##VIDEO ID:3ntNA-At4vA## e e e you ready you guys ready okay good evening everybody we're going to call to order tonight's meeting of the township of Bernards Zoning Board of adjustment the first item on the agenda is the flag salute so please stand if you canice in accordance with the requirement of the open public meeting law notice of this meeting of the board of adjustment of the township of Bernards was posted on the bulletin board in the reception hall of the municipal building Kier Lane Basking Ridge New Jersey it was also mailed to the Bernardsville News whiy New Jersey The Courier News Bridgewater New Jersey and it was also filed with the Township Clerk all on January 8th of this year and it was also mailed electronically to all those who had requested individual notice the following procedur has been adopted by the Bernards Township zoning Board of adjustment there will be no new cases heard after 10:00 tonight and no new testimony heard after 10:30 tonight uh Miss keeper thanks for coming can you do a roll call please certainly um let's see M bman Miss pich Miss poar and Mr Halverson have indicated they are unable to attend this evening um chairman chairman Engineers here Mr Cambria here Mr KRA here Mr T here M Herrera here Mr Fishinger here Mr Warner here qu here SCH for the record Miss keeper is present Madam chair you have a quarum you may begin excellent thank you um is there a motion to excuse the absences of those who couldn't make it tonight so move second second thank you Mr CR call in favor hi sorry are you supposed to sit all in favor you're the chair you can do it if you want no no you're good all in favor I I opposed abstain thank you thank you um next on the uh agenda is the approval of minutes they were circulated in advance of tonight's uh meeting the first one was uh the minutes from the September 4th meeting are there any comments or edits um or motion to approve as drafted I think the motion may need to come from that side of the day to the right yes Madam chair I motion to approve the minutes as drafted thank you Mr second thanks Mr okay those eligible this evening are chw Jers Mr Mr King for these all in favor I oppos and those that I meent that did not mention must abstain thank you thank you um next is the approval of minutes from our special meeting on September 18th are there any edits or comments um for that one or a motion I'll make a motion to approve this drafted thank you Mr second thank you Mr chair Engineers Mr tanky and M Herrera are eligible all in favor I opposed abstain thank you thank you were you at that meeting Mr the 18th was I thought you were also can you check on sorry I'm I apologize Mr cambri you are eligible also I thank you in the singular right there full credit okay thank you um next on the agenda is our public hearing for Signature Acquisitions which is continued um actually from our special meeting on the 18th um at that point in time I think we had uh heard uh the testimony we were going to hear we were going to move into public comment let me just say a word or two about the public comment just a reminder we're going to try and get to everybody tonight um so everyone will have a chance um to be heard um please keep your comments to three to five minutes we're going to have discretion over that but if you can kind of keep your um comments focused it will help uh us move this along and also give us an ability to hear from everyone who wants to make a comment tonight um for those here you've heard us for the last basically two years tell you what you can say and what you can't say this is the time that you can um make your comment and say what you want to say in a nice respectful way please um just from a process standpoint and to make this as efficient as possible I'm going to ask people who want to make a comment to line up by Miss kefir can you just raise your hand Miss kefir hang on one second hang on hang on not everybody at once not everybody at once let me let me just get through the process the building might tilt a little okay we're going to get to everyone okay we're going to get to everyone I'm going to ask people to line up by Miss kefir she's G to um have you sign something over there I'll ask people to just Line Up 3 to five at a time there's no need for everyone to stand over there okay we've got a lot of time here we we're going to make limits on the time of the comments so we will get to everyone so if we can just ask a couple of people at a time when you see the line start to die down a little bit you want to get up and you get online that's great and Miss keeper will tell you when you can come over um when you come over um to the microphone we're going to ask you to speak right into it because there are people watching at home tonight so we want to make sure that not only the board can hear you but also the public and also everyone at home and I think Mr Warner you're going to swear I will swear everyone in uh if you sign in and make your way to the podium I'll swear you in and then you can speak okay um with respect to once you make a comment obviously you're free to to sit back down and hear the other comments if you'd like to leave you can also do that if you do that please do it in an orderly and quiet manner because we're going to be here um so just be respectful of other people who are still waiting to to make their comments I anything else just if I may reiterate some of the directions uh that the chair has given previously and which is consistent with the municipal land use law and other applicable law and that is uh please do not repeat testimony that others have stated uh which if you do to uh listen to others go before you you'll have the ability to avoid that repetition uh and do of course try to stay relevant to the subject matter at hand which is this particular development application and the relief being sought by the applicant uh and uh again no repetition no redundancies relevant testimony uh is what is to be presented under Ro uh and will have the same weight full force and effect as any other witness who testified be they a fact witness or an expert witness for the applicant or for the objector groups that are represented by councel uh that is why I will swear you in because you are not just making public comment you are testifying okay yeah so this will be sworn testimony so if I can remind everyone as well you guys have been terrific uh up until now very d in terms of coming to our meetings but please no oo o clapping booing laughing you know let let's just be respectful for everyone who's making their comment whether they're for or against the application and that will help us hear everyone and and get to everyone to have a chance to to make their comment which you know the board um as well as you have been waiting to hear okay what is your question if you only allow one person to say yeah no we we by repetition we we understand I what I mean is is uh look I we expect that people are going to talk about the same topics I don't mean you can't say something related to what someone else said uh but uh yeah but if it gets to a point where everybody's saying exactly the same thing you know you might be able to say it a little more succinctly no that's fine that was an okay question okay let's go um if you could line up by Miss kefir again let you know keep it um a limited number of people I think uh would be the best way um forward I think we're already about that five person Max on line so please and it's okay if you if you know you want to make a comment and you want to move your seat to that side I'm comfortable with that okay hang on one second I just kicked this Mr War okay please raise your right hand do you swear to God a affirm testimony about to give us the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do name it address for the record please Sher Nelson 195 Smoke Rise Road we're ready okay I have been a resident of Bernard's Township for almost 18 years I live in the Hills section of town I am opposed to this application because I believe that the high volume of tractor trailer traffic will be dangerous especially to teen drivers like my son considering that this specific location is on a hill and a blind curve it will not be safe for any of us I think that this will have an overall negative impact on our safety and our quality of life I have paid very close attention to this from the beginning and I have attended all but one of these hearings in person I have taken the time to be fully informed I recall a very lengthy discussion at the beginning of this process as to whether or not a d variance would be needed for the access drive going through a residential lot the applicants attorney Mr Lair assured everyone that they would prove that this proposal would result in a diminished use of the access drive and not an intensification zoning board members at that time asked how this would be proven just by the volume of traffic or the type of vehicles and then they asked about the operating hours Mr lair's response to this was that we will get into operating hours which you will hopefully be pleasantly pleased to hear what we have to testify about I waited for months to finally hear that testimony only to find out that they are going to allow operations 24 hours a day 7 days a week I certainly was not pleasantly pleased to hear this I was honestly shocked 24/7 tractor trailer traffic will be a nuisance to this community and certainly an intensification of the use of the access Drive compared to when it was an office building it will be noisy cause traffic delays and endanger our residents traveling across town with so many trucks on the roads the number of loading docks in this proposal is simply too many I am not comfortable with the fact that the public does not have a clear understanding of exactly how many of these trucks we will be dealing with every day the traffic engineer for the applicant during his testimony and subsequent questions asked by the public did make it clear that the data for this traffic study is flawed the averages that were used to come up with 84 truck trips per day does not add up not with a total of 16 loading docks operating 24 hours a day 7 days a week it will be much more than they are telling us it could easily be double and that was demonstrated during public questioning of the applicant's traffic engineer the data presented is deeply flawed because it is only based on the square footage of a very limited number of manufacturing sites there is no accounting for the operating hours or the number of loading docks in their calculations therefore we have no way to make a reasonable estimate the only thing we know for sure is that if you build manufacturing site with 16 loading docks that are designed to accommodate the largest tractor trailers on the road it will mean that at any point in time we could have up to 16 of these trucks coming and going from that site when the Board of Education attorney questioned this traffic engineer he stated that no safety consideration is given for a road that has a high amount of student drivers on it which I found especially appalling as a mother the fact that the Board of Education superintendent came before you to testify speaks volume about the concerns we all have for the safety of our children I do want to take a minute to thank this board for your volunteer work here um I've been coming these two years and I have no idea how much time you guys give and your dedication I really do appreciate it I do not see any benefit to our community in this application I only see a very negative impact on my family and everyone who lives here I am asking that you deny this application to protect our residents and our quality of life we do not have an idea regarding the number of trucks or the intensification use of the access drive that was in question from the very first hearing even with the obviously low estimate from the applicant of 84 truck trips per day if you multiply this by 365 days a year it comes to 3,660 trucks traveling in our community per year that we don't have right now this is simply too much my understanding of your duty as a zoning board is that you are supposed to make an informed determination based on the relative interests of the applicant and the members of the public if that is accurate then this should be an easy decision because there is no way to balance the negative impact on our community to the P to the potential increase in profits to be made by this applic applicant they simply need to build something smaller that complies with our Township ordinances thank youson thank you can you say your name and address please mad cha uh I you bring that microphone down right in front M and I'm sorry if you could say your name a little slower okay I'll spell it m a d h a v i and the last name is chica c h i k Ka a and I resided for Gordon Place Basking Ridge okay first of all Hello everybody your right hand oh yeah sorry affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth absolutely yes please proceed okay my name is madvi chika and I reside at for Gordon place I've lived in New Jersey for 23 plus years and the last nine years I've been a resident of this beautiful Bernard's Township um uh we have a we are a family of four two little boys one in Ridge and one at whams and my husband and I we love this community um this is where we are settling down we're not moving anywhere anytime soon so I've been to majority of these meetings starting February 2023 all the starts all the uh you know um new traffic studies new applications revised applications and right from the get-go I feel like this uh proposed facility does not belong to this community it simply just does not because um and let me put things into perspective from where I view this from I live in the hills and I don't mean to say this is just a Hills or a fellowship Village issue this is going to have Ripple effects for everybody in this town to across all corners of the Town North southeast west right but uh just to put things into perspective the hills has 2200 families that adds up to 10,000 residents this is the largest residential development on this side of the midatlantic housing 10,000 plus residents right and all of us are serviced by a single Lane single artery Allen Road right now our applicant is proposing a facility right at the foot of Hill you know where children go to school at Via Allen Road all the professionals go to work children go to before after care activities it's just I think that's why it doesn't belong here right and not to mention that when I had asked a few meetings ago the emergy preparedness impact there was basically no answer from the applicant and they said oh we have already submitted all that information we're good to go can you imagine a fire or an weather event or snow or an earthquake in the Hills 10,000 residents are trying to get out or get access to Emergency Services via Allen Road while you have trucks booring down or trucks blocking the emergency AIS uh can you envision that and can you envision our children walking to schools at Mount Prospect right the Mount Prospect Elementary School houses almost like 800 school children many of them walk to school cut across Allen Road right um and imagine trucks going down Allen Road um an average car weighs 500 5,000 and the trucks that our applicant is proposing is the largest one the w67 WB 67 and empty WB 67 weighs £35,000 not to mention when it is fully loaded it can go up to £85,000 imagine those trucks even a single one cutting across the hills where school children are at risk this is no more about the fabric of our community commun or the bucolic nature of our community this is outright a safety issue a safety of our children all the mothers fathers and the grandparents walking down on the pedestrian street across Allen Road trying to get exercises walking so I therefore say this this application doesn't simply belong to the community all right and then I spoke about the traffic truck impacts uh pedestrian safety um and then emergency preparedness the other thing that I would like to mention is uh the environmental impact the site sits on in New Jersey Wetlands two 200 ft AC away from New Jersey Wetlands it houses a water body on the side right and the en I've looked at these environmental commission's recommendations thoroughly and they say the number of trees being cut down 640 approximately something but our applicant is proposing only to restore a fraction of them and guess what those fraction of the trees that will be replaced need time to mature this is going to disturb a soil erosion we already have existing drainage problems storm water management problems near Allen Road and Martinsville if any of you look back at Hurricane Ida we were inundated with water Allen Road across Mar the intersection of Allen and Martinsville road now our applicant is proposing cutting down trees this is going to uh damage the soil not to mention the sensitive vegetation that grows there and not to mention when you cut down so many trees all the traffic noise from Route 78 cutting across into the hills and disturbing all quality of life so this has a big environmental impact as well um and then you're almost at a time so try wrap I'm wrapping it up yes okay all right so one thing I always wanted to ask was maybe we as a community and you as a zoning board should required the applicant to do a live demo of a WB 67 driving down Allen Road and see how it impacts the blind spots the the curve edges curves and the um sleep stapes so I think that is something we should require as a zoning board um to conclude my statement and my testimony and my public comment I I seriously think the applicant has not met the burden of proof on multiple levels on not on the traffic study it was quite clearly flawed like um like Sher had mentioned earlier not on the environmental aspect it was quite clearly flawed on the environmental not to mention the traffic engineer the the turn radius for these massive trucks going out of the site going out onto Martinsville Road onto 78 and not to mention how do we police that the trucks are not going to cut from 287 through the hills to the side there is no way to uh prove that so on multiple levels and oh F and finally on the financial hardship level I don't think the applicant has proved the burden has burden of pro proof right if you look at statements on Google they they uh signature Acquisitions had a great qu um quarter quarter 2 in 2024 they've in 10 brand new leases and their State financial statements for Q3 was really strong last year so on the financial hardship to they did not meet any burden of proof so as a resident I implored the zoning board to please rightly deny this application because this is going to set a dangerous precedent for not to mention he has two more uh the the folks own two more buildings on Allen Road this is is going to set a dangerous precedent bringing all sorts of elements into the community warehouses if if it walks like a duck quacks like a duck acts like a duck it is a duck though you call it a light manufacturing it is a warehouse and thank you for your time thank you very much right please don't do it next let's go well I believe the chair did respect request no applause either we we move forward you can move that microphone right up to your mouth and your name and address please okay you want to S me in name and address first okay my name is Robert mclaughin I live on Fellowship Road Basking Rich please raise your right hand do you swear to God our firm testimony about to give us a truth all truth and nothing but the truth I do please proceed first of all I would like to thank the board for this opportunity for the public to speak and I would like to briefly comment on the applicants request for variances at as they impact on environmental issues specifically the removal of 600 plus mature trees to be replaced with less than 200 saplings and this is a gross environmental imbalance as I understand the zoning board's regulations on variances they must meet two standards one show there is no serious harm to the community and secondly that there must be some benefit to the community with the removal of these trees uh the air quality is degraded the absorption of noise is not mitigated and essentially erosion of soil and so from an environmental standpoint the removal of 600 trees to be replaced by small saplings environmentally something that should be avoided secondly uh if there are any environmental impacts uh there are no benefits to the town of Basking Ridge essentially by removing these trees you remove the ability to absorb CO2 remove the ability to absorb sound and essentially there there are no environmental benefits so there are some harms no Environ benefits I think this variance should be turned down and essentially and in bottom line I am opposed to the way this applicant has constructed their application there are variances which have to be overcome and it's up to the board to decide if they have met that obligation thank you very much thank you thank you please don't please don't applaud it doesn't help the process here your name and address please I am Milton mcdonal I live at 1120 Fellowship Road please raise your right hand you swear to God our airmed testimony about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed I am Milton McDonald I live at 1120 Fellowship Road as I told you uh and I like my neighbors think that adding a quarter million square foot light manufacturing uh facility to our neighborhood is not a good idea I have a PhD in physics uh for 30 years I was a research scientist or principal scientist at Allied and Honeywell so I come to you with a uh think differ uh perspective from some of my neighbors and I ask you to hear me out I'm going to present two graphs during uh my presentation following the procedure that um uh signature did I have actually put the I made 17 copies as they always did I can give these to you now with the graphs but miss keer tells me if I do since there is testim a if I I might vary in what I say from this side I should not uh uh hand it out so my question is would you like a copy of the grass for your com uh for the as far as introducing evidence uh it needs to be by through your personal knowledge and through your personal testimony so if you could speak to it or read from it whatever it is uh uh please do so okay yes uh in Miss Smith's cross exam or questioning of the traffic engineer she asked him how precisely do you form these statements uh these studies he said I have a database of 19 manufacturing sites of and I take the area of those uh I I I I take the number of trucks per uh uh the number of truck trips per day and I divide by the area to get a ratio of trip to a area in the case of the 19 sites I use the average is uh 40 45 trucks I'm I'm sorry four 45 trucks per 1,000 square fet um i' now like to suggest that this is an invalid use of statistics uh for the following reason taking the average of sets of numbers uh suggests that they are comparable and of meaningful sit uh a meaningful group uh this can be easily confirmed in statistics by taking that number for each of the 19 sites dividing it into groups of range and uh looking at the distribution of these the following uh example shows a graph that we would expect uh if there were a gaussian or normal-shaped distribu to utilize an exhibit applicants Council and obors Council does anyone have any objection to this exhibit being utilized by way of testimony through this witness no I I do have an objection I don't understand where the exhibit came from did you prepare it where is it coming from and let me be clear you're testifying as a fact witness no one's demonstrated any brought any expert Witnesses with them nobody so uh uh you can communicate factual information this is something you prepared this is the actual data that was presented you compare these two documents I drew the graph based on the data in the Traffic Engineers that's all I asked you prepared it okay yes and you utilized information as you understood it to be from the data that was provided by the expert traffic engineer on behalf of the applicant uh that is correct I took it from his report the uh all right and you wish to make certain points factually based on uh that information that you've put together in these is it two or is it four I think it's they're two they're the same on both sides so that so the people in front of me and behind me can see what I'm talking about uh the the the the uh I'm going to advise the chair that we could hear this you'll have to show applicants Council In fairness as you got a chance to see exhibits what you're showing but you're preparing and uh again it's fact testimony I have to advise the board not expert testimony that is being provided right I I I I have not verified to you that I know how to divide that's okay did up sure the board does but but uh but but there's a difference in Legally which is my job uh legally there's a difference between expert testimony and factual testimony right I am not the only two categories you're testifying factually so I'm going to advise the board to allow it please proceed just just so I could clarify the graphs that you have up here are from specific pages in the traffic report you've just taken the graphs and printed it out I took the data on the gra from the report and I plotted it okay so that's different all right so that's not that's something that you prepar can can you can you can you tell us what pages from and from what document you took this information so everybody can follow it I took it from I took it from the overheads that were shown uh on the you don't know what page or what exhibit no no they they they they were not I did not get the original documents I saw what was shown on the overhead screen and I read it from that all right why don't you Pres proed with explaining what you'd like to proceed we do have to keep it to the time correct then we stopped the clock I yeah we we did but just keep in mind with respect to your comments we're going to give you some more time because there was a lot of interaction with our board attorney but um we you know we won't have time for a full presentation so really just a couple more minutes correct thank you okay so if this were a random distribution we would expect a bell-shaped curve in the center and uh the number of cases would fall off in a symmetrical way when we take the 19 cases that the traffic engineer used we get the following distribution and the point is that when you compare these two it is not a normal distribution we're going to mark this P1 uh and for identification purposes and and uh the one that looks more like a normal distribution was a hypothetical is a hypothetical one of data that I gener generated that corresponds to the mean that was reported and corresponds to roughly the same number of trucks that's going to be P1 a and p1b is going to be what you say is the not normal distribution I just want Tock distri okay you have normal and observed right normal and observed and I will be glad to give you copies of both these uh graphs for your records and and the graphs are the same thing that you just showed us yes okay and but there's other there's other verbiage on those graphs what I I printed what I'm saying on the front of the page and uh down to here and then I which is explain explation that you've already provided us right and uh Miss kefir told me I could read word for word what I've said here or but if I wanted to talk extemporaneously uh I could not hand these out before I spoke unless I had the chair permission well let now that you've explained that do you have any objection to this coming in at least for introduction purposes so we have a reference to the testimony that was provided by this fact witness it's fine okay so you'll be able to provide uh a a p1a in p1b uh your your two pages or is it when you when you give it to us as a page it's all one it's one on top of the other I I see have a clip but is it a two-sided onepage document is a one page two one page here are 10 copies got it be enough so we don't have to go p1a it's just P1 it's a a two-sided document okay and thank you thank you you can leave them here well getbody counil when you're done yeah yeah yeah we have one to applicants counil okay okay okay so the fact that the fact that we are not getting a random distribution means that there are more factors that are involved in uh uh determining the uh trucks than just the square the the uh square foot footage if there were we would get the normal distribution the fact that we do not get that based on the method that the uh traffic engineer said he uses tells us that there are other significant factors that determine track truck traffic for such sites uh one might suspect that what is being being manufactured might have an effect but uh that that's hypothetical so I'm suggesting that there was no serious traffic estimate procedure presented to determine what would be the truck traffic provided by this application for that reason the application is complete I would uh encourage you to reject it uh the traffic engineer indicated that all traffic ear Engineers would use precisely the same procedure uh I find this frustrating because consistency in a bad procedure does not guarantee uh truth about 30 more seconds okay okay so I encourage you to reject this application if you uh do not I think it's setting a very dangerous precedent for future thank you thank you for your comment thank you your name and address please good evening my name is Marcelo kardi 89 Huntington Road please raise your right hand do you swear to God affirm that testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed oh good evening uh I saw a a notice this U couple of week couple of weeks ago realor.com they have one of the hottest ZIP codes in us which is 07920 and we want to preserve that right why is that because this is a residential peaceful beautiful Community we host the best school systems among the US and Ellen Road specifically alen road we host Mount Prospect we have thousands of children very very small children all day it's a single Lane Road it's a downhill and you know how hard it is to stop a big truck in a downhill my point is it's very dangerous and uh we have huge volumes of trucks day in day out and lots of children there's nothing that this community can benefit of from this uh manufacturing be very quick that's my statement thank you thank you for coming your name and address please my name is Krishna Nalan k r i s hna n a l l a n I live in 194 Patriot Hill Drive I'm sorry Patriot Hill yeah please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes I do thank you please proceed thank you for the opportunity and thank you for your time to go through this proposal I've been a resident of Basking Ridge for almost four years now and I love this beautiful town and then the environment that it provides for all the people and especially the children um and I'm concerned about this proposal that the applicant has been putting forward the application or the applicant has continuously failed to justify why we need two oversized buildings in place of the current small office that we had by killing all the mature trees and then and as a compensation we know that they have not been providing enough trees and and whatever they providing are just small saplings this impacts the environment the ecology and requesting of all these variances will only make it worse with respect to whatever floods that we had you know a couple of years ago in the intersection of Allen Road and Somerville Road I also have a a concern on the traffic that it will bring in in terms of the trucks that everyone already spoke of already but we have been talking of tractor trailers but application has also mentioned about the box trucks that will be introduced as part of this manufacturing facility and that will also result in a high number of trucks that will ply on the Allen Road and there has been no confirmation about those trucks not entering either side of the Allen Road which puts the entire public in in a much bigger safety because we know that you know how how many people would be traversing that road if every time it it also causes uh safety concerns with the schoolgoing children especially the Mount Prospect being very close to alen Road and people going to Vamps and Ridge and using the Allen Road all the time I I also have a very big concern about the fact that the applicant also owns the next two plots and then they have not confirmed that they will not be using the internal roadway which makes it which puts a very high chance that they will be combining all these Manu furing units and uh it it'll be a much bigger problem therefore I kindly request the board to reject this application and set a president that we will We Care for the safety of the people environment and the whole town thank you thank you for your comment your name and address please yes Judy pasnik 8102 Fellowship Road and thank you very much do you or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank do please proceed uh as a I'm here everybody's speaking from the head I'm speaking a little bit from the heart but some from the spleen too because my spleen is acting as a lifelong resident of Bernard's Township I have seen many changes to our community and while I have not agreed with 100% of those changes over the years the planning board and the board of adjustment have acted in their wisdom to allow progress but not to the detriment of our quality of living I have sat here at meetings for well over a year now and have yet to understand from the testimony of all the professional Witnesses why Bernard's Township should allow this application to be granted with so many amendments most of which will be detrimental to the health the environment safety and quality of life in a large section of Bernard's Township I truly appreciate all that time you give as volunteers I know it's hours and hours and hours and hope that once again you will use your expertise and wisdom to protect our hometown thank you thank you for your comment thank you good evening your name and address please Bernie Payne excuse me P NE 95 Autumn Ridge Road Bedminster thank you madam chairwoman um please raise your right hand that's right do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony about to give is the truth the whole truth or nothing but the truth I do thank please um at a previous meeting I had questioned uh the traffic engineer for the applicant Mr seckler and my question was particular to the intersection at Mount Ary Road Martinsville Road and Allen Road um in particular my questioning was on the turning radius and the ability of large tractor trailers to navigate and maneuver through the the intersection um I'll leave it up to the board to you know evaluate the responses that I got from Mr seckler on that but I think it would be useful for the board as well as the the public at large here if I if the board will indulge me to um talk about a personal incident that I did have at that intersection with a large tractor trailer because I think it would put everything in context as to what we are facing if we have a multiple increase of tractor trailer traffic through that particular intersection so very briefly if I may um the situation that occurred to me I was in the leftand turning lane on Martinsville road waiting to take a left-hand turn onto um Allen Road I was the first car in the turning lane the light was red I was waiting our turn there were a couple of cars in back of me in the turning lane meanwhile a large tractor trailer in the right hand lane on Allen Road was attempting to make a rightand turn onto Martinsville Road the tractor trailer maneuvered about halfway through the intersection and had to stop it was very apparent to the driver and to me that if he continued he was going to strike my vehicle with the back of of his vehicle why that occurred I I really don't know did he not make the maneuver properly could it be that I was inched up past the stop line and maybe encroached into the intersection I don't know I'll leave that for for somebody else to decide but whether that is the reason or there's multiple reasons this is what occurred so when that happened I put my car into into park open the door looked back there were now several cars in the turning lane and I wave them back so that they could then back up which will allow me to back up to allow the the tractor trailer to make the maneuver now you can imagine as these cars are backing up at that intersection they are being approached by other cars coming from that direction thankfully there was no incidents there was no no collisions of any any any point and after we made the Maneuvers the tractor trailer was able to was able to make the maneuver through the intersection um with that you know that that being said and then of course there was the residual backup because now the light sequencings had all changed and now in both directions and on Allen Road you had traffic that was packed up let let me just say it took a couple more light lighting sequences before the the the problem was able to Abate um I guess my the point is if you increase the number of tractor trailer movements through that intersection this was not a a bolt of lightning that hit this is something it's logical to assume the number of tractor trailer movements that increased the probability and likelihood of an incident like this happening again proportionally increase um I'll conclude my um remarks by saying I look at is pretty simple there was a movie a number of years ago and there's a famous quote from it and the quote goes if you build it they will come in this particular instance if we Grant the applicant the um uh their variances um and Grant them 16 loading docks or whatever per pursuant to their application and we allow them to build it the tractor trailers they will come and with that an increased probability of incidences of things happening to other residents like they did to me thank you thank you for your comment thank you all right next up please thank you name and address for the record please I'm radan gurum morti 66 Liberty Ridge Road please raise your right hand you SAR God or affirm testim about to give we're going to get do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do okay we're not going to start the clock yet please spell your name for the court reporter okay it's r a n g a n a t h a n last name is gurum morti g u r u m o o r t h y thank you U before I start please before I start this is the diagram which was uh shown on the uh on the prompts uh during the earlier uh meetings so I'll be discussing that I actually have four copies of what I'm going to discuss and it also has that same plot so I can share three with you and I can share one with signature why don't you give one to applicants Council and why don't you explain to us okay just provide your testimony these are my calculations and this is the plot that I'm referring to one is the daily which is the average ET and this is for the people sir may I have um okay can I can only share two over there okay so I'll give two here say but I I'll hold on to them for now you have one for yourself try to uh provide this either verbatim or in a summary fashion so and again reminding everyone you're testifying as a fact witness not an expert that is correct okay please proceed sure so my take is uh thank you first of all for the opportunity to present uh my analysis uh my take is that signature has uh consistently been underplaying the extent of the truck traffic and I will illustrate that in a moment so if you look at the go to the second page this is the uh plot that I am referring to and this plot the first one is referring to the Daily to the calculation of the daily truck traffic this manufacturing 140 that chart that is correct okay and that was a chart you're saying that was introduced into evidence by one of the applicants expert Witnesses a traffic engineer that that is correct this is the you haven't changed this page of all correct no I have not okay so and on the back of it there's another one yeah that is for the peak cover one is for the daily one is for the PE cover okay so Pages three and four are just taken from the actual uh uh experts report from the applicant correct it's not from the experts report it is from the it hundreds industrial truck data plots it's it's it's the it traffic that's correct yeah but but that was introduced by the applicant expert that is correct okay and those two pages have not been changed they haven't been changed okay but the first two pages who wrote those you I wrote those and those are my calculations and as I go through them as a fact witness right that's correct all right please proceed okay so if you see the plot that I showed the average that was used by signature is 45 per th000 square ft and given that the facility is about 250,000 Square ft of which light manufactur ing is about 184 577 based on that they came up with an average estimate of 83 uh trips per day now if you look at the plot you will notice that the average look at the average average is 045 but if you look at the range of rates it's all the way from 0 to 5.5 so the average is in the bottom part of the range that's the first point to note the second point to note is the standard deviation that is shown here it shows a value of. 34 which is 75% of the average okay now I'll give you an analogy if you look at the US population the average height is 5 ft 6 in but if you look at I might object to this but well it's an it's an average it's an average it's an average it includes men and women okay and children too okay actually I'd like to support the 5 I'm think of it I'm sorry okay we're going to add 30 seconds I apologize okay I'm going to think your time away though and and the standard deviation for that population is 3 in so the standard deviation as a percentage of the height is 5% whereas here in this traffic uh plot the standard deviation is 75% of the average and yet in making their presentation signature has only stayed with giving you average numbers right without considering the wide spread of data here right and additionally signature to this day has not stated whether or not they have any client right any particular person who's going to occupy that facility so given that that client could fit anywhere in this range right so I calculated um a traffic um like traffic flow daily traffic flow assuming a 95 percentile and I came up with a number of 186 which is more than double the number that signature provided which is 83 right so basically my question is you cannot cherry pick the statistics Right Use the average you should also consider the standard deviation and signature should have come up with a range of possibilities with a range of uh truck traffic per day right now uh if you consider 186 right as a as a possible number if you look at uh the number of days right if you if you are operating these 365 days a year that leads to about 70,000 uh trips over the year assuming 250 or 260 days worked you are still in the 48 49,000 range right so that's the kind of traffic we are talking about the second point I'll make is that if you look at the the peak our traffic the peak our traffic that was provided by signature is six in the P cover however if you look at the the numbers on the next page of the plot you will see that the average is .3 per th000 square ft right so based on that if you assume 200,000 Square ft they came up with a value of six but now look at the range range is 0 to14 and look at the standard deviation stand standard deviation is 04 the standard deviation is 133% of the average rate that means based on that when I calculate using the 95th percentile I came up with a potential peak hour truck traffic of about 18 right so I I want uh to you know make sure that you keep these points in mind another point right on the first page page on the plot if you see the two points that are closest to the area of signatures uh proposal look at the top two points right at the right at the top you will see that one of them is about 180 other is about 195 right so so in other words the numbers that I'm uh that I mentioned right are kind of in the ballpark of what we are seeing here right the other thing is uh that the planner who presented about uh two sessions back uh she talked about the fact she talked about the fact that the the current proposed facility exceeds the far limit by about 4.8% now if you look at what is 4.8% that is about 59,000 Square ft now 59,000 squ ft uh using the average of 045 works out to about 6,900 or so if you use the average assuming 250 days of operation if you assume 365 days of operation that comes to close to 9,000 right and keep in mind that they're using the average if I actually use the 95th percentile then I get actually because because of the far increase uh an increase in traffic just because of the far of exceeding the far uh traffic uh movement count of about 20,000 that that is my estimate right the we we need you to wrap up because we're over the time sure okay so so okay to wrap up I I also had done a back of the envelope kind of calculation where I assumed 16 Bas 2 hours to load unload Etc based on that again I came up assuming like if you're running three shifts you come up with a number like around 192 truck uh traffic movements per day right so overall my summary is this right essentially number one this uh should not be approved as it stands first of all the the the far you know should not be exceeded and secondly the number of Bays that are permitted per building should in my opinion not exceed four thank you for your time thank you thank you for please don't please thank you for your comments and uh your attention all year and for identification purposes we're going to march to this P2 uh there's going to we'll address uh uh you know the extent to which these documents may or may not be admissible in evidence with Council okay thank you thank you your name and and U Cindy the the uh you have p uh one got P1 right here yeah okay as do I but the uh keep the extra copies uh okay if the board members can get the extra copies of P1 to Cindy we have to make sure uh documents can be admitted to evidence in the event OB to okay your name and address please my name is p1's okay there was no objection but P P2 is there any objection to P2 no no okay never mind Cindy you can you can uh you got P2 that's fine I've got we're not going to have enough we'll get them thank you your name and address please my name is Utah Newman I live at 10 Mayflower Drive In The Hills do you need me to spell anything please j u TTA and Newman is spelled with a u um Madam chairwoman members of the board your right hand that's okay there's no there's no penalty the uh um the there's only penalty for the board attorney's bad jokes the uh the do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give us the truth the whole truth on nothing but the truth I guess I do thank you please proceed okay Madam chairwoman members of the board uh Mr Werner uh I'm here today to appeal to the board to deny all requested variances by the applicant while I'm not in favor of granting any of the variances I'm most concerned about the tractor trailer traffic the site the size of the buildings and the fact that we have no idea what is coming um under this light manufacturing tenant the applicant is an expert in the field of developing properties if you go to their website there are many different types of buildings shown most are identified as office space as such I believe the applicant is and was fully aware aware of what would and would not work at 150 Allen Road we can assume that since the pandemic 150 Allen Road has generated decreasing revenue for the CL for the applicant and in the last 18 to 24 months zero Revenue I believe the applicant urgently needs to have buildings constructed so that a potential tenant may be found as soon as possible so that the property can begin to generate revenue and they can and the organization can generate cash flow to this end the applicant has requested several variances to be approved so that they may construct two buildings that will hope hope F afford them a greater pool of potential tenants with little or no regard to how the eventual tenants activities will affect the residents living in the Hills generally and more specifically along Allen Road Mount Ary Road Martinsville and the general public instead of planning a building that would suit the site would suit the property lot the applicant would like to construct a much larger project consisting of two buildings increasing the building size by approximately 70,000 square ft a 40% increase almost I've lost my place um we have no idea what's being planned for the site other than light manufacturing I'm concerned about the potential tenants and the type of light manufacturing to be performed and possibly the pollutants resulting from their activities and the pollutants drifting up into the hills and fellowship Fellowship Village and the Greater Community with regard to the Tractor ta trailers the applicant estimates 7,000 a year residents have estimated approximately 10,000 to 15,000 possibly more I can understand the applicant's desire to low ball the number but I believe we should be very cautious and Vigilant is it really part of our master plan to have upwards of 10 to 15,000 tractor trailers barreling down our roads possibly at all hours of the night while the applicant has limited the outgoing tractor trailer traffic to between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. I don't remember hearing anything about the incoming traffic there is a very real possibility that the residents of the hills could be negatively impacted by the tractor trailers exiting Route 287 and coming up over the hills via Allen Road and entering 150 Allen Road Site by taking a right turn this would potentially open up the residents of the of the hills to tractor trailer noise and pollution at all hours of the day and night and I don't believe there are any constraints on the incoming traffic I believe the quest the requests are too ambitious and mainly serve the client the project is not an asset to the community its residents and again I'm urging a denial of all the variances thank you thank you for your time than you for your comment thank you next name and address for the record please hi Kieran Naru 37 Sentinel Drive please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth of nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed um thank you uh I'm opposed to this project however I don't have any detailed facts to present in my commentary I am uh testifying in my capacity as a generic citizen uh and as a citizen I have voice I have a voice and I have eyes and ears and I I thank you for allowing all of us to share our voices with you today um to paraphrase George Orwell signature Acquisitions they want us to reject the evidence of our eyes and ears but our citizens are not people that can be swayed by double think to me it's intuitively obvious to the most casual of observers that this project is just wrong for our town so what does the evidence of my eyes and my ears tell me when I look around the hills where where we live as well as in town in general I see a residential area filled with children walking to and from school I see trees strollers bicycles tricycles I see ebikes scooters skateboards and cars I see families playing and socializing I see neighborhoods local businesses and restaurants I hear nothing other than Birds dogs barking kids playing families going about their lives and the occasional airplane I do not see endless rows of massive trucks barreling through our narrow Lanes clogging traffic breaking our roads hurting our Wildlife scaring children and pedestrians just trying to cross a narrow single Lane Street creating huge accidents like the overturned tractor trailer in Burnsville polluting our air with black and acrid smoke I do not hear noisy hydraulic brakes massive engines drowning out nature and choking us with the sounds of Machinery Commerce and Industry sounds which do not belong mere feet from our homes I refuse to reject the evidence of my eyes and ears sorry signature I respectfully implore this planning board to do the same I ask you to dig out from the mountains of paperwork these guys are trying to bury you under I ask you to unburden yourselves from months and months of endless Tex testimony and quote unquote expert W witnesses that they paraded in front of you all of whom whom seem to say yeah there's nothing to see here it's no big deal just a few minor variances please look at this project I ask you with fresh eyes listen with your ears to the sounds that make up this town and make the only decision that can be reached based on what our eyes and ears tell us and that is to completely reject this proposal utterly and in closing our town logo is right behind you let's look at it let's let's admire it it's two oak leaves it's not a truck route sign thank you thank you for your comment next name and address for the record my name is John Matson 2122 Fellowship Road can please raise your right hand Mr Madson do you swear to God or affirm that the town excuse me do you swear to God we affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you I'm coming from a different uh perspective than most of the witnesses tonight uh I spent 30 years on a board of adjustment in Clinton Township in hunon County what uh what astonished me about this is the lack of special reasons that the um applicant is off offering for uh justifying the D variances there are three D variances as I can see it here uh a D1 variance for more than one principal structure on the property uh a D1 variance for more than one principal use on the property and the D4 variance for floor area ratio these variances uh one of the criteria for a a d variance is the applicant has to show special reasons and without a specific tenant of the property they can't show any special reasons they're they're uh there's no reason to override what the township zoning says uh just because somebody wants to uh supersede it so um I think on that uh uh on that basis uh you can't really reach a positive decision on this uh uh variance on this application I'd like also to add on the D4 variance for floor area ratio uh I believe that the floor area ratio has been calculated incorrectly uh they have used the building coverage in in determining their floor area ratio rather than the total floor area and you may know that um the office wing of each building has an upstairs and the downstairs the downstairs is a parking garage and the upstairs is U uh office and U that adds approximately 5% to the floor area ratio that uh uh they project has one other comment I'd like to make on the uh the greatly reduced parking that they are providing compared to the ordinance requirements a variance runs with the land and if the if if a new applicant if a new tenant comes in uh and has more parking than the present uh uh claimed uh requirement is um there's there's no uh uh cure for it if uh if the building is already uh maxed out what we have done in Clinton Township uh almost universally is when an applicant comes in and wants a reduction in uh the parking that is built uh we require him to plot out the necess the required parking uh on his site plan and uh if he feels he doesn't need all of it he doesn't have to blacktop all of it but uh the space is there to build more parking if he should come and have it uh thank you very much thank you for your comment next name and address please yeah my name is Isabel Ortega and I live in 236 Patriot Hill Drive thank you please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed yeah so I oppose of the to the approval of this manufacturing facility and I have been living in Basin Ridge for the last 15 years with my husband and two daughters daughters and I'm going to start my comment with a question uh what is the main reason a family moves to Baskin reach we all know it isn't because they want to be near a manufacturing plant or because they want to live in a city it is because of Basking Rich schools the district and all the families that live here and because it is a family oriented residential area we want to get to know our neighbors make friends live in a quiet safe neighborhood where we can develop personal connections and not worry about excess traffic people from outside the community that we do not know creating too much noise exponentially destroying our streets and polluting this is an area that was developed as a residential area and it should continue to grow and remain as such perhaps with offices and light offices building but not with something as disruptive as a manufacturing facility as one of the neighbors said we were chosen as one of the most the the hottest popular sip coats in America not because we are an industrial city but but because of all that it offers in terms of quality of life to families and senior citizens this proposal would be disrupted to our daily life our commute not to mention the ecological damage to the area that it was already mentioned 31,000 trucks added to the roads is outrageous a manufacturing plant does not belong there thank you thank you for your comment thank you next name and address please pardon me your name and address yes Harvey geard 416 Mount Ary Road Basking Ridge please raise your right hand you swear to God our affirmed testimony about to give us the truth all truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed um I've been I at this point I already have zoning board fatigue after all these meetings and uh I went down uh I reviewed the YouTube videos and the tapes and ventured into the engineering office while the applicant provided um uh his partis an environmental study to my knowledge from what I could see the Township's environmental commission did not testify before the committee and answering the uh any of the Public's questions how however it did submit a letter of a memorandum so down at the engineering office the purpose of I I had I had a chance to review this the purpose of the environmental commission is to protect and ensure that environmental issues are reviewed as an example the memorandum the memorandum raised the issue as bestus and lead in the rubble currently on the property in addition it did not address any of the issues subst brought up regarding pollution of the Dead River flood plane the traffic report submitted by the applicant met with significant resistance by members of the community residing in the Hills as they obviously did not want to see their main thoroughfare uh inundated by tractor trailer traffic and its terrible consequences um the uh the uh applicant's attorney proposed as a remedy to post a no left turn sign at the tractor trailer exit well this will shun all the traffic uh to uh that goes to 287 down Allen Road past Fellowship to manner Road and then on to 287 this creates a situation where these 18 wheelers will exit off as well exit off 287 outter Mount area as well as they make their way to the uh applicants manufacturing plant the applicant's remedy creates a new problem for another neighborhood none of this was in the traffic report rendering it I feel inadequate and not factual to the real events on the ground that were created by the applicants remedy I could not find anything in the written record that treed Travelers would access 287 solely via Mount Area road it's as if Mount AR Road from Allen Road to 287 didn't exist access to 287 is the problem yet everything in the record relates to Route 78 no one seems to have drawn attention to to Route 2 287 as the major north south Interstate between the turnpike Points North such as the DW the GW Bridge New York and the New England states uh tractor Trails can't go through don't think they can go through tunnels they have to take the GW the board of education letter spoke to the significant dangers to school children yet when you look at the record that's retrievable it's not clear about the risks and considerable dangers to be encountered on the route from Allen Road to 287 this problem actually was brought up by members of the community that were in this room the board of education's firm belief that the 18wheeler traffic poses significant danger to school children is demonstrated by what they saw as an obligation to hire an attorney to review the traffic plans and draft a letter to the zoning board I can't remember this ever happening where the Board of Education drafts a letter to a zoning board in the morning and afternoon manery road is a main conduit for school buses parents driving their children to school kids walking on sidewalks crossing the road as well as student drivers going to and from high school V Lake Road in addition many of the streets many streets empty onto mount Road backing up traffic a loaded tractor trailer can take close to a football field to come to complete stop and uh Al allowing this voluminous tractor trailer traffic will not only impede traffic flow but will create a tragedy waiting to happen our Township's engineering department statement also by means of a letter of memorandum not subject to community review or questioning does not even mention the glaring effect on traffic from Allen Road to 287 accordingly our Community was denied the opportunity to question the problem that these tractor trailers pose as they Traverse these residential neighborhoods endangering children as they go to school tying up traffic spewing up diesel fumes noise and of course deflating our property values property values of people living adjacent amount of of Road will crash if traffic if tractor trailers are allowed on it um this inordinate and very excessive tractor trailer traffic will have a profound effect on property values and the nearby neighborhoods I want to reiterate that the effect on school traffic will create a tragedy Reign to happen the safety and health of our community must be a Paramount of Paramount importance to the board of adjustment finally I'm very concerned that this application May portend to Future industrial manufacturing development in this area other property owners may find it or signature itself who owns some of these properties as I understand uh these owners may find it more financially lucrative to turn office space into man manufacturing space further exacerbating pollution traffic dangers and public nuisance the effect on the our Township's character and property values would be devastating I fear also that there may have been a lack of open discussion as these issues and documents presented by the applicant are basically flawed they have been reviewed here in the uh in in this room and presented to the public but the floors are glaring of added alarm is the apparent lack of consideration review given to man rad residential neighborhoods that will be very severely impacted as such I would urge the zoning board to deny the application until these very serious issues can be resolved if indeed they can be resolved thank you thank you thank you for your comment your name and address please I'm Constance pton I live at ten Tamarisk Court here in Basking please raise your right hand do you swear to God to affirm that the testimony about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed my husband Nigel and I have lived in Basking Ridge for over 26 years we raised our children here and we treasure the peace and beauty that epitomize our Town's neighborhoods we've seen Basking Ridge grow a lot but we feel that its essential character has not changed much it is still a beautiful relatively quiet primarily residential Community with family neighborhoods and the lovely Small Town Center that we fell in love with in the spring of 1998 we are also grateful to live in a Township Guided by a strong master plan that prioritizes the preservation of established neighborhood character it is very clear that signature Acquisitions proposal for 150 Allen road is completely inconsistent with the character of our town and antithetical to the standards for land use in the town's master plan we are vly opposed to a site plan that offers no discernable benefit to the township but instead would bring a vast amount of daily heavy truck traffic onto our residential roads forever changing the most important qualities of our neighborhoods Basking Ridge does not have the infrastructure to absorb and support tractor trailer traffic and a manufacturing facility that generates this kind of traffic especially one that exceeds the parameters of the original E2 zoning would be an extraordinarily inappropriate use for that lot sadly the very residents who pay their taxes who take care of their properties and who give Basking Ridge its wonderful reputation would suffer immeasurably please do not give a developer who has no roots in our Township permission to harm the community that we have cultivated and cared for for so many years there are many alarming ways in which signatures plan would be deleterious to our Township from the environmental impact of the construction to the sheer volume of truck traffic the fact that signature has never specified what kind of manufacturing would happen here along with the lack of detail in their plans is very worrying the fact that almost every one of those large trucks would enter and exit and travel just outside the senior residences of Fellowship Village is AB absolutely deplorable and the fact that both Roads connecting the site to Route 287 Allen Road and mount Ary Road are both narrow local roads that wind through residential neighborhoods this is horrifying when you contemplate how many trucks will have to Traverse them to get to and from 287 every day as far as I am aware there has never been a thorough traffic impact study performed for the entire length of Mount Derry Road and Allen Road these are routes that would experience enormous truck traffic from this plan yet nothing but a limited study of the immediate area around the site was provided by the developer this Board needs to know the full impact of this truck traffic let us consider that the developer Zone estimate is 84 truck trips a day in and out of the site at 84 per day with 250 weekdays per year there would be 21,000 truck trips per year and I don't believe there has ever been a hard guarantee that the trucks would not run on the weekends which would further drive up the numbers and cause added misery a comprehensive study needs to consider the effect of noise vibration pollution danger to pedestrians congestion and Road wear and tear caused by heavy truck traffic running up and down these long narrow residential roads without that no manufacturing plans for that lot should be ever be considered I am not a traffic expert I can't provide a traffic impact study but I have lived near Mount Ary Road for 26 years so I can tell you a lot about that road especially the 2 Mile Stretch between Valley Road and Route 287 which comprises most of the truck route between the site and Route 287 at ex exit 26 this stretch of Mount Ary is just two lanes wide one lane in each Direction it is lined with family homes and one church this is not a commercial strip or an industrial Road there are no stores or gas stations or businesses Mount AR is just a residential street just houses every street leading off Mount area is also residential and every street off those roads is residential in fact for a couple of miles on either side of Mount Ary pretty much nothing but homes and families Mount Ary is our neighborhood street it runs down the center of a single neighborhood and is essential to its function health and safety children are need each side of the road go to schools on the other emergency vehicles use it to reach people in need and the traffic on the road is primarily local residents going to school and work to the businesses at Riverwalk or to the highways this local traffic already makes Mount AR a very very busy road especially at rush hour but often all day long anyone who has ever tried to make a left turn onto Mount Ary knows that it can take a long time because we going to need you to wrap it up okay thank you because of this traffic Mount AR is always in some state of disrepair pitted cracked sometimes crumbling it's the Somerset County Road and the county can't keep up with the repairs so Mount AR is constantly being patched up and even temporary repairs often require reducing the traffic to one lane slowing all travel to a crawl the prospect of huge diesel tractor trailers lumbering up uh and down the road every day uh is terrifying the impact would be felt by every resident of family for hundreds of blocks okay we're going to need to cut you off so we'll give you another 10 or 20 seconds if you want to summarize but then otherwise we need to move on I will no can't do this no so please please wrap up signatures plan for 15 Allen Road is glaringly antithetical to the standards and objectives of our master plan the 2019 reexamination of the 2010 master plan provides a list of quote the major problems and objectives relating to Land Development in the municipality these are the critical issues that must be considered when there is any proposed land use project here are the top priorities on the list protecting and enhancing established neighborhood character protecting environmentally fragile lands calming and controlling the growing traffic volumes on area roadways and protecting residential neighborhoods from traffic impacts managing tear down and infill development to protect the character of neighborhoods it could not be clearer that the signature proposal Fair fails miserably to conform to the priorities and objectives of our master plan and therefore it must be rejected thank you for your comment thank you next next your name and address please sir my name is Robert foko I live at 5120 Fellowship Road in Basking Ridge okay he's going to please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is a truth a whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed okay I like um many of the people ahead of me am very concerned about the vast degrading of the quality of life in our beautiful Community if these developers are allowed to build this facility um I too am concerned about the health traffic congestion environmental factors but I'm particularly concerned about the increased noise levels by this large number of trucks every day large trucks generate about 100 DB of noise uh when traveling at high highway speeds it's why we keep the windows up when we're driving on uh on the highways so we don't hear them um at lower speeds uh the noise level drops to about 80 DB which is about the level of a police siren or someone screaming at you shouting at you right in front of your face um the highway noise right now is tolerable to people that are one mile or more away from the highway which is where Fellowship Village is right now you can hear the hum steady hum of of trucks going by uh on 78 and you know when a a particularly heavier one goes by um however at Fellowship Village and indeed along all along Mount Ary Road and Martinsville Road uh there are many many residents they're only about 125 ft away from the roadway so even at the lower noise level uh this would be extremely disturbing cause increased stress uh sleep disruption um and even hearing loss over prolonged periods so we're talking about a lot of noise um Fellowship Village and Basking Ridge are Premier retirement and family communities um therefore I strongly urge the board to reject the variances that have been requested which will bring twice as many trucks um as U the building would build even without the variances so that that's a concern I also have is that the variances are only going to stop maybe two buildings from going up but there's still one building going up with all of the uh the loading docks um so I would urge the commission actually to not only reject the variances but we we need to do everything we can to prevent this developer from developing other properties which apparently he owns right in the area uh which will still bring in trucks big trucks at high levels and um also um just increase the noise level for all of our residents um to I think uh incredible amounts and tolerable amounts so that's my story guys you got you got a job to do thank you thank you for your comment thanks for coming okay your name and address please my name is Linda batz I live at 2127 Fellowship Road Basking Ridge please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is a truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed I moved here about two years ago hoping to establish myself in a caring Community a last move for me that required a great deal of planning and research I knew once I had made my choice there would be no turning back in that process I visited more than 12 communities some in New Town Pennsylvania Lansdale Pennsylvania Princeton New Jersey and several Somerset County locations I wanted a chance to live independently in an environment that would allow me ease in commuting close proximity to shopping and little traffic congestion having safety as a high priority I chose Fellowship Village my friends who made a similar choice in other states stressed to me the importance of mob ility being able to drive and have easy access in and out of the community some places I saw were appealing in many ways but they did not have safe entrances and exits nor ease of commuting to local stores for the first few months Fellowship Village's location met all of my criteria that was before I became aware of the development of light manufacturing on Allen Road I understand the current zoning that is not the issue the issue is that the number of variant exceptions requested is disconcerting what was a safe environment supporting my Independence is now questionable the potential of increased truck traffic on a residential Road such as Allen Road will create a problem there is only one exit from fellowship Allen rad we are a community of 200 taxpayers who chose this location as a final destination we need access to the surrounding Community businesses which support our lives rush hour at the intersection of Allen Road and Martinsville Li Liberty Corner Road is bad enough as is but with a current proposal I believe the ability of our residents and staff to have easy access and egress is in Jeopardy I have lived close to this area since 19 1967 I chose this area because of the quality of life it provides and I know I'm not alone in saying that our financial investment in this community was worth the price I ask that you consider the quality of life your neighbors expect I oppose the variants exceptions and fear that once these are granted other properties on Allen Road will see the precedent set at 150 Allen Road as an open open door to the repurposing of their properties as well thank you for considering my thoughts thank you thank you for your comment next please your name and address please my name is Ela Johnston and I live at 8126 Fellowship Road please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony about to give us the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed thank you you I will be brief because so many of my points have already been made by other residents and we all share the same concern we want to thank you all for the time that you have spent on this proposal it's gone on forever and thank you for your patience and for your commitment to our community my husband and I moved here about a year and a half ago and the quality of life here was one of the deciding factors for us we knew that we could run up to New York City and enjoy all of those attractions and then come back to this idilic peaceful quiet beautiful spot that quality of life is not only worth appreciating but it must be protected and I believe that this proposed Industrial Development is an inflection point once something like like this is established you can't undo that damage you've got the trucks you've got the pollution you've got the environmental degradation it's 100% negative so I respectfully ask that you deny this proposal and help us protect our quality of life and thank you so much thank you for your comments next your name address please hi my name is Wendy while and your address oh it's um basking I mean Fellowship Village 3213 Fellowship Road yes thank you do you swear to God to Refirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes thank you please proceed so I just moved in and one of the reasons I chose this place was of course to be with my kids and my grandkids and the second reason is environmental it's on felia Village it's on a wetland it is absolutely beautiful and I have a huge environmental concern then I hear that they're taking down nearly 700 trees um across the road which is going to mean uh noise pollution light pollution uh the a will be hotter because trees will trees cool the environment you're going to have a loss of oxygen because you won't have the processing from the trees and they won't be absorbing the carbon dioxide so I just ask you like like The Star Ledger said in September trees help to cool and beautify our communities they filter air pollutants and mitigate flooding they capture and store greenhouse gases they provide habitat and shelter to Wildlife they provide resilience all of these benefits which occur naturally are crucial to combating effects of climate change so please be thoughtful thank you thank you for your comment and welcome to the town your name and address please Dan con 18 patri Hill Drive in Baskin Ridge do you swear to God to Refirm the testimony about to give us the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed from the testimony provided by the applicants traffic expert we learned that the physical barrier that the applicant plans to put will only prevent the largest of trucks from making a left turn onto alen to go westbound which cuts through the hills Community and spare the smaller trucks from this restriction we also learned that even with the largest of trucks there are possible alternatives for them to maneuver in order to circumvent such physical barrier to go rest bround on aleno and cut through the hills Community so effectively smaller trusts can make that left turn and the largest of trusts if they really wanted to they can go westbound onto alen row cutting through the hills Community we also learned from the testimonies from superintendent Nick mccuan that the overwhelming vast majority of students are Walkers students of uh Mount prospit are Walkers 461 out of 545 or 85% so let me paint this really real scenario for you as many of us aware that in the Hills Community there are multi-generational households where the grandparents come to live with with their kids and grandkids so that they can be a caregiver to their grandkids while Mom and Dad goes to work imagine a grandma and grandpa walking the 7-year-old granddaughter to school in the morning looking at each other thinking to themselves how fruitful their lives has been and marveling at the granddaughter wondering what the future holds for them knowing that they put all of their hopes and dreams into the grandchild and because trust requires a longer stopping distance and a poor driver visibility so on that faithful Day grandma grandpa living their Golden Years along with the seven-year-old Elementary School grandchild with a whole life ahead of them carrying the hopes and dreams of the generations before them get R down by a truck please do not get it twisted and think that such scenario is improvable oh no it is very very probable with 84 truck trips a day now let me plant an alternative or alternate scenario for you say the trucks made a right onto alen R and went eastbound do you know what is eastbound of that right turn on alen the Fellowship Community an entire community of fine Elder L senior citizens who too are living their golden years after entire lifetime of contribution to our society senior citizens are one of the most vulnerable populations in our community all they want to do is enjoy the remaining of their time in this world with some laughter joy peace and quiet and maybe occasionally have a young man such as myself to talk to and in part their wisdom on the traffic noise pollution air pollution that 84 truck trips a day alone can be unbearable for many senior citizens and that is aside from the Hazardous conditions caused by 72 ft long 40 ton trucks going down the local Road contrary to the claims of the applicant the proposed project absolutely brings zero benefit to the township nor the resident the applicant's claims are a tax revenue how much tax revenue will the toship lose from the falling property value of the neighboring homes due to this project I reckon that the net total revenue will likely be in the negative red the applicant may claim number two jobs let's be honest how many Bernard Township resident will this project employ okay claim number three maintenance and appearance of an otherwise unused land let's be honest here I think a light manufacturing facility with numerous variances variances that was put in in place for a reason with 12 loing docks 84 truck trips in and out a day ain't all that much better looking looking than a vacant lot so please tell me what benefit what benefit does this project bring to this town nada zilch nothing goose egg so please tell me what benefit does this project bring to This Town members of the board and residents of the community with the applicant what the applican is proposing here is unacceptable it is all gain for them and all pain for the community and the township and as the fellowship plan is stated this project goes against the master plan state objective ensuring any development to be the benefit of the township lastly I want to point out that I want to point out to you look around this room and count to yourself how many supporters of this project versus people who opposes the project project who objects to the project thank you thank you for your comment thank you next please everyone please please hi my name is monen I live at uh 58 car Road Basking rage I'm I'm sorry can you spell your name please m m e n g t q i a m please raise your right hand do you swear to God our affirm testimony about to give us the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes I do thank you very much please proceed yeah I have prepared uh two piece of paper to support my comments and made multiple copies uh please let me know if I need to disput it do you want to give a copy um behind you please sure do you want to tell us what it is no OB no objection no it's just from my it's already it's already in the record like from can we see a copy yeah sure do you want to tell us what it is it's from uh one one is uh it uh P one page from it version 11 the raw data and other one is analysis based on the raw data okay and and Analysis that you did you did yes okay so one is from the record and one is your work yes yes right all right so P3 is that same manufacturing 140 truck trip ends versus 1000t gross floor area that's true yes that's uh p3a and p3b is your analysis truck trip and well same thing but it's graph yes it's a graph it's a linear regression what's that linear L question yes okay I'm sorry I'm having trouble hearing you the the uh okay got it thank you okay go ahead yeah I'm here to express my concerns regarding the proposed development at 150 Isen Road as a resident of Basking Ridge I strongly oppose this development plan for a few reasons uh first the safety headers The increased truck traffic on Aden Road will posst uh substantial safety risk to residance we cannot compromise the safety of our Comm uh community health impact the developer has not disclosed what products they intend to produce or store this read concerns about the potential production storage and leakage of helders chemicals in this region the Environmental and ha RIS risks associated with chemical exposure are deeply troubling and the lack of transparency is not acceptable traffic impact the anticipated truck traffic will need to congestion particularly during the rush hour and when school buses are in operation this were not only a inconvenience rence but also lead to safety risks in a basking rid area economic impact where this facility may increase the Township tax revenue in a short term it will likely reduce the property values in nearby residential areas of setting any Financial gains for the township Additionally the negative impact on local Benes such as the real EST sector could lead to a long-term reduction in tax revenue for the township noise pollution the constant flow of trucks passing through our neighborhood will result in excessive noise pollution disrupting the piece we sherish I would like to specifically comment on on the developers traffic impact evaluation Based on data from it version 11 truck traffic for land classified as manufacturing is indeed lower than that for warehouse use according to the it version 11 a manufacturing facility is defined as a site where raw materials or components are converted into to finish the products however since the developer has not disclosed the nature of the products the plan produce I question whether it is appropriate to classify 150 add Road as a manufacturing site a group of residents with statistical and analytical expertise digitize the data points from it version 11 plot of manufacturing truck trip ends versus 1,000 square fet GFA and fit a linear regression model from for a standard linear regression model without assuming a zero intercept the R square value was 041 and the 95% confidence interval was white when the X values exceeds 200 these results suggest that GFA does not reliably predict the truck trips indicating the actual truck traffic may be much High than the average rate reported by it version 11 the purpose of zoning code is to ensure the development project adhere to standards that protect and en Community Living the multiple variance requests submitted by the developer not only push the limit of these regulations but also threaten the uh Serenity and safety of our area given these issues I strongly urge the zoning board to deline the requested variance for the project at 150 at Road it is necessary that that this development conform to existing zoning laws which are designed to maintain balance and protect the interests of all community members thank you for considering my views on this matter I trust that the board will make a decision that preserves the integrity and safety of our community thank you thank you for your comment thank you next your name and address sir Keith Keith molari 27 Franklin Drive Basking Rich um and please do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed um I'm here speaking as a private resident of burns Township tonight and not as a member of the Board of Education I don't live in the section of town that this facility would be located in but I love this town in this community I've been here 25 years and seen a good amount of development and it's always been smart and well shepherded development which this facility would not be uh the research done by the Board of Education and the testimony given previously by the superintendent is very concerning I'm not an expert but my understanding is that the variances being applied for require the applicant to show that the variants can be granted without cause a substantial detriment to the public good I can't see how it meets that standard I can't see how any sector of the public is served with this variance it seems the case that really any sector of the public you looked at you look at would be damaged by it 30,000 plus truck trips per year the bulk during school hours is a risk to student safety these kids are walking to school they're waiting on bus stops the older ones are driving um many of them not very well because they're just learning there's no Universe where that much additional tractor trailer traffic isn't going to be a safety risk and that's to say nothing of what it will do to the school's busing schedules traffic is getting worse year over-year and this will just exacerbate that um it does hurt the interest of the children now on the other side of the spectrum it hurts the interest of the seniors as well we've heard from the uh expert from fellowship Village several meetings ago and from many residents of Fellowship Village this evening detailing how it's going to negatively impact their quality of life it hurts our our children it hurts our seniors it's going to hurt Our Town Services we saw during the recent uh tanker truck accident on Anderson Anderson Hill Road uh what happens when these track when these types of trucks go through neighborhoods and on roads that were never designed to handle this type of traffic and that exponentially increases the risk that will be incurred and this is going to further strain our police it's going to further strain our fire it's going to further strain our maintenance resources it's going to strain Our Town these roads were not designed for that they're residential communities Revenue we talk a little we talk about tax base is there no other businesses that or offices that we can put in that facility for tax revenue it does not have to be this on balance there's just so many more negatives than positives AS application for our community and I would urge the zoning board to deny it thank you thank you for your comment next please everyone please your name and address please Miss Jean gonalves 16 Minute Man court please raise your right hand do you swear to God to refer the testimony about to give is a truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you and you might want to lower the mic a little bit or get a little closer okay um before I begin I want to tell you a story about alen road that happened to me this morning I decided it was a beautiful day I'm going to walk to Walgreens which I did I got to the corner and press the little button that blinks so that people will stop I took one step down from the curb and this little Nash Rambler came running down the if I had stepped two steps out I would be dead if that was a truck I would absolutely been pulverized so just put that in the back of your head about alen Road um I have no statistics to give you I can't talk to you about trucks or anything else I don't know too much about that but I will say this I have a question for the board um which I would like you to cons really consider um the developer hasn't told us what he's going to manufacture in this quote unquote light manufacturing and I it didn't make S do make sense to me last week we were driving down 287 next to a tractor trailer and I looked up this tractor trailer had to be four to five times the size of our car which is inaccurate not big not small nice size and I looked up and it hit me uh the people who own this project or who are proposing this project have removed a large building from the site and they plan to put up two more large buildings is it possible they're planning to construct a distribution center because we have all these big trucks driving all over 287 um are they planning to use this property for a distribution center like an Amazon distribu distribution center you have to look at that not me I'm just proposing this as a question okay um it's the only thing that makes sense though because they haven't told us what they're going to manufacture we don't know what they're going to do with these two new buildings and there's more property there that they can continue to develop um we were told that conservatively 20,000 trips a year to say nothing what that would do to the to Allen Road which is in bad shape to begin with they also won't tell us what they plan to manufacture yet they give us a proposed number of trailer tractor trips how do they know what trailer tractor trips they're taking they don't know what they're going to transport doesn't make sense you can't approve anything on that maybe you can I don't know enough but what can I what what can I tell you that's in your hands um also what would they be transporting that needs to go possibly 24 hours a day or at least from 6:00 a.m. to 900 p.m. at night we have too many Amazon and UPS trucks driving all over Basking Ridge if you go anywhere in basing Ridge um and it it's I think I'm asking the board to consider before you approve this horrible idea um to just put yourself I don't know if any of you live in the Hills but but to put yourself as a resident of the hills not in Fellowship Village not in a community when I moved here Allen Road was a dirt road I drove up from 287 up to where our development is now and it was dirt There Were Trees on both sides of the road completely forested and in those almost 30 years it's been completely developed but not with building that is going to destroy it and I think if you approve this you will be destroying our community thank you thank you for your comment thank you next your name and address please last name Zhao 53 Sentinel Drive I'm here to hang we we need to swear you in to wait one second for God I write a lot slower than I swear in do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and not not truth the whole truth are nothing but the truth I do I set myself up goe you think you think he'd have that down by now has been a long night it's the Twix please go ahead I'm here to express my profound concerns regarding the proposed development at 150 Island Road which seeks approval for 12 baranes my involvement in numerous hearings has led me to the conclusion that this project driven purely by profit motives will significantly degrade the quality of life in our community the purposed site is alarmingly close to residential areas including Fellowship Village and the hills our homes where families are raised and residents value peace and safety instead of respecting these values the developer intends to turn this area into an industrial Zone introducing heavy truck traffic and Manufacturing operations that are entirely incompatible with our residential neighborhood this development will bring Relentless noise and harmful air pollution and significantly increased risk to pedestrians especially our children who travel along and across Island Road every single day the pl light manufacturing operations allow production of potentially hazardous substances including Eros exposive and explosive chemicals without any oversight the developers presentation lacked transparency they highlighted the challenges of making a left turn when exiting the site deliberately omitting the fact there that there are no restriction on right turns into the site one questioned there response was simply that truck drivers will not do this an unfounded ass assumption furthermore their truck traffic volume analysis is critically flawed only three out of the 19 data points used are similar in size to the proposed manufacturing site a mere 16% one in every six data points while the majority are significantly smaller even if we consider this flawed data a credible analysis must include both the average and the range for comprehensive understanding signature however only provided the average concealing the full scope two professional statisticians myself included by the way if you are not familiar with the term statistician that means we are data analysis experts reanalyze the data and found that the truck volume could be 34% to 58% % higher than what signature claimed that means instead of 82 approximately 110 to 130 truck Per Day signature's presentation was nothing short of dishonest and deceitful clearly intended to downplay the real impact on our community I was appalled to learn that signatures traffic consultant was completely unaware of the Elementary School located on Allen Road furthermore there are hundreds of middle school and high school students who travel along Allen Road and mount Ary Road daily the truck traffic from 150 Allen Road will not only cause significant delays but will also haen the risk of potentially serious accidents despite this clear dangers signature never once mention the impact on our children in the community such glaring ignorance and Omission demonstrate a blatant disregard for the safety and well-being of our residents the constant operation of this facility planned to function 24/7 will eliminate the Tranquility currently enjoyed by the residents of Isen Road such non-stop activity is cleared clear clearly aimed at maximizing profit at the expense of our community's Harmony and well-being the purpose of zoning code is to ensure that the development projects adheres to standards that protects and enhance Community leaving the multiple variance requests submitted by signature not only push the limits of these regulations but also threaten the safety Serenity and athetic of our area given this issues I strongly urge the board to please deny the requested variance for this project at 150 Allen Road it is imperative that signature conforms to existing zoning laws which are designed to maintain the balance and protect the interests of all community members thank you for listening thank you for your comment thank you please everyone next good evening your name and address please and you can move that microphone down so we can hear you my name is Barbara Berlin and I've been coming here for two years listening to this amazing panel and chair lady who gives so much of her time and I I don't want to stop you oh you want me to s profusely complimenting the board as right as as well they should be I can't believe you just do that if you could raise your right hand and and see if I could remember what I'm supposed to say do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank please now as you can clearly see I am one of the elderly who was described as coming to Fellowship Village seeking peace and quiet it now when I say elderly I am 89 my husband is 92 um we're both quite active um intellectually and in other ways but this is a terrible thing that has happened to us because we sought peace and quiet and I taught over 30 years at the pingry school so when pingry moved to Bernardsville I knew where I wanted to live peace and quiet and beauty and that's what we have in our home at Fellowship Village when we picked this house my husband was very very concerned about noise because it's on Fellowship Road and we said to the bre broker this is what we love this is where we would like to move but we're afraid of the noise and she said what I would suggest to you is to come here for two hours and do nothing just stay in the house and see how much noise you have because these homes are built to be quiet and that's what we did and that's how we moved into our home four years ago and we have Beauty we have trees we have peace and quiet so I beg all of you not to take that away from us and not to take that away from all these lovely people who have come from fellowship Village to protect our rights so thank you all for all you do and for listening to us thank you for your comments thank you your name and address please Marcy steel 4123 Fellowship Road ra right hand do you swear to God our affirm testimony about to give us the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please I'm not sure I can can follow Barbara Berlin very easily but let me try I'm currently serving um as the president of the residents and members council at Fellowship Village so on a daily basis I hear all the things that you have heard this evening um the 250 Plus members of The Village are very concerned about this proposal our residents are active members of the larger Community participating in local Faith communities volunteering in food pantries and of course shopping in area businesses the concerns that they express are very similar to the ones you've heard this evening but let me highlight a couple of them the noise and pollution from the trucks particularly affects those who depend upon oxygen tanks to breathe the extra pollution will make it very difficult for them to continue to live at Fellowship Village the safety concerns for the staff and residents attempting to leave making a left-hand turn coming out of Fellowship Village is increasingly difficult particularly at periods of the day when the traffic and school buses are going by but most importantly the fear that our home will become less attractive to potential residents diminishing the value and the viability of our way of life we have come here to live in Fellowship Village for the rest of of our lives our choice was made deliberately based on what what we learned of the quality of life here in the Bernardsville area that quality of life will we believe disappear with the imposition of this huge Manu light manufacturing or manufacturing facility on Allen Road and the potential of even more such facilities in the remaining properties owned by signature Acquisitions on Allen Road I don't this has been a long evening for all of you I want to thank you for your service to the community for all the hours that you have listened to us express our concerns we strongly oppose this we hope that you will take our concerns into consideration thank you for your service you thank you for your comment thank you next yes okay sorry you'll be up next we're going to take a 5 minute break we're going to keep it right to 5 minutes so that we can get through the rest of the comment so 5 minute break e e e e e e e e e e e okay we are back uh we are officially back in session we'll ask all the members of the public to please quiet down and take take your seats so that we can continue I think miss kefer all the members of the board are back uh are back up here right okay we're good okay your name and address please hi my name is Sue cachera I live at 40 Lafayette Lane Basking Ridge I've been a resident since 19 on one second he's gonna oh I'm sorry that's okay do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is a truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes thank you please proceed sure I've been a resident since 1986 and I have seen quite a bit of change throughout the town um I grew up in pamis New Jersey and I lived probably a street away from Route 17 and I used to go to sleep at night listening to those tractor trailers Rumble down Route 17 and I'll be honest um Lafayette Lane is an offshoot directly of Mount Ary Road and I would prefer not to be listening to it now when you see the traffic during especially during rush hour along Mount Ary you realize that it's bumper to bumper most of the time and that would mean that those tractor trailer trucks would also be idling along with all the other cars between the noise and the exhaust pollution I think it would be very detrimental to the residents on either side of Mount Ary Road um they are homes and if you go in the other direction you have the commercial part which there's M much traffic going into River Riverwalk and on now on the left side Dunkin Donuts plus the three maybe four lights now before you get to Route 78 um I think adding tractor trailers into that mix would be very detrimental to everybody who lives in this area uh also Mount Ary road is a thoroughfare it's like a cut through if there's an accident on Route 287 or Route 78 and which furthers the traffic um I also would like somebody to look into what the accidents are on Valley Road the intersection between Valley and mount ay my understanding is and I know through the years there have been very extreme accidents at that corner my final point would be please check for the safety of our children I drove my children to Liberty Corner School for many years and my kids waited at the corner of Mount Ary and Lafayette for the William Annon bus and the ridge bus many many weeks in the dark because of the time that the school started I never felt comfortable leaving a group of girls on the corner of Mount ay to wait so I would wait until they got picked up add the snow into the mix um the corner did not get plowed out and they're waiting in the street to add tractor trailers coming down the road I think would be a great disservice to the community I appreciate your time and I hope you do not approve these resolutions thank you thank you thank you for your comment next sir my name is Alex Marcus from 16 Lafayette Lane Sue's neighbor hang on we'll swear you in please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes thank you please proce I realize much of what I will say uh will reiterate what other people have said but I think I need to add my voice to the chorus I think the um the traffic issue with this project of course is the big trucks um and their adverse effect on the neighborhood 89 a day or with their accommodation 83 a day that's still 30,000 trucks trucks a year or if it's only weekdays that's only 20,000 trucks more a year but that's 20,000 additional 18 wheelers um and as the traffic engineer a couple months ago pointed out uh many of these trucks will be um barreling up and down Mount Ary Road um between Allen Road two and from 287 um and so the number one problem is the increased truck traffic and um as the urban planner pointed out on July 11th they'll have a lot of negative effects these trucks the noise the vibrations the pollution and they'll be going over Wetlands uh in addition to the Allen Road Bridge um there is a bridge on Mount Ary over Wetlands with its own potential adverse effects not to mention what it would cost to fix that bridge if it became compromised uh given that it cost in today's regulatory environment several hundred thousands dollars to replace a small pedestrian bridge uh over the same Brook at the end of Lafayette Lane I can only imagine what it would cost our town or our County to replace one of the mount ay Bridges not to mention the inconvenience um as the urban planner on July 11th pointed out um these trucks would be within 100 feet or so of a residence in Fellowship Village and that's an important fact uh but these trucks will be within 100 ft because they'll go right in front of the front Lawns of hundreds of residences uh on and near Mount Ary Road between Allen Road and 287 um but I think the most important issue here is with the thousands of the trucks is safety as a lot of people have pointed out um especially at pedestrian Crossing points um such as The Pedestrian crosswalk by Lafayette Lane uh which is used when kids go to school when kids walk to the pool when kids walk to the Little League complex when the High School cross country team runs across it when people cross to houses of worship when adults cross to exercise or walk their dogs and in particular uh to go across to the pedestrian bridge that our town just spent a lot of money um revamping but most importantly I think if there's one accident when someone is hurt and a truck is involved we as a community are just not going to be very happy with that so let's not forget the the few Mile Stretch all these trucks are going down will be barreling barreling down is is a really just a two-lane Suburban Road and in addition trucks can adversely affect the quality of the roads as I'm sure many of you have seen the stretch of Mount Ary from Allen to lions and Beyond is already a mess even with the recent uh changes by the uh County that adversely affects quality of life appearance of our community wear and tear and repair expenses on all our cars and most importantly safety unsafe roads might lead to accidents this project can adversely affect not only the quality of life in our area but most importantly safety I urge you please reject it thank you for your comments sir next your name and address please sir my name is Bret Jenkins and I live at 815 Fellowship Road please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm the testimony you're about to give as truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes thank you please proceed I was going to talk about the uh 600 trees the 30-year-old trees that are going to be removed from the property but Bob mcclocklin spoke very eloquently about that so I don't think I need to repeat that but I am concerned about exiting Fellowship Village on uh Allen Road our village has has provided us with a very beautiful stop sign that has red blinking blinking lights on it to remind us to stop but we have to stop uh quite a ways out on Allen Road in order to see up and down the road and the cars and trucks along there move quite quickly so we have to wait until we can almost not see any cars coming before we pull out if any members of the uh board here haven't uh been to Fellowship you you may want to make a trip over there so you can see what I'm talking about but now to add 80 tricks uh trucks to that mix it's going to make it even more difficult for us to pull out the applicant has requested a building with 244,000 square fet which is 65% more than the uh zoning ordinance allows if you if they were to build a building uh the size of of what is allowed it would probably reduce the uh truck traffic by down to maybe 25 or 30 trucks so I respectfully ask you to uh turn down this application thank you thank you for your comment sir next hi everyone uh mahes wuru M ah last name v a r a v o o r u 137 Woodman Lane 137 Woodman Lane uh your right hand do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is a truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed thanks everyone for giving me the opportunity um lot of my neighbors have already uh you know talked about different points I have two diff uh uh concerns which I want to bring up one is uh regarding safety and the other is financial implications um we all know death and taxes are inevitable but we have the power to mitigate the risks in 2022 uh based on the National Highway Traffic Safety there were 5,936 fat fatalities be because of large trucks and with 16,5 19 towns across US based on the US Census Bureau this translates to an average of approximately one death every 3 years per town and that's today right and given the increased presence of trucks this will like likely to increase it could double triple um and we all value Life As Americans and that should be our priority and the financial implications uh I want to bring a unique perspective to the loss of productivity you know we talked about traffic and everything with a conservative number of one minute delay per day per household because of the trucks it's 365 minutes a year which translates to uh with 10,312 households based on some statistics I found online they amounts to a loss of $7 million based on 215,000 average annual salary of this community $7 million per year 10 years 70 million right and and not to talk about I mean and for the kids the loss of productivity cannot be you know you cannot value that right they are going to schools uh they are stuck in traffic or delayed because of the large trucks and the loss of productivity you cannot even put a number to that and and the and and the community impact our town is special because of its people the high quality of our schools reflects the community commitment of parents who prioritize education many of us have invested heavily in this area not to see it transformed into a trucking Corridor and I want to ask the owners of the uh proposed development would would they like to live in this community five years from down the road with this kind of truck traffic I'm sure they wouldn't and to summarize this approving this project would would turn our town into a commercial Zone with compromise safety and declining property value and I urge the decision makers not to approve this proposed uh development thank you thank you for your comments sir next name and address please yes Carol English I live at 3601 Valley Road Liberty Corner please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes it is thank you please proceed so my name is Carol English and I'm a resident obviously of burnner Township I'm also an owner of English farm and we own property at 3625 Valley Road and we own property at 200 Allen Road so we're neighboring to the um applicant here um we own 59 Acres of wooded land there so there was a discussion last time I think about the roal nature of Bernard's Township and I think that's come up a little bit today in discussing the master plan and I think a lot of the characteristics that we are enjoying here are because we've tried to follow the master plan and the ordinance that have come out of that um and so and also in terms of what the rural nature is we have within probably a several mile radius of the Allen Road area we have five um Farms four commercial farms and four our multi-generational owning owners Farms so there are farms that have been around for quite a while and it's helped retain sort of that characteristic that we so love in this town um so I've been asked by my my generation of owners on the farm to read a letter to you and I have the letter and and I understand from previous discussion I will just read it verb I'll read word for word and then I can give you a copy I'm sorry who's who's the letter the letter is from the five owners of English farm not sure we can do it's it's are you one of the owners I'm one of the owners you could read the letter uh as your own personal testimony on your beh I have no objection if you want to read the letter on your behalf just on behalf of the others yes okay on your behalf yes because they couldnot be here they do not um necessarily live in this as long as it's on your behalf yes it's on my behalf so our family has owned property on Allen Road and has been continuously farming in Liberty Corners since the 1700s we recognize that housing and small business development in bernus Township is necessary good for the economy and good for the well-being of residents and our neighbors it is welcome accordingly the township has a appropriately established zoning criteria that Foster growth support a healthy vision for our community and have Community Support English farm opposes the variance proposed for this property the proposed variances dramatically alter the use and therefore create significant impacts on the property and surrounding Community with its proximity to Interstate 78 in 287 there is a business case for bringing a logistics Hub to Bernard's Township but the requested variances are a wolf and sheep's clothing to open the door for such a business plan the proposal to allow variances for 15 Allen Road is not acceptable this is a betrayal of the AG agreed zoning criteria the requested variances will impact the livability of our community in several ways the oversized buildings and reduced number of parking spaces violates the intent of the original zoning commitment to Foster business activity compatible with our community the relaxation of current zoning requirements changes the nature of the land use from manufacturing to Logistics which introduces a major shift in the livability of our neighborhood there will be a transition away from passenger vehicles and service trucks to Long Haul trucks on a road that primarily serves local businesses and residential communities True Manufacturing and small businesses that are now established on Allen Road comply with the vision for the current zoning plan approving variances for 150 Allen Road opens an opportunity for similar changes on these properties additionally the destruction of mature trees with an inadequate replacement plan is counter to our commitment for an ecologically sound landscape with green space and an aspiration however small to reduce greenhouse gas as written in the current Zone restriction we who live here and pay taxes to support our local government have a covenant with you for the way we use our properties and our shared Community Resources this is memorialized in the current zoning plan for burners Township granting variances here places you on a slippery slope for property use on all Road furthermore changing from the agreed upon zoning requirements will break your trust with us in conclusion do not stray from our established community plan do not approve the requested variances for 150 Allen Road thank you for your comment should I give a copy do you have any objection councel to a copy of what you just read for btim as I understand it um I is it signed by the other members what is can I yes May thank you so I I would object to it it's in the record and it's been read but this in its current form is signed by people that aren't here to testify we can't have expart communications without the people here in order to be cross-examined if it violates a due process Clauses but we heard your commented com uh Constitution but it's on the record and we'll get a transcript and it is the five members of my generation again it's it's the testimony has to be taken as on your ma'am the testimony will be taken as being on your personal behalf thank you thanks next yes yes it's green okay thank you well right to the mic it it might be a blessing in disguise for them but I'll I'll bring it closer your name and address please Chan PRI Baga three Rosemont courot pleas pleas please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you thanks for the opportunity to talk to you about our concerns I oppose the requested variances uh I'm not here to repeat all what my colleagues my neighbors have talked about I want to give you my unique perspective uh I'm a biomedical engineer and an entrepreneur for the last 18 years I have owned small manufacturing perhaps like the manufacturing signature may want to present that they want to have in this town and uh so with that in mind I went into my experiences in all my career over the last 30 35 years I looked at all the facilities have been small or big to see how how what kind of loading docks we had and I couldn't recollect a single location where they had 24 18 wheeler space for 24 18 wheelers I know that it got reduced to 16 but even then I can't recollect any place which had four you know like place for four loading dogs for like 418 wheelers so that concerned me and obviously related to that is the amount of traffic generated I came here every time there was a conversation regarding traffic I was present for the testimonies so I actually had a conversation with the traffic engineer and uh and I asked him that while he presented his data did he consider the number of loading docks in his study and the answer was no it was not studied and I asked him in his professional opinion is that correct and he smirked and his answer was well that's what the regulation says so I'm able to get away with it it's on the record so to me yeah he could get away with with the regulations but at the end of the day it is your your position to whether to Grant the variances or not and to me I think that testimony was and have you you have heard plenty of comments here of people who have expertise in statistics and whatnot who have said that that they don't even agree with the the traffic calculations which are presented and there are lot of testimonies here where people are concerned with even what was presented so my two sents were that in my entire professional career as a light manufacturer I have never seen somebody have 18 16 18 weer loading docks in a facility that small and that concerns me and I think that that raises a point on what kind of manufacturing could be done over here with that in mind I actually drove around this area and at least to my to my knowledge I was not able to find a single light manufacturing place which had 16 space for 16 18 wheelers I could not find any the only place which I got close to was I had to drive all the way to whiy in whippy I found a place there was a company called stas which had I think probably eight loading like Bays for like 18 wheelers and and I just like spent like like I heard somebody talk about stand here for a couple of hours and see what kind of traffic you see I stood there for 15 minutes and I was horrified by the kind of traffic generated by those 18 wheelers so I wanted to share my two sense with you and I hope you guys consider as you make your decision thanks for your consideration thank you thank you for your comment thank you next your name and address please Debbie Marcus 16 Lafayette lean please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes I also have a very simple three-line map can I pass that out just show applicants council at the bottom and if you want I have extra copies hang okay it's just showing I just uh Mr Warner when um there was discussions before the hearing about admitting or not admitting new evidence right and um I'm not sure in your position if you feel that would apply to all everyone or just members of the discussion that they think that you're referring to is Council on summations will not be introducing new evidence um but members of the public are introducing testimonial evidence obviously and they're entitled to introduce appropriate uh documentary evidence so uh it's just clarifying really what everyone has been saying I have no objection okay it's if I can get a you have a few copies thank do you need one you have so and it's a Google map it's very simplistic I I'm I'll explain it first and then I'll make my comments on it yeah I'm not going to take your five minutes the clock hasn't even started yet it's Google Map uh of the area and I guess you hand wrote 287 and 78 on y it's and it's highlighted for a certain route from 287 to 78 correct that's Mount Ary I'm sorry that's Mount Ary road so I just the dark line is Mount ay road that connects 78 to 287 and then where there's um a little star by the G and GSK is about approximately where the the property is we're discussing tonight and then the circle around Tom K Tree Experts is the intersection that I'm going to talk about okay no that's fine and I think we're up to P4 it's going to MERS and just for everyone else here there's Mount Ary there's 287 that comes around here and the hills is over here from the way I'm showing it and then 78 is here it's like a triangle all right proceed okay thank you um a lot of people have spoken about access um from the Allen Road side um in the hills and I agree with everything that's been said about that um but we haven't really uh talked about what happens if they don't turn turn left into the hills when they turn right onto mounty onto Allen they'll hit that intersection where it says Tom K Tree on the map at in the best hope they would turn right there so there's just going through a business district and they would go to 78 no one seems to has mentioned that there's three lights stop lights there um that cannot be synced to be in tune for greens for cars and a bunch of trucks at the same time within a half mile distance there will be such a backup of traffic that will um continue further up Mount Arie Road and as many people have mentioned Mount Ary road is a main artery in our town to get across it and to all the schools and things like that so I think the fact that the traffic with the traffic lights within that one half just a half a mile between Allen Road and 78 um needs to be addressed before anyone should consider putting more trucks in that area at all I can't imagine the businesses want to prevent uh consumers from being able to access their driveways and um use their facilities either now the other option that we're thinking a lot of trucks might do which has been mentioned is that instead of turning right and going through all the stop lights they're going to turn left at Tom Tre and go north on Mount Ary road if they do that um then they really are filling up Mount Ary with a bunch of uh trucks that will slow down residents ability to get to work and really affect the students getting to school in addition to the Allen Road buses all of those buses that are go to whams or Ridge have to get across Allen Road and if they're waiting waiting for more and more trucks to get through the lights that will just delay it even further um M are and the rest of Allen Road um uh yes um are already getting um dealing with some traffic issues um often they are full of potholes as people have sgg have mentioned already they did recently uh repave Mount Ary road but we can't be assured that that's going to happen on a regular enough basis and also whenever they do that of course that causes more traffic the town also paid many thousands of dollars to install a pedestrian bridge that many residents use daily for on Lafayette Lane for biking walking and jogging across Mount Arie towards an elementary school in One Direction and towards the town pool and our meain park and baseball fields in the other direction they also recently installed literally just installed a crosswalk on Mount Ary without a light this is a road that's 45 M an hour and most of it I'm glad there's a way to cross there I need to cross there often um but if if we're going to add more traffic to it it's already a little bit of a game of Frogger to kind of get across that road even with the crosswalk and with major signs the town has done a good job putting up a speed thing and everything but it's just the nature of this kind of Road um we we can't really afford to have more trucks coming on a place that a lot of pedestrians and kids and bicyclers and new drivers whatever are are using um uh let's see um the street smart New Jersey it's a state thing that um has a goal um ideally I guess everyone would want zero pedestrian deaths um apparently there are almost 200 unnecessarily ones um already in their last measured rate of two 2022 um this seems like it would not help that number um for the state and also of course in general um we don't even want one pedestrian death this project does not belong in our town if for some reason legally you're forced to let it move forward I request that the town find a way to limit the truck route not just I me in addition to not going West on Allen um to keep it from only accessing 78 by turning right at that light at Tom to go south on Mount Arie even though it's still going to screw up all the traffic by Starbucks and Riverwalk um at least that's sort of a business area um and that will um otherwise if it turns North and goes there's two miles of that residential area people have talked about on Mount Ary to get from the tomat Tre Allen Road intersection nor to the 287 access um it's it's really going to degrade the area significantly and as some have mentioned there's so much noise and exhaust from trucks uh just unfortunately as a lay person I don't have a way to measure that but even there was like one truck going by the other day and and we were commenting like how this really you know Annoying it was and I can't imagine dealing with that almost seemingly non-stop so please try to stop this project or if if that's not possible keep the trucks off Mount Ary Road North and Allen Road West literally The only positive thing I see from this project is that it has United our community against it so I thank you on the board and all of you go backing Ridge thank you thank you for your comment next hi my hi my name is Sanjay s n j a y Berry b r y I'm a resident of two queen Berry Way Basking Ridge New Jersey and please raise your right hand I'm waiting for you there so okay I'm so sorry that's fine we are we are both here now the uh I'm going to eat a little more can to get some more energy uh do you swear to God or airm that the testimony you're about to give us the truth the whole truth or nothing but the truth I do thank you thank you so the chair lady and the board thank you for your time honestly it's a lot of volunteer work you're doing so really appreciate you doing this for our community it has been a long night so I'll not try to take my I'll try to take much less than my allocated uh 5 minutes I and my wife and my family have been residents of the hills for the last 20 years our property backs up to Allen Road and the thought of trailer trucks on this road while kids played in my backyard just sounds very very frightening everybody here has talked questions on the quality of life traffic tax noise pollution safety property value so I'll not delve deeper into this I would like to to raise a question and concerns on why why 150 Allen Road was ever classified as a light manufacturing facility the Hils fully to my understanding I've been here only 20 years was fully the full development I think was started in the '95 OR 99 time period before that it was partly developed why was this light manufacturing classification not taken away then whose responsibility is that the planning board or elected Township committee or somebody else if it is their responsibility why we the residents of the hills and Basking Ridge have to suffer their lack of doing their Duty properly this is something which I would like whoever it is to reflect on that that we should not be bearing the responsibility of this with the change in our quality of life because somebody did not do their job 30 years back or during these 30 years the other towns have looked at other options as buying the property or classifying this as residential so that you can make a residential area have those options looked at if not I would highly appreciate if if the township and the planning board can look at those things in my opinion the best option would be to deny the variances because we have gone through all the Logics but that I leave to your expertise so thank you for your time thank you again for volunteering sir for your comment appreciate it next your name and address please Suzanne vanloon I live at 11 Northbrook Avenue in Basking Ridge um okay hang on one second he's going to swear you in okay okay please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes I do thank you please proceed yeah I agree with all of the comments made in opposition to this application I agree there is a real danger imposed on residents especially the school children and residents of Fellowship Village from a personal Viewpoint I I live not in that area but closer to what they call The Old Town near where the library is and some of the churches uh however I have friends at fisha Village by the way I don't think I said I've I moved here in 1977 so I've lived in my single family home for 47 years and of course I love the town I grew my children grew up here I visit friends at Fellowship Village many used to live in town and moved to Fellowship Village because it's such a wonderful place to live um I also go to restaurants at Riverwalk and I'm wondering um the danger that even from my viewpoint if these trucks are all over uh M um Martinville Road and mount Ary Road I could see I would get to a point where I would say oh I can't go to that area of town anymore it's too crazy it's too busy it's already very busy and as I say I I go to felich V Village on a regular basis so I would ask you to please consider um that many residents will be affected and um I hope that you can find a way to deny it thank you thank you for your comment next your name and address please I'm Laura krinick and my address is 1209 Fellowship Road and I am the youngest resident at Fellowship Village um and I've been saying that for four years but I think he's gonna I'm GNA I'm going to try can you raise your right hand please do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes I do thank you okay and I'm opposed to the to the signature variances because um I'm really afraid of the left turn from Fellowship Road onto Allen Road and and with the trucks coming I'd be afraid of the making the right turn too um and I have two younger brothers and then I have five nieces and a nephew and they don't know where they're going to work yet but they know where they want to retire so I hope that Fellowship Village is safe without those trucks for at least another 60 years thank you thank you for your comment thank you thank you next good evening everyone uh my name is Rajesh madabushi I'm a resident of 78 uh carile Road in Basking Ridge okay he's going to S please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth or nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed um so when back in 2011 um I'd been looking for homes for almost four years along the 78 Corridor and the 95 Corridor the moment I came in June of 2011 past that stop sign I told my wife I'm going to stay here and by the way my realtor is sitting here in this room um and she apparently also lives in the same community so so look I ever since this case is basically started I've been looking around in other areas and look I don't agree with the proposal that signature is making this is not the place to actually build a warehouse Route 22 would be a more appropriate location or you go to a place like Piscataway that would be a more appropriate location for a warehouse or go all the way to mro but this community is not the right Community by the way um I'm looking at uh an article that was published in tapen to Jan 26th signature has officially withdrawn its application for a warehouse on Route 2 2 after the Bridgewater zoning board approved its withdrawal request so my question is if the approval is not given on Route 22 what makes it appropriate to give this approval here in this town okay so that's Point number one let me make the second point the data that is been presented all through is garbage absolutely garbage whether you take this 140 that is the basis for this analysis you go to any statistics 101 class they're going to throw this out okay I'll just walk you through a few things you look at the mean first of all it's about 045 standard deviation is 34 comes to about 75% okay I'm going to use my best friend these days which is um chat GPD by the way gives me better answers than what human beings do um so look in a manufacturing environment where Precision is Paramount a coefficient of variation that is the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean by the way I'm a qualified engineer a data analyst a business major so I know what I'm talking so a CV below 0.1 may be deemed acceptable whereas in a financial modeling or risk analysis a CV exceeding .3 could be considered high risk CV of 75 is absolutely not acceptable okay that's number one second piece um which means the other thing is my cousin is a PhD in transportation engineering I showed him this data I said well I'm sorry no no hold on hold on let me finish sir sir this you may have heard me say the word quasi judicial but there are rules laws and regulations that regulate how this board can conduct a fair hearing fair enough constitutional Provisions I appre fair enough fair enough okay and one of those rules is you cannot bring in hearsay evidence you cannot no I'm not I'm just s I'm not this is not counting for your five minutes but you yeah yeah okay fair enough the the the uh you can't bring that in uh from some what someone else said or reviewed no matter who Fair they're not here they can't be cross and that wouldn't be fair that' be like having absolutely understood and not allow UND understood questions understood okay by the way start the clock back up again fair enough we go to the next one okay the it data is not binding data it's just an agency that apparently collects data so I don't know where all these points have been collected from and I don't know whether it's even applicable to the setting that's number one the second piece I do want to highlight and that goes back to the fact that instead of the land use code of 140 that they've used here um 130 which is an industrial park code Bo that would have given you a mean of about .57 which is about 30% higher than the number that they're using so obviously the reason I'm bringing up all these points is that the trips that they're estimating based on the analysis that's been presented is essentially questionable okay so that basically is a set of points related to that the second piece I want to kind of highlight is look the this is a very rustic community a lot of people are longers here they're here for a reason they prefer the Solitude the uh the ambience and people don't move out of this community look uh back in um about a couple of months ago Basking Ridge um was the one of the hottest real estate markets in the country this was an article in NBC you guys can Google and and and and and and find out the article and here it basically says that people have set sights on this community because of the ambience and we obviously want to ensure that we don't disturb this place okay um there is no risk I'm not going to get into it Allen Road is not a clean road goes UPS go has its own ups and downs and you have trucks going that's going to pose a risk there's a few years ago there was an accident on Liberty Ridge and Allen some person one individual literally died okay so I just want to kind of make sure you factor in and lastly everybody is B basically brought in the point around property values I've worked on Wall Street for 20 years I think in numbers I'm going to throw out a number at you there's about 1,800 homes in the Hills I'm not factoring in homes outside of Hills take an average property price right now of about 7 to 800 you're looking about a total property value there of about 1.3 to 1.4 billion a 10% erosion in that okay and by the way Hills is a premium compared to every other part of the town here in this part of the state a 10% erosion in that 1.4 billion is about $140 million in loss of value for all of us okay I want all of that to be factored in as this committee is actually going to evaluate this thank you thank you for your comment thank you next city Miss kefir yes Miss keeper we're gonna um stop it after these two online okay address please sir my name is other people who want to have a comment will have another option for you but for tonight my name is take a pause my name is Gan swam nadan I'm from 76 doest drive please raise your right hand you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth all truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed please last name Swami Nathan s w a m i n a t h a n first name guhan g u h n so I'm not a transportation engineer I'm not a math guy but I just want to make certain points so first I want to say you know everyone here I mean everyone said like I mean we are in this town for a reason and I have lived in places I mean for about 10 years in Saga sagas is a good place that they should consider for warehouse I mean we lived among trucks and you know I know what it is but then we were just like single or like newly married we were working in the city so it all worked out but that is there is a reason why we moved here like a few years ago and that is a reason why we chose the place where that we choose because it's for the environment it's where I could see my kids growing up so I think apart from the Allen Road everyone talked lot lot of things about all now I'm more about what Debbie Marcus was saying about you know the right turn and how many lights we have before we reach 78 and what happens to people who go to uh Target or you know who has to cross to go to Bridgewater for whatever reason they go I mean I go like three or four times a week during the during the day I mean during my lunch break I got to go grab something in Costco everyone uses that road to reach wherever they got to reach so we had to consider as it's a truck and then what that speed limit is 45 people get Restless even if I'm slow for some reason there's already I could see road range there what happens when we have trucks there how much time does a truck take reach 45 miles per hour to cross those three lights we have to please consider this I mean this is this is going to be danger people are going to get frustrated there's going to be more and more uh you know road rage incidents definitely is going to happen with seeing so many trucks because I have lived in with trucks among trucks in SE caucus and the next thing is even if they take a left turn and then you that's two lights okay have anyone anyone tried from Canterbury to take a left to go to YMCA I do most of the days to go to YMCA we should see how hard it is to make that left turn even with no trucks present with 45 speed limit taking that left turn is such a hard thing to do now imagine if there's a truck there and how fast could they stop if they see a car making a left and what a stopping distance no math this is just layman terms I mean how long ises it going to take so please take all of these things in consideration and uh other thing is also about all the people walking in the Isen Road I mean there's so many people taking walks what happens to them okay it's not it's not an ad what happens if it's a box truck they started they start trying to use the box truck what happens I asked a traffic engineer uh when he was here about the same um you know traffic study in um in Mount Ary Road uh he said oh I have this turn but nothing for going up to 78 and then the same thing about going to 287 up North so you know we have to consider all of these things uh before you know you get it approved but I I strongly suggest you decline this um um I mean their request thank you thank you for your comment thank you next your name and address please sir uh good evening Adam subury five Linberg Lane good evening ladies and gentlemen he's gonna he's going to swear you in do you swear to God I refer the testimony about to give is a truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed ladies and gentlemen I come here uh as a father to four Sons as a husband attorney a veteran and a loyal public servant and proud resident of Bernard's Township for over 10 years I have to say how impressed I am by the citizenry of our town uh many who have come and who we've heard from here today this is just an amazing uh like conglomerate of people teachers doctors Engineers we've heard from physicists crossing guards retirees teachers and concerned citizens of all ages when I first moved to our town uh I remember shopping for houses my wife a career educator was a teacher in Bedminster and we were in search of a a community with Stellar schools safe and friendly neighborhoods and a responsible citizenry we looked at all the neighboring towns mendum Bernardsville New Providence Berkeley Heights etc etc but none of them measured up to Bernard's Township none of them measured up to our town I remember seeing people running and riding their bikes outside on a spring day as we looked at homes as a lifelong Runner and physical fitness Enthusiast uh I looked at that with great appreciation for the environment I was excited about the possibility of joining this town and joining this community my wife and kids were all so clear that this was the town they wanted to live in after making several offers on her homes getting out bid on a few I'm sure many people can relate um we finally found my young family then then young family found a home on Lindberg Lane and over the course of the next 10 years we enjoyed the many positive aspects of living in our town things like clean air a safe community and a diverse citizenry filled with families from many different cultural backgrounds beliefs religions Etc in fact we love our town so much that we convinced several friends and families family members to join us over the last few years and here we are 10 years later over 10 years later and we're down to one son at home our older Sons having moved on to college and Beyond and this project greatly worries me as the proud father of a seventh grader my last remaining son in the house at least um who will be hopefully attending Bernard's Township Schools until he graduates from Ridge in a few years and as the proud Uncle of a kindergartener at Liberty Corner School with a way too um I'm deeply concerned with the danger this project presents to their safety and that of the other children in this town many who Cross Roads like Mount Ary and Allen Road every single day as a friend to the seniors in our town and as a son to elderly parents I am concerned with the danger this project presents to the residents of our Senior Communities many of whom already have limited mobility and health and breathing issues both of which will surely be exacerbated should this project actually be completed as a conservationist a lover of the environment and the beauty of our town I am greatly concerned with the effect this project will have in our environment I won't repeat what's been said over and over by NE every person in this room I won't go over the painstaking detail about how harmful this project will be to our community however I will point out two things first is that nearly every time a truck breaks down or has a problem in town our loyal law enforcement officers have to respond taking their precious time away from their other responsibilities and I will point out the shoulders on the roads in our town especially those on Allen Road and mount Ary are not nearly wide enough to accommodate a broken down tractor trailer I will also remind you of your responsibility as leaders and public servants to our community leaders are those who earnestly devote their time and effort to maintaining the public safety of our community who sacrifice time with their families in service of all of us and we all thank you for that for all you've done all you continue to do and all you will do as you continue to serve on this board leaders are those who take action in defense of their Community leaders are those that do what is in the best interest of those who depend on them and most importantly leaders understand that while you can delegate Authority you can never delegate responsibility for the actions that you create the actions that you take or the repercussions of those actions I ask you to consider this and I implore you all to deny the variance requested for this project as it stands in contrast to the standard obje objectives of our Town's master plan and presents a significant danger to the health and safety of our community thank you thank you for your comments sir thank you next Paul Edwards five Richmond Drive Basking Ridge you swear to God to affirm that the testimony about to give is a truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth it is thank you please proceed I call can't follow what's just been said I have to say that last speaker summarized much better the points I was going to make so my my last comments would be not only to appeal the board to to deny the application but also to say say to signature and its Representatives if you're truly the ethical company that you propose to be you should withdraw the application and not put the zoning Board in a position of having to choose okay so given the late hour here I think we're we're going to stop here can I see by a show a hands how many um members of the public still want to make a comment okay so um this this uh meeting will be carried to a future date and we will start uh then with additional public comments so uh the same rules will apply please keep your comments to 3 to five minutes if we've heard the points try not to make the same points but we will give an opportunity for those uh to be heard uh at the next meeting that we'll hear when we're carrying it too um I would like to thank everyone um for their uh respect of the process here I think we heard from 40 members of the community and I really appreciate um everybody's respect and thoughtfulness hang on one second yeah we're going to make sure you know the date that we will continue without further notice will be October 17 17 17th Thursday October 17th 7:30 that's a special meeting that's already uh on our calendar so that will be Thursday October 17th we'll start with public comment at that time as a reminder if you've already made a public comment you will not be uh able to make another public comment so if we've already heard from you believe me the board listened to every word that you said um I think you wanted to make I I just and if you want to hear the applicants council is going to say something and the the hearing is still proceeding I just wanted to put something hang on one second please members of the public please the meeting is still going on we need to hear um thank you thank you madam chair for just giving me uh one one quick moment here I just wanted to put on the record from applicants counil I know Mr Warner had mentioned this that although I didn't object to the admission uh the admittance of those exhibits I just want to remind the board that although the members uh that are here this evening or the residents this evening come from impressive backgrounds burner's Township is filled with people with uh incredible educational and uh career accomplishments that those exhibits are uh not being submitted with any certifications or seals they weren't presented from uh an expert that's been accepted as such by the board and as such those exhibits should be uh given the appropriate weight so thank you understood and and I think I gave that Council as well so I certainly don't disagree with that and I think I Mr Mr Berlin is concurring as well and uh should I triangulate miss Smith or not we'll see go ahead Mr Berlin can you move in front of the microphone so we can hear you I'm sorry than thank you just a comment um um I've been through what 18 hearings and this is the first night that I've seen people smile and chuckle oh that's good we're we're friends we're not enemies all right but but this is a qua or judicial proceeding as an attorney you know that all right the did you have a question or yeah uh on the 17th will we have summations um yes it will depend on how many public comments that we have but we'll hear public comment first we'll close that period and hopefully we'll be in a position to have subm at that time counc for all applicants should be prepared to uh make summations on October 17th and we've agreed at our meeting that all the summations will have to be on the same day what we did was we said uh that and I believe the chair has concurred that we will do our best to make sure that they haveen the same yeah we we'd like to do that and I think it'll depend on the public comments but um I think we we got through um a large number of comments today so October 17th same place just one last comment yes Barbara Berlin is my wife yes I I guess that she taught at pingry for 25 years and as as the students have learned there don't mess with barar Berlin October 17th please be ready some as yes pleas is um okay um any uh so miss keeper so October 18 17th 17th okay that's a Thursday correct okay so October 17th we will continue I think Miss Herrera has already told us that she has a conflict on that day I think that's okay hopefully we'll have Mr hson back we have Mr Camp I'm probably not going to be here we have to make sure we have do we have a quorum I I don't know what what mron status okay so it sounds like Mr tanky most likely cannot make it we'll lead Mr havon to have a [Music] meeting Okay so um keeper will circulate an email to check schedules and hopefully we can um pull together the quum for that meeting yes um are there any questions from uh or comments from Members thank you everybody any um comments from Members I mean staff board professionals anybody over there Mr Quinn any comments at all you guys want to just okay great okay so motion to adjourn second thank you all in favor