to keep going on half acre uh the first driveway on the left that's the driveway to get you into the uh Community here uh to the site it's a share driveway with a retail that also a part of the uh Clearbrook uh overall uh community and and the assist care or the our facility here it used to be called the assist Care Facility back then in the '90s but um so that is the common driveway and that's what you see uh in the middle of the sheet there at the bottom so that's the general location and that's how you get into the uh Community if you continue on un Valley you will see a three story high building there only three story high building now um so um that is the general K uh 6 6.7 acres and as I said it's part of the whole entire Community is governed by the 1979 ordinance and the consent judgment order 1991 so as far as the building coverage Building height and previous coverage it's all based on the whole entire 63 acres for the whole entire Comm uh clear gr Community like we stated before as part of the US variant so we meeting all the requirement uh the building height will not exceed in the 55 ft we have about 43.8 and the uh building coverage we only have for the whole entire Community will equate to about 17.2 and the in previous coverage we about 60% at the end of the ponza Clearbrook which is the area to the north the community to the north uh to the top of the sheet uh was about 65% at the time and that is on the cover sheet of the ponds at CLE Brook phase two uh so we're about 5% so we down to 60% landscaping area which exceed the 55% so that's as far as the overall uh and the location and uh where we have with the PRC and Clear Brook you heard um Jeff talking about the existing uh footprint uh we have I'll give you some boring numbers here uh the existing footprint is about 42,0 76 Square ft and the addition on the ground the footprint is about 26,6 44 that makes the total 6 68,7 120 as a footprint on the ground as far as the gross area uh the existing we have 127 uh 1,901 that's a three-story building so which that is what's existing and I propose we adding uh matching the same height matching the same uh wall uh where we adding the addition uh and we have 68,69 square ft so the total of gross floor area will be about 196 500 and I'm going to approximate 500 196 544 Square ft that's pretty much uh that will be in total uh you also heard that the existing facility has uh 99 99 uh oh yeah exhibit 3 okay yeah A3 please sorry my head down was written uh has a 99 unit and we allowed uh in the uh PRC and as part of the uh 1991 consent judgment as 300 units uh so the addition that we adding uh which is the area in the dark red color uh it's about 65 unit that bring it to 164 unit in total again way less than the 300 permitted in uh on this particular parcel so that's as far as the uh number of units um the existing parking spaces on site to go along with the 99 unit is about 102 spaces uh we will be adding um we'll be removing about 12 spaces to put the addition but we'll be adding another uh uh the total let say will be uh provided out there 132 I'm going to say what's on the plan and uh we'll uh we'll talk more about the bank spaces uh 132 physical spaces that are provided on the plan 18 Banks and we are willing to turn them into uh uh ready to go so that would make it 150 yeah just to clarify we're not after TRC discussions input from your professionals we are fine to not Bank those spaces and actually build them that is correct um so we uh we did listen to the professional and uh we will build the 150 spaces uh within the 150 spaces uh and as far as the uh AV um spaces we have we'll have already 23 spaces and that will give us a credit um of 15 so that brings a total of on paper is 165 spaces uh which is pretty much one to one as far as the number of units uh one space per uh unit but uh keep in mind that 150 spaces will will be ready part of 160 150 spaces uh within the total number of the spaces we'll have 78a um uh spaces and they all located in within the area of the addition and the existing building so um as far as circulations we are maintaining the same circulation on site if you're coming from the existing uh driveway the common driveway with a retail of Union Valley you're coming in and it's all two-way operation you're going up to the side all the way to the end that's two way for and in the yellow area all the way to the uh to the left there that is the uh trash uh enclosure and the uh area for uh pickup deliveries and pickup uh if you're coming into the main entrance that's one way circulation you're coming in you're making a right you go around drop off you have your ada8 spaces nearby the entrance in this area right there and um and you coming out also with the addition the ground floor uh of the area as you're coming in the first um uh let's say that there will be the as you're coming in that the the first uh part of the building the ground floor that is uh underground parking in there so the addition within that F first area there is two twostory uh with the ground uh spaces at the bottom so and that's also one way so it's all shown on the map uh and it makes perfect sense the uh most of the parking Edition as you're coming in will be the first driveway on the on the right that will be the parking space that will be provided so that's as far is the addition the trash enclosure the trash enclosure um will be in the same place uh the uh circulation around the building for the fire truck uh which is shown in yellow will be the same uh so nothing is modified on that so along with that uh there is uh sanitary sewer and there is a water line onsite uh we be doing a tap in for one branch of uh water line and one for sanitary to provide the addition with the services um and along with that also will be uh enhancing that improved area with Landscaping additional lighting and it's all on a site plan uh and the famous uh wall is a storm water management and we will have our own detention Green infrastructures Storm reduction in everything that is required by the state the ordinance uh drcc uh that will be all on site and will be addressed um so that's pretty much overall yeah one thing to highlight as you see the operations that was testified to uh during the youth expence there's about 55% utilization of the parking field currently of the 99 units only about 55 of the residents have cars on the property uh because the population uh the tenants are about in their 70s so we fully expect uh to have more than enough parking uh with the was 65 calculated yes and 100 64 um 150 build and then EV credit yes 150 ready to go to be built and 15 EV credit 165 so um just wanted to clarify that uh from the test had last time um no as far as that as uh what is required uh and the Varian is uh that's one of the Varian the number of parking spaces 1979 ordinance require one per uh 1,000 square fet I don't know how they came up with that but that's very aggressive uh and that will require uh quite a bit of parking spaces for uh a building or uh like this one uh that pretty much is seniors uh so uh that will uh based on a total of square footage we will need about 197 spaces uh residential side Improvement standards which basically takes over all residential uh requirement as far as parking and design standard and it's been in place for a long time and that's what everybody bu by uh only require half space per unit and that is is about 82 so we are 150 ready to go spaces so we're pretty much doubling that and that's the number that we should be looking at our Consulting traffic Consulting Mr Klein will will tell you that based on what's out there and that's what Mr you know Chang was trying to uh to deliver is that he will tell you that what's out there right now what's been used is about 80% of the spaces that is been used out there so it's uh and most of the parking spaces are empty out there so we use that in our analysis and if we use that 08 or the 80% and you came up with that number that we came up actually we exceeded that because as I stated before it's one to one pretty much uh so but we'll leave that uh to our traffic Consulting and he can elaborate more on that go um ify if you could could you go through uh Mr rimos report dated February 19th 2024 and advise the board of any uh items that uh need to be answered clarified or cannot be complied with um the uh we have uh about five uh Pages uh and the all all the it uh we will comply we will address and uh we'll be going through uh hopefully we'll get our approval tonight we'll go through resolution compliance and we'll address all the items so the all achievable yes I'm sorry Council um we're going to go through all your all your testimony before we start with the questions okay understood uh I have nothing further on direct Mr Ali uh then he's done okay I will go to my next witness um Mr Brent Porter uh asure architect to just go through the artificial plans and also uh I I also have Daniel venson uh sign uh sworn in as well he's a project manager who assisted with the preparation of the plans he did not testify last time but uh I think it' be helpful if there's any questions that need to be fielded in sure sir why don't we swear you Inn first yes do you swear the testimony going to provide us the truth all truth and nothing but truth if you could state your name spell your last name and give us your address please b r Mt middle Nal M last name Porter p o r t e r 1425 Plaza Road uh and at R&D uh first of all and Mr Porter you did testify last time and the board accept and if I could also have Mr Mr vson sign you could just step toward the microphone do you swear the testimony going to provide us the truth all truth and nothing but truth I do if you could state your name spell your last name and give us your address please for the record Daniel venson vs in Victory i t NS o n 14-25 FL Road s s25 in F New Jersey 07410 thank you sir Daniel's Pro manager with R&D Design Group so they work in tandem so so Mr Porter if you could uh in the narrative could you just go over the uh facade uh floor plans um and existing height for this property and also talk about the Mechanicals where they're located well again the uh the proposed three-story senior transitional housing is designed to accommodate 164 units of transitional housing as it was told to you before there are 99 existing apartments and we're adding uh 65 now the the the building design is basically the style is called combination of prairie style with tutor and as you'll see in the in the blowup the lower area is the uh a A4 sorry if you can mark it A4 as an exhibit you can see the stule just under the roof A4 is just a rendering of the elevation and then the the uh the prairie style uh treatment is again copying one is there now they we're very proud of the gentle slope of the roofs which are again duplicating the existing building the the important thing about the apartments is that to get enough parking in we have made the ground floor of the new uh addition for necessary parking to meet the the quotas the U the resident well you you've gone through the residential area and all that let me just uh point out that the building B is designed as an extension of the existing building materials selected are both weather resistant and uh designed and aesthetically pleasing and contrasting colors and textures and copying the other building the ex the building is basically 44 feet high the existing building is 44 ft high at the apex of the pimental roof and the the the uh the the the solar collectors have not come up yet but that could be accommodated if in the future you see the the uh trash collection area which is uh yeah those plans were submitted right Mr B yeah it was all submitted yeah uh so those are revised plans we'll just call A5 we'll call A5 it's a revised plan set how many pages um I believe 12 12 Pages yeah just Market A5 okay so the trash collection area is basically being retained with a fence around it so it will not it we're doing uh we could go up to higher than six feet but that's going to be uh on the far side of the building the um the uh let me go on to some of the GRE considerations we will conduct an energy study of all Building Systems and establish criteria to reduce the energy as part of the whole uh National me effort in energy code compliance and energy efficient lighting the common spaces within development will be designated as a nonsmoking area the building of itself in its different floors the ground floor as I said has the additional parking and the the units the the uh sustainable I'm sorry not the sustainable but the U I'm got to think what they're called the affordable units are all on that uh throughout the building but there's only one on the the lower floor then there there five and six scattered in the second and third floor to meet the percentage of the required uh number the 44 I'm sorry 14 out of 52 is 26.92% and of the uh those 14 units are carefully worked in to the existing uh plan comparable to the existing plan if I could the the affable units you know they they will be provided they may be in the existing building or in the uh new location as well I we had yeah yes but we're showing that they can be they 14 could be in the new part Mr Chang to clarify are they 14 affordable units or 13 14 there 13 affordable units okay yeah yeah or we've rounded it up to 14 I may explain the you're going to have to get closer to the microphone please so we pick you up if you're going to speak about anything yeah there you so so uh the affordable housing units were provided as 20% of the development as I was advised right now uh there will be distrib distributed uh in the proportional distribution that means uh horizontal uh vertical and also as far as the number of units our plan represents right our plans right now represent the proportional distribution of all the units uh within the existing building within the I'm sorry within the new building however I was advised that the owner will seek to provide some of the uh of the affordable units within the existing uh building which means that same the same proportional distribution will will be um applied so just to clarify it'll be 13 affordable units out of the 65 new correct correct up to 14 no no no so so no so we're going to stick by the resolution that we have which was on page four talks about 13 affordable housing units 52 market rate units okay correct that's it thank you and uh to clarify what statement you just made the units will be distributed throughout the total development within the existing and proposed but the number shall remain 30 correct exactly the same break breakdown as what we represented same breakdown which uh we also the proportional distribution also takes us to the number of bedrooms uh so the number of bedrooms is going to be actually 14 where whereas 13 units 14 bedrooms for all right let's let's not confuse it's 13 was all taken into consider March of last 20 yeah last year 13 units we will abide by that it's just I just wanted to clarify on the record it's not necessarily all those 13 units are in this new edition it would be scattered obviously in accordance any preconstruction meeting with your Township all right thank you and the unit sizes and everything shall be in accordance with the uck requirement thank you just bend that microphone down towards him please we we have we're going to do all the green considerations as I think I I've gone over but just again the energy study of all the building systems and establish the criteria to reduce energy we want to make sure that the interior common spaces within the development will be designated as nonsmoking we want to make sure that the materials and resources are carefully done from a green energy conscious point of view and uh the Energy Efficiency we're doing various measures to make sure the energy code requirements the latest requirements are uh are follow so and the only last thing I wanted to clarify and Mr Ali I I think it's you prepared a plan could you just show the Mechanicals there was a question in the review reports the Mechanicals uh will not be on the roof it'll be um the rear I don't the rear on on the ground the property to the side yeah um you could Mr yes please that's part of A5 I was say if you could just indicate which sheet in A5 you're referring to if we're GNA a100 Mr Ry where which exhibit are you showing now the mechanical location so that um that A2 can you guys actually A3 so that that would be area right there so that would be to the easterly side of the new edition south easterly side easterly side away from the P again fence yeah so it it's on the side on the side yeah and would there be any fencing provided around it and we'll get details of that yeah 4T at least and and up to 6 feet scre on right now but uh we can revise plans to show that well yeah I have on a100 uh for the enclosed Square basically a square and then the larger units also will be here that are needed uh besides the the regular units M you were sorry you go ahead so to clarify this mechanical equipment which will be on the side will be only serving the New Edition correct the existing Mechanicals are located where Daniel where are the existing Mechanicals for the existing building located you teleport so the new building is completely independent in all mechanical system sprinkler system all other system igress uh fire rating handicap accessibility all the systems are completely independent from the existing building okay okay so existing building it has uh the the units are served by um magic Pack Unit which is inside the closet Within every unit so it's like a Pac system it's a p it's a Pac where without condensers okay it fits straight from the from the outside into the closet uh there I know it's called Magic pack maybe there is another I don't know so much about magic but and and the common areas of the of the existing buildings are being served with a commercial size uh equipment which is usually mounted in the uh underside of the of the hung ceiling okay with the consessions located uh Outdoors okay so the new Mechanicals are only for the New Edition correct that's it thank you thank you Mr why you standing there if you can clarify for the board because it's very deceiving that picture that's currently there the Shaded area is the new portion of the building is that correct the Shaded area no I'm talking A3 to the left all right uh this is site engineering drawing okay so we'll get Mr so so you see the new dock in the area right so to the left of that that's going to be the twostory portion of the building and that parking is underneath is that correct okay thank you that's all I have onir with for architecture if I could I'll move to the next Mr chairman you got it um Mr Klein if you could we didn't see your thunder you just enter into no so you prepared a October 13 2023 traffic engineering parking if I could just swear them in quickly I mean you know I know you're jumping the gun you got him out the door already but you know I would never do such I mean you you took his testimony away from him now he doesn't get to get sworn in it's crazy you could raise your right hand nobody videotaping me though I I was here though ton thanks do you swear the testimony you're going to provide us the truth whole truth and nothing but truth I do if you could state your name spell your last name give us your address please Lee middle initial D is and Daniel Klein kle i n principal of Klein traffic Consulting 56 Walker Road West Orange New Jersey thank you sir you can sit professional engineer in the state of New Jersey my license C in a good standing nationally certifi thank you very much Mr K can you just enter in the record the uh report that you prepared certainly I prepared a traffic engineering and parking evaluation report dated October 13 2023 and in that report I developed a trip generation calculation for the additional 65 units uh that results uh it's senior adult housing multif family which is from The Institute of Transportation Engineers trip generation manual the 11th Edition and that would mean the 65 units that we're proposing will generate approximately 60 uh 13 new trips in the morning peak hour 1 hour between 7 and 900 p.m. uh 16 new trips during the PM peak hour 1 hour between 4 and 600 p.m. and 21 trips on a Saturday 1 hour between roughly 11:00 a.m. and 2 p.m. uh so we we're looking at a a negligible increase in the number of trips The Institute of Transportation Engineers the the Department of Transportation also say that less than 100 peak hour trips you don't need to do a full traffic engineering evaluation uh impact study so we didn't do that because of the low volume then we we did a survey of the current tenants that are living in the 99 units that are occupied right now we got back 91 responses out of the 99 uh the average was about like it was said before about 79 about 08 cars per unit um we actually extrapolated the eight people that didn't return their survey we assumed they had each had one car so we were ended up with uh about 79 about 78 cars for the 99 units then we looked at um The Institute of Transportation Engineers parking generation fifth edition it gives us data on actual Peak parking demand for uses similar to this and the average parking demand is 61 parked cars per unit in the overnight hours or 101 cars the 85th percentile where 85% of the data is at or below this number is 67 uh parked cars per unit or 110 Park cars and we're proposing 150 parking spaces so we exceed the average and the 85th percentile we also exceed the uh 79 actual number of parked cars that are on site right now uh and we figure if we extrapolate out we'll be fine but we're willing to build the whole 150 parking spaces on site and then you look at the electric vehicle charging legislation that gives us the ability to put in 15% or 23 electric vehicle charging Spa spaces and that gives us the ability to get a credit of 10% so the 150 that we're proposing we had 15 10% and that gets us to 165 air quotes equivalent parking spaces and that's where we have a a ratio of one parking space again equivalent parking spaces per each unit so I'm very confident that based on the it data based on the survey of the actual people living in the 99 units that will have enough parking more than enough parking to support the residents of this uh of the total 164 units and can you comment about the parking space size I believe we're proposing 9 by8 parking spaces and 9 by 20 mix of 9 by 20 some mix mix okay and because this rsis rsis is 9 by8 correct yes so we are compliant correct with standards correct yes that's the only question I have for you uh nothing further for the traffic engine we normally wait till the end I do have one question you're here talking about parking spots I'm sorry good apprciate it the outside parking the lowest to the bottom right if people come down that end is there anywhere for them to turn around so just south of the new L right there when they get to the end the Fallen spots hypothetically are taken for some strange reason how would someone be able to turn around or they going to back out yeah we'd have to have the ability to make a k turn and there I thought at one point we were going we could assign parking spaces so people would know that their spot is empty if they're could also restrict with the we have a certainly a surplus of parking correct we could well that's something you'll work out with with the engineer take out one is going to request K turn can be uh generated Mr chairman um since you brought it up oh so in that parking area you're proposing 150 spaces I I would actually reduce that by maybe four spaces and provide two areas in that parking lot uh to to provide a k turn as well as provide sidewalk access from that parking lot one to your stairwell and the other to the entrance of the building uh at the corner so you lose maybe three or four parking spaces but it'll accomplish two things The Pedestrian access as well as the kurn capability we can do that you're in agreeance with that F that that walkway the yellow sidewalk correct marked on the the exhibit a23 the stairwell a couple there and then maybe one at the end and then the stairwell in here okay we Sharie will work with you work with that appr I'm comfortable with that Mr we we jumped out of order but it just jump down and punched us in a face so we have to kind of address good okay that's all I have for Mr line bring up your next and our next witness I'm sure you you know Mr Rema do you swear the testimony going to provide us truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do if you could state your name spell your last name and give us your address please my name is Mark a Rema R MSA address 10 duberry Court Mount Laurel New Jersey um I have appeared here before and my licenses are are current Mr R you previously appeared and qualified as an professional excuse me an expert in the area of professional planning have your credentials been detrimentally affected since you last rep so qualified they have not d your credentials as a professional now thank if you could in the narrative U address the justifications of the C variances so let me go through and itemize them Jeffrey talked about three M has an additional one in her report which is which um we have to talk about and then we were just talking about enclosing the um uh uh the condensing units for the new building with a fence four to 5T four to uh 6 feet F feet high well they'll be in the front yard and front yard ordinance here requires it to be no more than 3 feet so here are the here are the variances minimum parking space size minimum parking uh building separation the uh parking in the front yard the minimum uh number of parking spaces and we just added that fence variance so all of these can be grouped under the C2 flexible c um category um they're all related to the uniqueness of this type of use um so the parking space size complies with rsis standards um the minimum parking uh separation between the building well that's because the um uh new parking spaces are going to align with um the existing parking spaces and we also have have a building over the top of parking spaces so that's the uniqueness of of that aspect of the design uh the parking in the front yard um uh is uh related to the fact that it's going to be accompanied with the um uh parking to to complement the uh parking underneath the building and that satisfies the 150 now we're going to reduce it by a little bit but uh we're still going to be compliant with the number of spaces technically required so the minimum number of parking spaces if we go by the ordinance uh I'm not going to believe her but Shar talked about uh the uh current parking ordinance uh requires uh 2 and a half uh per unit uh 164 units you need 410 spaces that's not really related to this unique uh transitional housing for the elderly um if you go by the original um uh ordinance uh that was adopted way back when when uh the plan U retirement community was done and that was based on uh one space per thousand square feet of gross floor area Well we'd require 197 and and that doesn't really relate to the proposed use rsis is on the low end of the scale you heard Lee talk about that and actually through analysis um um it's basically an 80% % um um uh utilization of parking spaces and that comes out to 131 spaces and we're proposing 150 physical spaces have more than enough and even if we reduce the few to to get the proper K turns we still have more than sufficient so very quickly in terms of the proofs for that um the pro positive criteria um provide sufficient space for appr locations residential and we're talking about uh uh this unique age restricted transitional housing type of uh of uh proposal which will include some affordable units uh that's uh uh njsa 40 colon 55d d2g the next one is H promote the free flow of traffic you heard Lee talk about how it's very low traffic generator um I to promote a a desirable visual environment the Aesthetics of the architecture are are quite beautiful um we're going to be adding uh the landscaping and as we requested the enclosure and the landscaping around the uh condensers we will do that um so in total I believe this will be a very attractive um um uh uh development uh J to prevent urban sprawl and the degradation of the environment well we're simply um uh adding on to an already developed piece of property uh which has more than suff efficient capability of of accommodating it um keeping within the maximum building and prvious coverage and as well as providing the Landscaping M to provide the more efficient use of land this is really a corollary to the prior one no need to repeat that and then I always come back to a promote the public health safety morals and general welfare because we've provided the others sight suitability it's obvious on this one sight su su suitability is that this is already an existing um um age restricted um transitional type of housing we're adding more of those units to it um the site could easily accommodate it and we heard about the ability to do it with with the parking a landscaping and so on negative criteria to the North or the residents in the clubhouse of Clearbrook um so there and it's quite far far separated as a matter of fact the existing buildings separates uh the addition so there's really no impact at all to the north to the East are vacant Woodlands no impact there I see to the South is a retention Basin and more Woodlands no impact there and to the West are some offices and a clubhouse facility no detriment as well and you also heard that the the peak of traffic generation is very very low not going to really in negatively impact the road system um and so on uh the last is does this um sub essentially impair the intent and purpose of the Zone plan and and uh zoning ordinance um I cannot see any at all um the the 2022 master plan in its uh goals and objectives for land use element achieve a balance of of land used types that maintains and enhances the quality of life certainly this uh um uh um uh development uh adds to um the one component of of serving um the older folks and in town um encourage development and Redevelopment which we're actually uh developing onto an already existing building and site and um circulation plan element essentially uh ensures a safe and efficient transportation system and certainly I believe that the proposal here accomplishes that so in total I think that the um uh four five five uh variances uh Rel uh one added to with uh the fence can certainly be uh granted that's all I have uh Jeffrey Mr chairman nothing further for Mr Rema open up to the board uh mik any comments several because Mr Chang forgot to mention my memo in his question got the Mr chairman told me not to so I'm just dating I did mention your m all right so um I'll begin and I think the questions is for everyone so whoever can um take it I'm referring to CME memo dated February 21st 2024 um to clarify um in terms of operations I just want to make sure even though uh the floor plan does show cafeteria and all those um type of uses I believe during us variants the testimony uh provided that there'll be one single cafeteria could you just elaborate on that just to clarify all the items yeah existing area there is a um there is a dining room capacity area 150 Persons get fit there um and there but it's not there's no cooking in the main areas uh each one of the units has their own kitchen okay uh but everyone you know I'll call it new tenant and old tenant would be using utilizing the same area all right thank you for clarifying that um now uh referring to page five on our memo uh there were certain conditions placed by the uh during the use variance approval of the project uh would you be providing details and would you be agreeing to meeting those in terms of I think one specific question was about showing off Plaza um on your site plan so yeah one thing I I was a little confused when I saw that comment uh there's no the plaza it there's not a formal Plaza but there's a outdoor Fitness recreation area that I don't know if that was that what was your reference because we do have that uh on the plan if you want to show I believe the prior resolution basically said a community community garden um and a possible outdoor Fitness Plaza so is that what is being proposed so you're complying with those regulations okay um and you would be meeting all the others such as providing us a copy of your draft lease in terms of no subletting and all those additional items one thing I with that I I was I was confused and I want to clarify we I me I looked at the transcript and I looked at the resolution but I could be wrong uh it was the restriction for subing of Airbnb type short-term leasing is due to your ordinance I don't think we made a commitment to to put that in the least if we need to we certainly can but we agreed on the record and in the resolution that we don't do Airbnb there's no short-term leasing um I think we had one incident maybe three four years ago uh that was resolved with Mr bevans the zoning officer I will say that I don't know that it was a a lease requirement um I think it may have just been a condition of the approval I think the lease requirement was the no subletting requirement I think so um but I can check I think that's right I can find my resolution to see what I wrote Because I just want to make sure there some way of policing that to make sure our zoning officer is aware since this incident did happen so I think you just I mean I indicated no short-term rentals this is there no patient this is a number six paragraph 6 four yeah Mr rson we indicated no short from rentals Airbnb Etc were permitted and the average stay of the resident was approximately two years so uh I don't know that we imposed a condition saying that um I don't know if the board wants to ask them perhaps to include that I don't know that it would you know frankly is it enfor it's uh item 11 on uh page I don't have page number on this resolution resolution uh but it's the last when now therefore be it resolved sorry to be a sper it says on item 11 applicant shall include a lease restriction prohibiting subletting the apartment unit suting but not the short-term rental yeah so I think although isn't a short-term rental essentially a short-term sublet so so the suling language I'm okay with we can provide that um in terms of Airbnb I don't I think we just rely on Code Enforcement and following the ordinance I don't think the question in the memo was about Airbnb it was about showing the draft Le restriction to as condition our board attorney to make sure that's there yeah absolutely it y um so that those basically items would be complied with in terms of page five of CME memo yes um the next question I had is thank you Mr Ali for clarifying the lot coverage in the open space in terms of Building height I've heard couple of numbers tonight Mr Ali said it's the building height is 43.8 we did hear the testimony from architect about 44 ft uh and somewhere in the plans it's indic IND ators as 40 ft 10 1/4 in so just to clarify on record what's the building height yeah it's 44 we had internal prep meeting uh it was a scous error about the 40 40 feet 10 and a quarter yeah so it's actually 44 44 ft yeah we're going to fix it with any resubmission plans thank you um I'll come to the variance question later um there are no signs being proposed with this application no no signs uh if there's any change that would be following when sign permit requirements but no variances no no new signs proposed thank you um and and other than the fencing variants that Mr ramza pointed out there is no other fencing that's being proposed in the perimeter of this property um the next question in we had made our office had made several recommendation on lighting and Landscaping in our memo would that be something Mr Ali you would be working with us to comply with absolutely yes the only mention is again we discussed uh there some of lighting wasn't provided because of the population uh and the you know the walking paths uh garding areas logically they're not going to be utilized after dark so but we will work with your office to work out lighting well senior people I mean there are no restrictions on them stepping out right but I'm saying like they don't sleep well so they can probably be walking around I guess I will I will make that comment all right okay so but we'll work with you yes thank you um so we'll comply uh now coming back to the parking variant and uh to get items on record correct um the the the proposed parking space and well first of all is it banked spaces or you are proposing those spaces all right proposing the spaces okay so right now on the site plan there are 150 spaces that are being proposed um the four three or four of them Mr yeah yeah I'm I'm getting the I'm getting to that so 150 spaces are being proposed uh it's a variance and I heard Mr Klein's testimony saying that uh based on the analysis uh the ratio that is you know for this type of use is ideal is8 spaces per unit right um what is being proposed on the 150 with the ratio will be around 91 parking spaces per unit uh with the proposed recommendation by our chairman and our board engineer I'm assuming the parking would lie somewhere between 146 and your parking ratio would then reduce to about 89 parking spaces per unit is it your testimony that that ratio is still complying with the type of use and the number number of spaces that are being proposed absolutely yeah all right um thank you um in terms of the parking space size uh Mr remza could you clarify as to we heard that RSI standards does promote 9 by8 as a typical parking space but you're very familiar with Monroe Township parking stall size requirement of 10x 20 uh typically that is Rec recommended in shopping center areas or senior areas that are typically proposed within the township uh why would you say the board should consider 9 by8 again I understand the existing spaces are 9 by 20 from what I see on the S plan nine wide by 20 longw yeah okay so uh with this mix being proposed of 9 by 18 and 9 by 20 uh how would you still justify that's okay for this St type of fuse yeah the the 9 foot width is more than adequate for maneuvering in and out of parking spaces the dimensions of parking manual I believe it's in the fifth edition talks about the 24 foot wide Drive aisles the 9 foot wide parking space to maneuver in is adequate we're proposing consistent parking wids throughout the 20 foot versus the 18 feet I I do work in Livingston they also have a 20 foot long requirement but it's not necessary Vehicles aren't that long we're talking 16 17 feet if anything of even some of the SUVs the more the longer they are the more impervious coverage you end up with so 9 by8 rsis uh dimensions of parking is a standard that promotes that 9 foot by uh wide by 18t long as well okay thank you for that um there is is there any loading space being proposed on this Pro property well that's what happens when you don't refer to my memo so please answer I I think I touched Bas on that the uh loading uh unloading area is the what you see on the plan all the way to the left that's the yellow area that is the existing trashing closure right in front of that you'll see some um empty um you see the striving for the parking spaces and then you don't see striving that is the loading and baking up area and that's been used since the facility has been up so it's very functional and it works so that's used for moving move out and any kind of other deliveries I'm really sure uh about move in and move out if they move in and move out from that area but this is more like picking up trash enclosure uh area uh dropping off uh equipment uh but as far as they moving in and moving out I'm not really familiar with that onsite but we can hear from the uh yeah Mr Chang would you be able to clarify that considering 164 units are on this property if I could have uh but I would like to add one more thing they also we have uh the drop off area uh which you see in front of the uh main uh lobby area there uh let me get closer there yeah that I I do see it sh while you're up showing the plan that is the location where drop a Furniture in tant um started the lease exit lease they use the same area are where Amazon delivery UPS Etc right okay and we did discuss that during the use variant use variant and it's in the memo that I submitted as well okay um the same area will be utilized yeah okay and obviously it'll be coordinated in terms of all right um the on the same lines the question I had was um sorry it just popped out of my brain just for a second uh oh um given that it's a senior transitional facility will there be like uh traffic or um trips uh that would be provided for the residents and is there going to be a van or a bus that's parked on the premises So currently I I believe uh they utilize monro's busing system okay U I believe it's let me find my memo just as I refresh myself uh there's four times a day two times for pickup two times for drop off uh morning evening uh it's run by Monroe Township uh takes a residence throughout numerous locations Monroe um such as Medical Offices uh retail centers uh throughout town and we don't expect that to change uh everyone will be using the same busing schedule oh so that's provided by Monro Township at comes on the property okay all right and yeah I don't expect any change with that with this Improvement all right thank you thank you Mr chairman thank you m thank you Mr chairman I want to go back to the lease restrictions U just to clarify what you agreed to yeah uh subletting no subletting it's already uh condition of any approval we'll provide it I apologize I didn't realize I would have provided it if I remembered at the time and and how about the short-term rental short-term rental I don't think we had just a restriction on lease I certainly could put that in the lease it but I don't think that's what the board wanted last time during use chairman I think our resolution was clear it said the applicant shall not permit short-term rental so if you're not going to put it in a lease how are you going to police that well you guys have a zoning officer that enforces the ordinances go on Airbnb and you you FL that burden should not come on the township required to not permit it so how I'll let the board members decide if they want us to do that we'll add it to the lease yes well based on our professionals I could recommend that's the direction we're going to go okay then that's fine then we'll add we might as well put it on the record now that that's what we're going to that's what we're going to require okay thank you um next item the uh the existing pavement is this going to this loot going to be repaved and restriped all the existing areas that are going to be uh there there's some uh removal of concrete there's going to be construction activity um what is the proposal for the existing pavement and yes uh so area sh Mike please for for the uh most part the area in front of the uh entrance will be uh uh restriped uh any damaged uh concrete curved or remov concrete Curve will be replaced uh and the area along on the um left side of the building uh that will be the same will be restriped um for the most part the pavement in that area is in perfect condition but when was that when was that paved and if you're doing restriping I you know I've seen it a lot and you you paint over existing lines with black paint and then you try to put new striping down and in six months it's a mess so or we going to be seal coating those areas you are proposing to move all the handicap parking Bank to you know to that new area to the existing area I do agree with you so most likely you will be seal coating and reing okay like a seal coat yes okay um thank you um next thing is the garden it it talked about that they were going to provide the Community Gardens and the fitness areas these plant say possible location are they going to be moved elsewhere and what are the details of those uh as far I missed that L this is the Comm the garden community garden and your fitness equipment the plan indicates possible location for those amenities but there's no details of those amenities and it doesn't indicate that you're proposing them there it says possible location so are they going to be moved to some other location no that is the location we'll revise the plans to and you'll provide details we we'll provide details um lighting will that area be lit um as well as the the walkway yeah so we can through a couple lights uh on the building to shine in that area will be on sensors if someone is out there after uh Thor great thank you um jumping around the the new building what is the height above the drive aisle where you pulling the driveway to park under the new addition what is that clearance height uh that is showing on the architecturals and will that be accessible by you know Vans and whatnot or there be some restriction to limit the vehicles access yes when you say van accessible what are you referring to because the new Sprinter vans they use nowadays are a lot higher than a regular van so you have to clarify handic van okay so a handicap vehicle could be now considered a bus that has a gate that lows down to take someone in a wheelchair that's a different height from a van so I understand but there are regulations handicap regulations okay with within the ICC A1 117.1 the uh these regulations of 2017 require 8 fo2 that's all great what's the height of the of the of the ceiling the actual I believe it's if I'm not mistaken it's 94 in 9 ft 4 in yes so will there be there'll be appropriate signage indicating that yes sir out there so um I I have some concerns over the ADA compliance on the site um the the entrance way indicated that the new entrance way is not the location of where the Ada access is can you explain the two different entrances unless I missed something in the new addition you have an entrance a main entrance which I thought you spoke about but then the Ada the Ada access is to the north of that to to the Old Entrance um I'm looking at sheet five of 11 and uh yes the Ada start from the parking Ada parking spaces crosses the parking lot goes into an ADA flat curb runs along the building and to the door but we also have accessibility right in front of the door too right so my concern B looking at the plan I can't tell if that's ADA Compliant or not so so we'll clarify do want that reviewed with our ADA compliance officer as well as myself um also there's an inlet that the the accessible path in the parking lot uh trans transverses um that that I believe would need to be an ADA grate and it may need to be relocated we' have to look at that yeah we call we call to be a reset to be flush it just need to be again ADA compliance that's all and as far as the remainder of the site um you know any any uh ramps would need to be brought up to current Ada standards yes we'll do that's all I have Mr chairman thank you um any B oh M go ahead final clarification Mr Chang um going back to the question about community garden and Plaza that was the item nine again in the list of PR resolution so if we are clarifying it I would ask that we clarify it in our final resolution that it's going to be community garden and outdoor Plaza yep thank you okay any board members any questions okay Mr Masters and this might not be a question for you the the double walk part right that's also the fire lane right we use that for the fire department if I remember right isn't that true going around the back of the building yeah going do we have any concerns at the southern piece where that beige is where now there's a bunch of trees and they a vehicle wouldn't be able to get close to the building I think it's the bottom bottom right that beige the bottom right that looks like a retention Pond it is a stor water be so if that truck has to go across how would they get close to the building from the yeah from there how would they go left oh no it would not be going the way it's been designed right now you're gonna have to use the microphone please because that's going to be a twostory building now right so they'd have to get the truck closer to the building that's a three story building three story so they can't do it from the street it's too far away and now it's blocked by the Basin and the trees so how do they get the truck closer to the building Mr Masters I think that that line is uh that path is only for pedestrians no I thought they used it for the fire department too har the fire department the way it's been laid at at there right now yeah uh so if a fire truck comes in on site will be coming from uh Union Valley turning into the common driveway with a retail proceeding uh into the parking lot to the left of the building and if they decided to go in that Loop that you just described that would coming into that area that's why it's more like what appears to be to walk area but actually it's been designed for you know for fire truck and and for the tire for the fire truck and that comes all the way around in the building right now and it comes out into un un Valley with a debr so am I am I missing this so so share Sharie is correct this was originally required by the fire department when the building was originally built but now there's there's modification so you're going to have to go back to the fire and get their approval they may want some additional uh access as as Mr Masters is pointing out yeah you're going to have to get their approval because you are removing a portion to provide the the new addition there was a portion of that that access that you removed and and and it looks like just a sidewalk but it but it was put in there because of fire fire wanted the access around the building oh I see uh yeah we'll work with the fire department uh it's one of the item on Mr rimot uh uh in Mr ramo's report yes my and you aged we typically go to the fire department so we'll work with them thank you any other board members okay so I heard testimony earlier that it's a separate Standalone fire alarm system or sprinkler system okay so where's the delineation because the new building is tying into the existing building uh is this device going to trigger what's existing or is it going to be independent because they are attached and you can get from one building to the other the file allow systems are going to be interconnected in a in a sense that if there there is a a fire in one building they're going to other to be uh certain triggers yes however it's going to be an independent system m i I understand that you're going to have two separate fire alarm panels however there'll be a device to interconnect them if something goes off they all trigger two separate disconnect great so next question what is the width of the columns that are mounted underneath the portion that has two stories we're parking underneath most of the columns are 24 by 12 not the physical column the width between column and column oh uh the minimum width between the columns would be 18 feet some of them are 20 at 27 okay so is there any and we have to face reality is there any protection from preventing someone from going into these columns and now the structure potentially yes of course all the columns are going to have the column Collision uh protection which are 2 or 3 in uh additional to the concrete column is that like considered like a rubber bumper or something it's a a kind of bumper yes okay so I'm talking about only person that mixes up run and drive and they hit the gas pedal and they hit a column how how you know what protection is there parking underneath I think there's a lot of risk I'm sorry uh the protection of the column yeah what's going to stop a car from hitting a column the that three Ines is not going to stop a car The Columns first of all the columns are re recessed back from the from the parking from the driveway so there's no columns in the Middle where they're going to be p no whenever a car is pulled in is pulling in they're going to be pull pulling in and and have a column on the right or on the left of the car that is going to happen the column is going to be protected adequately as required uh with the column Collision uh protectors however I don't follow your question regarding other protections I guess they they just got to chase you're going to meet all the require building code requirements for those columns to be in a parking area absolutely that that's the concern yes maybe I explained it wrong but yeah you know I have you know I have all the parents and I know how they drive so you know there's a question that needs to be asked absolutely frankly Mr chairman I'll leave that to the experts at our construction Department to see and you did say the height was nine what and that will be posted the height of this 9' 4 in posted yeah posted before you can enter into the park now one of question uh I see you have depicted on your diagram here some solar panels is that coming before us now or that that's going to be an afterthought maybe an afterthought um down Road it's a mood issue yes okay um I think that's it any other board members have any questions the only thing I it's you please use the mic the uh there has been no conversation about uh existing resident safety during the construction process and no plans that have highlighted uh location of storage how uh traffic construction traffic is going to maneuver in the existing parking lot um so very good point can someone respond to that please by the way yes you guys welcome uh we did have initial discussions with the uh future construction uh company and uh most of the access are going to happen from [Music] the the construction access is going to happen from the Eastern portion of the property okay so that triggers another concern because that Eastern portion access is now for the fire lane you have an existing building with existing residents living there now you're going to tie up that access where we just allocate or dedicated for the fire department to arrive or emergency vehicles so how do we get around that I'm not sure we're going to block it I'm we're just going to use it so I Mr chairman I I would think that we would want to see a staging plan we would want to understand how because this is an this is a tight site to add this this uh building so I would think You' want to see uh some sort of plan we'll get if I mean I'll let Mr Ali who's the civil engineer but I would I would recommend you would work with the township to make sure that that's a typical requirement um that logistic you know staging um so we will provide that we'll work with the contractor and the building department and the office of engineering and we'll uh make sure that we'll be in the work Mr chairman that that would be something we would review uh prior to construction they would have to get zoning uh uh zoning officer sign up sign offer uh I'm sure there'll be a temporary trailer that's got to go there temporary electric services so that so that that will go through zoning as well as my office and and we can review that and ensure that that fire access is is open at all all times okay as long as that's a condition if the board is comfortable with that that's fine as long as you're going to oversee it that's fine any other questions by any board members seeing there's none we're going to open up this application and this application only to the public anyone wishing to be heard from the public please come forward seeing there's none I make a motion or I need a motion to close the public portion so move second second all in favor public motion is now closed board members you have an application in front of you you heard all the testimony make a motion to approve I'll second it okay M I'm sorry under the under the stipulation of the applicant inherit for profession requests okay Madam Secretary roll poll please miss Carrie yes Mr lopo yes Masters yes Mr busman yes Mr KY yes Mr jice yes chairman L yes great thank you very much okay board members uh real quick we're going to do uh memorialization application ba- all in favor okay next application for memorialization ba-52 36-23 springpoint at Monroe Village Incorporated so move second second all in favor I I thank you now we have a uh I'm gonna let Peter take this from here is that correct do that want to go get public before that okay I'm sorry you tell me what you want to do your agenda I'll take whatever you want I F we get this sat way out of the way okay uh as you all are aware or may be aware we have some pending litigation that exists um drafted a resolution that would um requested the Town Council uh authorize funding for me to handle that litigation on your behalf so that's what this resolution would do would request that the Town Council authorize that funding do we have a motion to the resolution second second second Madam Secretary roll call please m g yes Mr Lupo yes Mr Masters yes Mr KY yes Mr jaffy Mr yes chairman L yes what about me I don't think I count Mr buzzman yes yes you get to go oh that's good too uh okay we're up to the public portion anyone in the public wishing to be heard seeing there's none I need motion to close the public portion you motion second all in favor I public portion is closed any correspondence any new business no make a motion to adjourn so move second second all in favor