##VIDEO ID:PD27TiG9OWQ## on point he steps in when he has to step over I don't think George would have do you see [Music] makes me dangerous yes yes you know why you know well no I know why [Music] fromp a [Music] here we go good evening everybody apologize for the delay we've had some issues that I think we overcame I think um first uh the first uh item on the agenda is the flag salute so United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all in accordance with the requirement of the open public meeting laws 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 in colier Lane basing Ridge New Jersey it was also mailed to the Bernardsville news whipping 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 mailed electronically to all those who had requested individual notice following procedure has been adopted by the zoning Board of adjustment there will be no new cases heard after 10:00 tonight and no new testimony heard after 10:30 p.m. um Steve do you want to address our delay maybe before we do a roll call certainly uh before the roll call okay yes uh that makes sense actually good good evening everybody we uh uh land use law in New Jersey uh for zoning boards of adjustment require a quarum a quarum for a zoning Board of adjustment is four people I do not count uh I am not a member uh we have three people on on the deis but we actually have four people here this evening uh because the rules of New Jersey continue to permit uh board members to appear through electronic means that's what the mlul says it's a little old electronic equipment it says but specifically what it includes is any format by which they can appear remotely uh we have a board member board member Herrera whose name is on the there is I'm guessing because there we are uh and she is with us she is appearing remotely uh and uh we have arranged for her to see and hear everything uh as if she were here in person uh the uh reason we had to do this uh and we thank her very much as we thank all our volunteer board members for being here every night and all the hard work they do during the day as well uh is because uh one of our members who is expected to be here is not here uh so uh uh so uh we are able to continue these proceedings thanks to board member Herrera appearing remotely I've spoken to all three attorneys who are all familiar with Municipal land use law and the open public meetings act and all applicable statutes uh and they concur they understand that her appearance remotely uh is fine so we do have a quarum we can proceed uh so we are all pleased with that uh and uh we've arranged and you'll uh I will confirm on the record right now with Miss Herrera Miss Herrera you can hear everything we're saying I can she can I think you heard her put it put up by the mic uh the we all have to speak right into these mics including Miss Herrera uh and uh she can also see uh the day uh the speaker Podium and see who is speaking when they come up to speak correct missa yes yes okay and and uh do you swear to God or affirm that that that is the truth truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes it is okay it's sworn it's sworn now that she can do so she's made that representation on the record under oath uh so very quickly uh Mr Lair uh Mr Belin misss Smith uh you continue to concur that we have a quarum and we can proceed this evening yes yes excellent out loud Miss Smith if you don't mind yes okay all three did okay so uh and that is my legal advice and that is my advice to the board and the board can proceed uh so think we're ready to go great thank you that and that was the reason for the delay obviously this isn't the way we planned it but sometimes you know we get thrown a curveball and uh you know we appreciate everybody's time here there's a lot of people here including all our board professionals and lawyers and members of the public so we tried to scramble to see if we we can continue to have the meeting so thank you and thank you Miss Herrera for making yourself available on an unavailable night um so we are continuing the signature um I'm sorry let me also add m is also watching via YouTube so if you don't see her watching you please don't be mistaken she's watching you when you speak um and she will speak uh when necessary and she can hear what you're saying I didn't want anybody to think if the phone is down oh she can't see she can see she's also watching on YouTube right she can see that and she also has a pathway to ask questions as well Madam chair we do need to do a roll call yes thank you let's Miss keeper can we do a roll call please okay um Miss Balman miss bichi and miss pakar are recused uh Mr Cambria is unable to attend this evening um and Mr helverson is absent yes so roll call um chairwoman Jers here Mr Krauss here Mr teny here miss Herrera here Mr Warner here Mr Quinn here Mr Sly here Mr Fishinger here and for the record Miss Kefir is present Madame chair you have a quarum you may proceed God bless everybody there we go um so I'd like to entertain a motion to excuse the absences of Mr Cambria Miss poar Miss Balman and Miss Pichi and Miss Pichi some move second second thank you all in favor hi opposed abstain thank you yeah I also just the some housekeeping as they say um we uh do have from the applicant in writing an extension of time to act uh through uh November 15th if necessary if we don't finish this evening it's a fair bet we won't frankly uh uh but uh but nevertheless we do have that extension of time to act so I wanted that to be reflected on the record the board does have that um and otherwise properly noticed jurisdiction we can continue There we go Madam chairman so 5A is the public hearing the continuation of signature Acquisitions um I believe we are going to continue um public comment just as a reminder um if you've already made a comment you cannot make another comment and we'll ask um people who haven't made a comment who would would like to um to be on that section on the left which I think you are already and if you can keep your comments um in the three minute range that would be helpful for us uh tonight and of course you know try not to uh give us redundant comments we'll have a little leeway on that right we and also so everyone understands I think you'll be signning your name and address as is the required then you'll come up I'll swear you in and you can make your public comment with the weight of testimony I believe we uh exactly 40 members of the public commented last time we have that list from Miss keer as to who commented already uh but we're sure nobody's going to look to take a second bite at the Apple so uh thank you okay so your name and address please and then um Mr Warner will will uh give you Susan MOA 452 Mount Ary Road please raise 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 proceed good evening I am a lifelong resident of Bernard's Township growing up on White neack Road last Thursday was my first meeting attended regarding this proposal shame on me I would like to thank all the V individuals who have been vocal and active over the past 18 months I kept away from town politics having worked for the central office administrators in in the Bernard Township Board of Education for 37 years until my retirement I have seen firsthand development in the township that led to a new school additions to William Anon and Rich high and various traffic issues I saw AT&T enter the community increasing vehicle traffic I have seen the construction of numerous Office Buildings that from completion until today have signs in front stating space for lease it was interesting to listen to people who have lived here for 2 and a half 5 15 years speak of our town and wanting to maintain the character many of the reasons to move here are the same reasons to stay we have two sons and six grandchildren one family lives in Bernardsville and one in annendale why would we choose to move through changes and development the Senter of Basking Ridge has retained its charm the township however is not the center of Basking Ridge Charter day or the Carol sing it's the residents and small businesses where you know the owners by name see Neighbors and friends when shopping or eating out in my opinion the development of the Town needs to be viewed needs to be viewed Through The Eyes of a 515 or 25e plan paying close attention to the Future impact of the decisions made today when the traffic on M Ary Road becomes unbearable which I believe it will will we be meeting in this room debating widening the road to accommodate the trucks as a resident said once you allow a warehouse and Manufacturing facility into town there is no going back another Resident asked have you tried to make a left-hand turn on Mount Ary road I will take that comment a step further and ask have you ever waited to make a left-and turn while a line of cars passes you on the right I am curious if someone on the board has parked to see firsthand the volume of traffic at various times of the day on Mount Ary I travel to Riverwalk three mornings a week at 6:30 and then back down Mount Ary to Bernville passing 287 traffic without 18 wheelers and box trucks makes the trip difficult another comment was made suggesting the town purchased the property and develop it perhaps a 55 and older community on Allen Road across from fellowship consisting of one-story individual homes similar to a section of Del Web in Floren park or tow houses such as far Far Hills would be a solution you as a part of the township Administration and our town are facing a Crossroads of either maintaining or losing control of development the board has the option of supporting the residents or supporting industry you will be remembered for the decision made here based on its impact to the future of our town thank you thank you very much please don't please don't do that we have a lot of comments to get through and I want to make sure we have a time to hear everyone who wants to make a comment your name and address please Robert salba 1122 Fellowship Road Basking Ridge New Jersey please raise your right hand do you sorry do you swear to God or Refirm that testimon 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 yes I do thank you please proceed uh to me the elephant in the room is that the applicant has no real user or potential uh tenant who signed a contract subject to getting approval of this board who can come here and say we want to do this we want to do that with the property if that's the case we could ask the potential tenant specific questions and get hopefully specific answers at least better answers than we've gotten in the past two years the past two years it's been a sprawl all over the place we're wandering in the forest lost we're groping in the dark I know the law permits this kind of application but uh if we had a tenant under contract who could tell us what it wanted to do it would be much easier for us second uh there's a zoning ordinance here uh Bernard's Township zoning code Article 2 definition of terms principle structure quote shall mean a structure arranged adopted or designed for the predominant or primary use for which a lot is used unless specifically permitted by a provision of this chapter no lot shall have more than one principal structure I just kind of throw that out I'm 84 years old my reaction time has slowed it's difficult turning on to Alan Road from Fellowship Road when our two adult children visit now our granddaughter I tell them when they leave to be careful turning on to Alan Road I've gotten phobic about this I got a confess that I was on the phone with my son a few months ago and before we concluded the telephone call I was a little tired I said be careful turning on to Alan road so that's it thanks thank you very much I appreciate it next please don't pleas your name and address please sir yes Tom Fitz Simmons fi tzs IIM o NS just 1 M 1126 Fellowship Road please raise your right hand do you swear to God to Refirm that the testimony about to give is a truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed good evening and thank you to the board for enduring all these nights uh as I said my name is Tom Fitz Simmons I reside at 1126 Fellowship Road in Basking Ridge my family and I moved to Basking Ridge 51 years ago Fellowship Village is our fourth residence in town I have some comments on these proceedings after I retired from AT&T and Bell Laboratories at 32 years of service I started a 15-year Endeavor with the township environmental commission 10 of which is chair and that led me to review along with my other commission members numerous applications for variances as well as planning board documents and write environmental impact statements based on the application never in my 15 years of service on the environmental commission did I see an application for relief of an ordinance that did not describe in excruciating detail the hardship that conformance with the variance with with the ordinance would provide and as the board is well aware the state statute title 40 Municipal and County section 40 colon 55 d-7 DP Powers grants the board the power to issue variances and calls on the applicant to show undue hardship and I quote from the statute by reason of an extraordinary and exceptional situation unique uniquely affecting a specific piece of property the strict application of any regulation pursuant to article 8 of this act would result in Peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties two or exceptional and undue hardship upon the developer of such property I have heard nothing in the many meetings by any of the expert witnesses that talks about hardship the statute also continues to say no variance or other relief may be granted under the terms of the section including a variance or other relief involving an inherently beneficial use without a showing that such variance or other relief can be granted without substantial de detriment to the public good and will not substantially impair the inherent intent and purpose of the zoning plan and the zoning ordinance the only hardship that I can discover in this in these proceedings is a financial one the applicant purchased the property in 2018 at a 20% premium over assessed value and paid $25 million for the property several years later that property was assessed at 14 plus then covid hit office space became a liability rather than an asset and we're here today I think the courts have held in numerous cases that financial reasons are no reason for granting variances and our professional planner that was sponsored by Fellowship Village Inc has also pointed out the same thing my second comment has to do with the tree replacement ordinance that I was privileged to help co-author with the chair of the shade tree commission during my tutelage on the environmental commission the intent of that writing when we did it was to preserve biomass since biomass is the primary sync for carbon dioxide and the primary source of oxygen on this planet that we call Earth the latest ruer study on global warming showed that of all of the 50 states in the United States New Jersey led the list as warming the fasst we don't need to have a tree Bank dollars will not uh satisfy the situation lastly I was quite surprised when Mr Michelle sh the applicant's engineer answered in the negative when attorney Smith asked him if he saw anything else on lot two other than the new psse and high tension lines why was I surprised because his name appears on the survey as representing the engineering side of the company that performed the survey that shows an additional easement on lot two that additional 50 foot easement contains is is for Trans Continental Pipeline and that easement then comes alongside of lot three and turns diagonally across heading Eastward and Crosses directly under the driveway on the client's property that driveway is a wreck right now if you've been out there you've seen that it needs it's going to need to be repaved its original intent was for vehicular traffic not truck traffic my assumption would be someone who was in the construction industry as a volunteer for many years is that the subbase that is there is probably sub significantly inadequate and it would have to be replaced with a much deeper subbase many of us in the room remember 1994 30 years ago in the incident in Edison New Jersey for those who may not I encourage you to look it up there was an accident where a backhoe operator nicked a highpressure gas Main and ensuing explosion and destruction was very widespread and lasted many days we're going to need you to wrap up if you can R it I know thank you my recommendations are that the board should deny this application with prejudice because there's been no demonstration of hardship and there is a public detriment not a public good and since the characteristics of the surrounding Road surrounding area of Allen Road have undergone significant change since the mid 80s when the Zone was created I would also urge the board to strongly recommend to their counterparts on the township committee and the planning board to review lot e Zone E2 with a strong recommendation to remove light manufacturing from its definition thank you very much you sir thank you everyone please it's only going to delay us and and run the risk of not being able to fully hear the rest of the comments your name and address please ma'am my name is Pat pazaric and I live at 8113 Fellowship Road great please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed thank you for the opportunity to talk to you about the proposed manufacturing development on Allen Road I've been attending these Board of adjustment meetings as you have since February 23 and you were here long before that and I've heard all of the statements of signature about their request for 17 variances that they believe are necessary for them to build a massive manufacturing development on Allen Road they presented us with experts and numbers with no indication of who will be leasing those properties last Wednesday the citizens of B ing Ridge had the opportunity to express their perspective on the subject I listened to 40 Neighbors from different occupations Specialties and ages as they told us how this development would affect their lives I heard refutation of the statistical findings that had been presented by the applicant applicants expert Witnesses I heard and share the concerns of our neighbors of all ages I worry about the safety of children who simply want to be safe in their neighborhood as they play and go to school I particularly share the worries of senior citizens who are simply trying to live out their golden years in in peace without breathing noxious fumes or being trapped in their immediate areas by fears of being run down by manmo trucks I'm very active in the Greater Community and I have a little Prius and Dread trying to make a leftand turn onto Allen Road with a 30,000 PB tractor trailer coming toward me I've heard about air pollution water pollution ground erosion falling property values and even right now possible explosions in all of those hours of listening I did not hear one word of support for having this development in our community nor did I hear of any benefits this development would bring to us as I listened to all of the proceedings I reflected on what is the essence of what I was hearing and seeing the basic theme that kept coming up for me was trust Basking Ridge is a wonderful diverse Community it's a community that's widely recognized as a desirable place to live one of the key factors in having a community that is this IDE deal is trust you trust us you trust us to be good citizens and to abide by the rules of our community and we trust you to listen to us and proect our way of life and to keep us in your mind as you weigh the benefits and pitfalls of this proposed development and to make an informed decision as you do that I would like to remind you of two important quot ations Albert Einstein once stated that whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters and Maya Angelou has told us whenever someone shows you who they are believe them the first time thank you for all the the work that you do for our community and for listening to my personal feedback on this thank Youk you very much thank you next your name and address please sir uh I'm Bruce schundler 1114 Fellowship Road and bassing rdge as you may have sense from my previous comments and questions I don't Mr Shin please raise your right hand we want it to be testimony okay uh 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 as you may have sense from my previous comments and questions I don't think the board should Grant any of the variances or design waivers being re requested by signature Acquisitions legally they do have a right to build another office building or a building designed for light manufacturing we can't change that because that's what's allowed in our current zoning on the other hand we don't have they they don't have a right to have any of the variances or design waivers that they are requesting just as our zoning ordinance allows for the construction of a light manufacturing building in the E2 Zone it also includes limitations and restrictions on what is is built and how it is the land is properly developed to be sure signature could have designed a building which complied with these zoning ordinances or was Guided by the intent and purpose of the master plan but they didn't and during months of testimony and hearings they haven't proven or shown that their project couldn't be reasonably designed to conform with the town zoning ordinances or its master plan in fact they never tried they haven't adequately Justified if the need for any variances because of pre-existing topographical restraints or unique physical or topographical features of the property in fact they never tried they haven't proven that the town will benefit from the pro proposed Ed or that any benefits of the new use would substantially outweigh the detriments they simply stated that but they never tried to prove it they haven't shown how the proposed variances could be granted without substantial detriment to the public good in fact a professional planner and virtually all the local residents present during these meetings have voiced concerns that it would create a substantial detriment to the public good and they haven't proven that granting the requested variances would not substantially impair the intent and purpose of the town's existing zoning ordinance or its master plan they haven't shown how the proposed development would not be in violation of the intent and purpose of the town's master plan General objectives when it highlights the need to prevent urban sprawl and degradation of the environment through improper use of land or the section which describes how land use policy should strive to maintain and enhance Community character protect the Integrity of exist existing neighborhoods and prevent the intrusion of incompatible new development from the very beginning of these hearings it has been apparent that we have a problem because of dramatic changes in the surrounding area the permitted use of light manufacturing should not have been allowed in the E2 zones and lot three should not have been included in that zone to be sure that area is now completely surrounded by commercial and professional offices and residential zones it's between the entrance to the hills a huge residential development and fellowship village where hundreds of senior citizens live in independent homes and apartments and in assisted care communities and in a skilled nursing facility and it's virtually across the street from a historic nudus colony to be sure a zoning change should have been made in the past but through an oversight it wasn't nevertheless what signature is proposing isn't just taking advantage of that zoning oversight instead they are pushing the limits of the size floor area ratios the overall scope of what can be allowed and they're proposing a project which seems to have simply ignored the town zoning laws in fact in hearing after hearing we heard their designers and Professionals State repeatedly that they hadn't been asked to design a building that would conform to the zoning they hadn't been asked to consider the town's requirements concerning slopes and trees and they were never asked to protect the environment as much as possible as Guided by the master plan in contrast signature has been very clear that they're asking for the variances simply for economic reasons they want to increase the return on investment and that is the only reason they're asking for some of these variances in what already was a large office complex they want to increase the floor area ratio by 50% they want to increase the footprint of the building from approximately 58,000 ft to 20 44,000 ft a new footprint that is almost four times larger than the former one they want to increase the height of the light standards to be 50% higher than allowed they want to increase the lighting capacity by over 50% in fact everything they want is trying to squeeze things into that property they want to build a retaining wall within the required buffer zone of a residential lot and several retaining walls that were more than 50% higher than they should be they want to disturb 51% % of the slope areas which would be twice what they should they want to remove 76% of the trees that are on the property and replant 473 fewer trees and they want to cut in half the number of parking spaces required what is difficult to measure or approve are the environmental problems that could be caused by this project in terms of air pollution and noise and the quality of life because no information about what how the buildings will be used has been presented and so we simply have to assume the worse sir we're going to need you to wrap up soon okay okay thank you essentially I think we can't prevent them from building a manufacturing building but we can try to make sure that they maintain the zoning ordinances essentially I don't think they should be given any variances or any design waivers they should build according to the current zoning and live with it to be sure that's it thank you very much sir next can I have your name and address please and speak right to the microphone you can put it right there yeah you can move it okay your name address please address my name is pry Shaw I live at 41 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 or nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed okay um this is not something I made up it's from the burville news I'd like to add it to the record the uh you want to introduce into evidence a newspaper article it's a newspaper article okay objection it's a newspaper problem with just show show the attorney what it is sure I have no problem no objection any other attorne okay what are we up to P what Cindy can i p P5 okay P5 is the newspaper article do you want to speak about it no no I just want to share just want to share okay you can put it right here that's the only one you have okay that's okay please proceed all right so thank you for your time and um dedication to our community I have lived in the Hills OH come closer for 28 years I've been elected by burnard Township residents for for two terms to be on the Bernard's Township Board of Education that's six years of service I was offered a position and served to um to be on Bernard's Township utility task force that's one year of service I was elected by my local community to be represent representative on the Hills Highlands Master Association the hhma it's 5 years of service um I have roots in this community and care about the residents in particular I've been selected to represent residents of Basking Ridge for different leadership roles I say this since you are also in leadership position and I can understand some of your experiences as a member of BOE hhma and the utility Task Force One thing was always assumed and took priority that was the Safety and Security of the residents the there was no explicit rule for making security of individuals important it was just obvious and always a priority the applicant all the applicant plans to have increased number of trucks entering and exiting Allen Road which would plow through the hills and pass senior retirement community and a residential neighborhood on Mount Ary Road also these trucks would be clogging the intersections and Retail area towards Route 78 there's no restriction on when and where they would travel smaller trucks could be anywhere the additional 84 trucks a day times 365 days a year is 3,666 a year truck traffic would obviously cause more traffic on our local resident residential roads and decrease the safety of the children and the adult residents walking and driving in our neighborhood hoods this would clearly cause more congestion and stress for the residents of Fellowship Village the additional heavy truck traffic would damage the roads at a faster rate than without the trucks this would cause potholes to be generated everywhere and higher strain on her County and local taxes I request the board to deny every variance the applicant has requested the applicant has not been concerned with the security and safety nor made it a priority okay thank you very much next please come on up can we have your name and address please SM saraswat 63 Vander Drive did you get SMI saraswat 63 Vander Drive you you're going to sign the she I did okay perfect yeah okay good can you do you swear to God I went right to please proceed 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 now please proceed all right I'm here today as a concerned resident I strongly oppose the application with variances to establish the light manufacturing plant near us because we have experienced this before we moved to Basking Ridge from Bon 15 years back beon is a developing City with lots of warehouses due to the proximity to the port because of which there were large truck traffic the exit used to be backed up during the morning and evening commute hours with sometimes the delays extending more than 30 to 45 minutes on a weekday our kids could not go to schools and parks with parents driving them everywhere so we chose to move to baskenridge for a better life for our family here my children could walk to Mount Prospect school on Allen Road and drive the car to W Greens on Allen Road from home I cannot imagine the detrimental impact the proposal plan will have for all of us in our neighborhood this place is home for us as it is a safe place there are primary concerns which I have and I don't want to repeat what my fellow residents have already shared in last wenesday and today but I do want to point out heavy heavy truck traffic is a big point and the roads out here are not designed to accommodate such large vehicles with Island Road in the hills are some in some spots are so narrow that it doesn't even offer a fo of distance between Road and sidewalk let alone the turning radius requirement for WB 67 trucks the next important thing which is which is I'm sure everyone has talked about it is the environmental and Community impact destructing 600 trees is is a big deal our neighborhood is cherished for its peaceful environment abundant nature and limited commercial development which contribute to the quality of life the removal of these trees trees will lead to soil erosion increased flooding and heightened level of industrial noise air and water pollution finally the devaluation of property and lifestyle approving this plan sets a precedent for further Industrial Development which will erode the residential character of Basking Ridge the introduction of light manufacturing units will undoubtedly lower property values and diminish the quality of life for all residents I urge the board to consider these points seriously and reject the proposed plan to safeguard our community's well-being and future at the end I would like to thank the Township board members for giving us the opportunity to talk today thank you thank you for your comment thank you next H up your name and address please ma'am yes my name is w jinel and I'm a resident of 83 carile Road and yeah please raise right here 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 um I oppose the zoning variance for 150 Allen Road many community members have mentioned the numerous adverse effects that industrial manufacturing will bring to our community today I would like like to highlight two additional points so first the zoning variance does not align with the overall vision and objectives objectives of the Bernard's Township master plan which was adopted in December two uh 2023 I have printed out uh the relative points and I will just simply read it out loud so on page 27 it says chapter one of the master plan of the master plan yes goals and objectives a vision for the F 21st century in the year 2000 a public visioning process identifi the major goals and objectives of the community that are reinforced in the bernes township master plan this included keeping taxes stable while working too number three control and a calm traffic in town and in page eight General objectives this master plan acknowledges the statutory purpose of Planning and Zoning that are identified in the municipal land use law and are listed below item D which says to ensure that the development of individual municipalities does not conflict with the development and a general welfare of neighboring uh neighboring municipalities the county and the State as a whole and on the next item which related is H to encourage the location and design of Transportation routes which will promote the free flow of traffic while discouraging location of such facilities and routes will result in congestion or blight and on page 11 of the master plan objectives land use and management objectives number one land use policies should strive to maintain and enhance Community character protect the Integrity of existing neighborhoods and prevent the intrusion of a incompatible new development it says very clearly and the nonresidential development objectives number one non-residential development should be planned for for appropriate areas where it will be compatible with and not adversely impact residential development within the township number two it says office zoning should be limited to maintain the balance of uses and to reduce traffic impacts on existing and planned Township infrastructure the effects of noise glare and light spill over on the quality of life in residential neighborhoods should also be considered so that's what I rate I think is very applied to us and after reviewing those um basic Vision objectives and goals of the master plan related to our subject it is clear that our Township planning department has already established guidelines to reduce traffic prevent individual development that could adversely affect the over character of the neighborhood to promote the Integrity of our neighborhoods and enhance the quality of life the applicant's request for an industrial zoning variance directly contradicts these goals and visions and it would lead to increase the traffic volume safety concerns for children seniors and pestr and young drivers on the roads fail it fails to align with the master plan but not only F fills the master plan but also it jeopardized our community tremendously and this damage cannot be undone secondly the zoning variance contradicts the core values of our Township why do I say that on page 27 of the master plan I also printed out here uh where is it so it it shows a table um the land use percentages of the uh Bernard Township are outlined residential and public purpose land uses account for total 92.8% of the land in Bernard's Township with residential residential districts comprising 67.3% and public service purposes accounting for 25.5% what that means this indicates that our Township is primarily composed of residential neighborhoods which form the fabric of our community and each family contributes to the texture of our town and the proposed truck traffic Route will introduce heavy truck traffic on Allen Road Mont ARA Road Liberty Corner Road which are the major Branch into our neighborhoods and each every one of us will be affected not only the folks in the Hills every one of us I also want to mention that we're need you to wrap up soon okay yeah the real estate market in Bernard's Township is rated as number four hottest in the US in 2024 as well so if per permitted this manufacturer facility will disrupt our neighborhoods and the proposed use does not fit within the Township's character as people move here for the top schools for the good quality of lives so this variance will contradict both the nature of the master plan and also our core values and lastly I suggest that the applicant consider you utilizing the existing office Zoning for a class a building which could attract a long-term tenants such as Medical Center in our basing reg we don't have a medical center people goes to Berkeley Heights to Warren to other Ts for you know for medical care we don't have one so that's we're going to need you to wrap up I don't want to cut you off but we're going to need you okay for children Activity Center or daycare this use would align with our core core Vision also would benefit our community thank you for the opportunity thank you for your comment we appreciate it next Who's [Applause] Next your name and address please sir yes alanm chap 19 Dickinson Road Basking Bridge New Jersey and thank you for the opportunity oh sorry you you could thank us unsworn but 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 thank you this vote you're about to make may be the most consequential vote you will ever make as a member of this board because you have the power collectively to preserve our rural our bucolic our quiet ways of life in this town or in the alternative you can destroy it forever by turning Allen Road and mount ay Road into industrial highways that'll be populated 15 hours a day by 18 wheeel 75- ft tractor trailers hauling 50 tons of cargo because that is what's going to happen if you allow signature to do what they want to do Allen Road was not meant for constant repetitive truck traffic it's a beautiful winding Mountain Road 99% residential two lanes in each Direction three miles without any traffic control devices of any kind what's going to happen is you're going to introduce hundreds of 18 wheel trucks up and down Allen Road 15 hours a day and you've heard some calculations about how many trucks are going to be populating our neighborhood and I think you should look at it a slightly different way because you have to plan for every eventuality you have to look at the worst case scenario because you have no idea who's going to be populating or occupying these buildings so I want to suggest to you that there's going to be hundreds of trucks hundreds of trucks every day going up and down Allen Road and mount Area road and once that flow starts to happen there is nothing you can do about it there is no going back it's not going to be for one day or a week or a month or for a year it's going to be for all time so I want to look at some simple math it doesn't take an expert to do this kind of math if if tractor trailers are being run from 6 in the morning to 900 p.m. that's 15 hours Let's assume the first load of trucks arrives at 600 a.m. you have 15 16 trucks arriving at this truck Depot that's that's 16 trips right there they're loaded up with cargo how long will that take you have forklifts it'll take what an hour to load up these trucks these 16 trucks are back on the road and then 16 more trucks arrive and 16 more trucks are loaded and this happens hour after hour day after day and if you add up the trips per day it's 480 trips per day now we have no way of knowing if that's going to happen but you have to assume the worst case scenario for our town as whoever's going to move into those buildings is going to maximize their profits and the way they maximize their profits is by moving loads as quickly as possible you have to consider that once that happens you can never put the genie back in the bottle but it's even worse because you've now set a precedent so other developers are going to be watching what you're doing in this town and once they find out that they can get away with doing this in this Township you're going to see what's going to happen so you've now set a precedent and this is just the tip of the iceberg as to what's going to happen in with our town if you approve this development it's going to be a nightmare that never ends it's going to create pollution it's going to create noise these trucks are going to rumble and Roar up and down our roads at all times of day day and night and there's nothing you can do about it once you let the genie out of the bottle and and I'm I'm particularly concerned about her school children because I live across from Mount Prospect school and I see dozens of them cross this uncontrolled roadway every day and our our school superintendent gave very poignant testimony about how he's concerned about the safety of our school children a thousand of whom have to cross these two main East West Roads every day to get back and forth to school and he noted that their engineer even testified that the peak hours for truck traffic is going to coincide with the peak hours for the arrival and dismissal of school children and if our superintendent is concerned about the safety of our school children How Could You members of the board ignore that because there's nothing more precious than the the lives and safety of our school children and signature is putting that at risk and once that's put at risk there is no turning back what you're about to do is going to affect the fabric fabric of our community forever we hope you understand how this could change the lives of our residents there is no thing there's nothing positive about this development unless you like getting up at 6:00 in the morning in which case with the Roar of the trucks going by your windows you won't need to set an alarm anymore that's we're going to need you to wrap it up okay here's what I ask you to do I ask you to reject this application as totally unsuitable for this community and send a message to all those developers that are out there and I hope that you can look back on your vote five and 10 years down the road and say to yourself we the board did Justice for our town we did the right thing because our future is in your hands thank you thank you for your comment thank you who's next who keeper who's next your name and address please sir can you bring the mic down so it's right thank you my name is Ronald St Lauren I live at 6202 Fellowship Road in the township please raise your right hand sir yes 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 I speak to you both as a Citizen and my profession is a civil engineer I have not studied all of the facts of your system but I hear everything that's going on about the facility and the area my main concern that I point out to you and that I ask you to look for and check out how much additional maintenance is going to be required on Allen Road that's a minor issue the major issue is the design of Allen Road as it exists now how well does it meet Highway design and how many defects are there and how much of it will all of this additional truck traffic cause problems not only today but for your future thank you thank you for your comments sir next [Applause] please your name and address please sir name is Ronald Strait and I'm at 6106 Fellowship Road um 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 the nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed um my concern has to do with uh noise of the trucks so I oppose the uh application for alen Roode project sir can I just ask you to bring your microphone either you go a little closer or bring that closer to your M can you hear me now I can I got a frog here okay okay the entrance to 150 Allen Road is on an incline it's about a 10% grade as I see it and a truck has to be stop before it makes a leftand turn trucks make uh an acceleration from zero to probably five miles an hour to make that left hand turn in so doing it's a very loud o open throttle type a situation certainly unpleasant for the people living close by and it changes if I were living on that street the residential Ambience of of that area uh conversely um this that's when you're going up Allen Road from the um let's see it's from the Martinville traffic light heading west that comment excuse me conversely when coming the other way down Allen Road um you have another thing to do with trucks which has U engine braking uh is a very noisy thing that trucks do and U certainly coming into 150 driveway they would probably depending upon the driver but those that's a very loud noise and it lasts longer than the noise that is involved with uh going up a grade this would be especially noisy of coming down Allen Road into the fourway stop sign that you have at summer uh street sumerset street I guess it is so I just wanted to make the board aware of that uh noise fact factor which for me is not good on a well it's not exactly noise but I'm not sure of your definition of light manufacturing so I would say if the light manufacturing includes the use of stamping presses and other light Machinery that could put shock waves into the ground um we should know that and um and then if as the project goes on if see I don't know whether light manufacturing incorporates or allows that or not those presses but um if they don't then you have to uh do analysis and so forth to know what the shock wave is as it leaves the property because it can break and crack basements and fellowship Village is a lot of slab construction so there would be problem s with that as well for us that's it thank you for your comments thank you appreciate it your name and address please sir for the record John Crane 39 Decker Street Basking Ridge I'm sorry John Crane 39 Decker Street Basking Ridge thank you please 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 please proceed again my name is John Crane from Decker street I'm a fourth generation resident um I'm representing only myself as a fact witness my quick background is I have a Bachelor of Science and Engineering technology from the New Jersey Institute of Technology 1979 majoring in construction and civil engineering uh building construction I uh after that I joined a national builder for 43 years as a construction management Personnel dealing with all types of construction from residential commercial and majoring in uh Land Development I'm familiar with the current master plan and the past two Master plans I've reviewed all the documents on the uh webs ite on this application the planning board website on the signature application I reviewed all the plans all the reports and all the exhibits a after I reviewed all this I put myself in your position and would considering how I would vote and there's no question in my mind the applicant is a it's an overreach application I I can't imagine uh I would never vote for this and hopefully uh the board doesn't and from my past experience I can't imagine this ever being held up in the courts there's a lot of anxiety here tonight I have no anxiety tonight this will never get built but let me uh help the record in case this goes to the uh to a lawsuit my main concerns are safety and environmental here I'd like to make a note that um the environmental Commission uh submitted a memo for 2824 and also attached another memo that they did in November 22 I would ask the board to review that maybe during deliberations but be for be uh uh uh familiar with that there's a lot of questions that were asked that I don't believe that got answered about safety and environmental issues I'm not going to go into that tonight um because there's not a time frame three things I want to talk about flood storm water and fire protection they're all in my mind tied together uh there's new flood elevations uh flood elevations have risen 3 feet from the 100-year FEMA flood elevation uh in that enironmental memo there is a flood map and if you look at that it will show you how difficult it will be for the both fire departments to get to this site with a with idea that there could be 3 four 5 ft of water on the roads um this would potentially delay fire protection for this uh big complex um and I I looked at also FEMA Maps I I find this extremely difficult for the fire companies to make this most of the roads 287 the road to the East and the road to the west of Allen Road would be flooded um also even the firemen volunteer firemen even making it to the Firehouse so that's my concern um the concern is if there is a fire the smoke from that fire is could potentially reach Fellowship Village and the hills so I think that's that's a safety issue that's not necessarily insurance issue the storm water uh Inland flood protection uh uh in in Inland flood protection rule approved 7 adopted 717 2003 increases the rainfall intensities uh basically right now you have an 8 in rainfall for a 100-year storm that's going to increase to over 12 in the reviewing the applicant storm order which was done before that uh uh statute got passed or adopted I should say that that they they did not use that standard so they've used an 8 in rainfall amount for 100-year storm the state's uh projecting a 12in the question you got to ask is how's that going to affect Allen Road there's a point discharge on Gladstone's plan that shows it going right out to Allen Road in that vicinity is there going to be sheet flow that causes a problem with that is there going to be additional flooding uh for the for the uh the roads adjacent to it going into the Dead River the third thing is uh fire safety the applicant is proposing a 500t 8 in line going up to the the site and then a loop going around it's approximately about 3,000 ft of 8 inch line the problem with that and there's no isolation valves on that plan that I saw the problem is one one break one break and uh the whole system's down so it would adversely affect any firefighting hence smoke going to the adjacent uh communities um if this was an RSI compliance site you would have two feeds the idea is that if one line breaks you still have a backup system that you can fight the fire this is not the case in uh in what I've seen here as a land development manager I would never have my professionals design a site like this without a second source of water it just would be unsafe for my customers and unsafe for the community Mr we're going to need you to wrap up soon okay I I would also ask uh uh that the board request if there hasn't been a letter of interpretation Wetlands I know they applied for it in 22 I haven't seen any uh any of that that could adversely affect this the uh site I I could talk all night but I will release my time thank you thank you Mr next [Applause] please we're going to tag team is that okay that's okay as long as we can hear you we need both of your names all right have to S your both in your name right into the microphone my name isan no objection excuse me no objection to a child a young man speaking to to the two speaking at once no I have no thank you thank you okay your name and address please sir uh ran your full name rashan Patel and your address please 46 independency drive thank you hi good evening vij Joy 34 hansome Road okay okay and if you'll both raise your right hand do both of 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 yes you do thank both okay who's speaking first who's speaking first bring that microphone down right in front of your mouth buddy okay yeah Chino California Tracy California FTE California Red Hook Brooklyn mlin Park little louder buddy okay okay melin Park Chicago Lo Logan New Jersey middle sex New Jersey West Windor New Jersey Warren New Jersey Robinsville New Jersey Edison New Jersey Cranberry New Jersey South Brunswick New Jersey Woodbridge New Jersey Clarett New Jersey burington New Jersey Lyon New Jersey terbo New Jersey West Deport New Jersey all right thank you Rian thank you ran well let me start by saying ahead uh what do all these towns have in common these were once small bous communities filled with charm Scenic Beauty cultural heritage neighborhoods where families thrived and quiet streets gave to Peaceful lives but something changed something fundamental over time these towns now transformed have lost their spark their beauty their appeal it's been eroded chipped away and why well it's pretty clear the township allowed for warehouses and light manufacturing facilities to be built now some folks might say that's that's good for the town it's going to provide an economic boost and that might sure be the case in the short run but but at what cost the long-term effects of this town as we've heard before um previously and today as well the infrastructure the traffic the environmental strain those don't just go away the roads wear down the charm Fades and pretty soon these once beautiful communities are struggling to hold on to what made them special they're left with a problem a problem that burdens the residents and the townships and all that was gained it pales in comparison to what was lost now signature Acquisitions according to their website focuses on Class A office space spaces I know very well having worked at 110 Allen Road myself these are high quality places attracting top tier tenants thank you for that and that's great we need businesses like this offering high class work environment building for the future but there's something else to consider here you want to diversify your tenants expand your offerings and that makes sense from a business perspective but you've got to ask yourself where sure go go build new properties for manufacturing but be thoughtful do it in towns that welcome the uh the economic boost that you so uh want to offer do it in places that are equipped for it but not here not in a place where it's clear that the burden economic and environmental will outweigh any benefit this isn't just about numbers it's about people communities and our way of life we love businesses we love small businesses I have friends who are who own small businesses here in town and we want to see them succeed but there's a right way of doing this a way that's a win for business a win for Township and win for residents but what I see here on the table right now is a win lose lose and that's just not good enough my wife and I moved from solic City uh to New Jersey and when we picked Basking Ridge we did it because we wanted a place to raise our family A place with character with heart our love walking down this uh the streets of Allen roads and my friends and neighbors who are here have seen me do that I love seeing the Fall colors talking to my neighbors talking uh taking in the peace that comes with living in a place like this there's a song that reminds me when I walk these streets What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong I'm sure we all know that one that's how I feel about this community but if we allow these changes if we let trucks roll through the neighborhoods well I fear that tune's going to change so let's not lose sight of what makes this town special let's make sure that the decisions we make reflect reflect the values of our people who call this place home thank you thank you [Applause] impul your name address please sir yes Sumit Singh 14 Sentinal Drive say your name again please suit Singh 14 Sentinel Drive 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 I do thank you please proceed so in my uh household we have uh two kids two working uh parents um uh for animal you know furry puppy um we moved to Hills in 2012 and they were really know two factors and I think it it'll resonate with everybody here um you know of course we have a good school district uh but what was really the most um importantly an unmatched Community with his pristine Beauty and nature that's what D us you know so when we came to New Jersey we didn't even look for any house anywhere else we just came to Hills and then we just stayed here um over years you know I've come to realize that this natural beauty doesn't happen by itself you know it takes a lot of effort both from Township and everybody here you know to build and then to maintain it if you have uh driven down the Allen Road you know you can see all the tree lines you know that didn't happen by itself and again it was not a coincidence there is a lot of effort um why am I saying all of this is this this is again that moment the decision that we have to do what kind of city and what kind of Township we need to build and then according ly make a decision residents of this community you know commute U you know several of them they work in New York City you they commute to far places so that when they can come back home you know that's what this is what we call as our home and so that end you know end of the day they want to get away from the noise and pollution of the city that's their you know so they're coming back to the home um you know as far as my family is concerned you know uh both my kids are off to college I'm an empty nester you know we did think about that hey this is a good time that we we need to look for homes outside this neighborhood guess what we did look at it we decided you know what there's no other place in New Jersey which really has this kind of a u nature and beauty and then the the involment um the community and that's what kept us here so we want to stay um in this unique uh that unique Vibe of the neighborhood is you can't find that anywhere else now this is where you know that's just a background that's all going to go away if we allow the variances that signature is asking us to do they want to bring 18 wheelers that lot has already been said so I'm just going to add two three more things just so that it's not repetitive if anyone have driven and big portion of Allen Road is is a single Lane you know you have single Lane going up and a single Lane going down and you have a small distance to really turn left or right if and I live in Pat Patriot rge and I know I have several members here who are from Patriot rge if you want to make a left turn on Patriot rge there's really just enough space for a car coming from the other side to cross I can't imagine a big truck coming there you know so just it won't fit just physically won't fit so to that end I don't think there was any traffic study done on cars coming up and down because they will see all these things I think the other gentleman who was a civil engineer he talked about the the road how it meanders and it slopes down again anybody who has gone up and down Allen Road during winter you know it slides it slips you know and you can't imagine the 18 wheeler slipping on you every year at least once or twice going up you know I mean I've been in that situation several times you know you you cannot slide to the side again you can't imagine 18 wheeler coming on on from the side so just think about those things you know which is you know I mean these are things which are not brought earlier so I thought I I would bring it up in here one last thing I was uh uh looking at the the zoning map you know I think uh somebody quoted the stats I could only find one area where we had E2 zoning right now which is in and around uh 150 I think for sure uh you know we should not make it worse you know this just the only mistake that I see in the entire map everything else is either residential or supporting residential style of living now the good thing in all of this is you know the this variance requires your approval and uh you know this is where I'm confident of the zoning board will reject you know any request for any of the variances and keep this Township really a familyfriendly Township that's all thank you thank you sir thank you next your name and address please hello hello hi I'm Alisa Naru and I live at 37 Sentinel Drive Basking Ridge finally get to comment finally no not in a question form here you go 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 good evening I want to thank this board for allowing me to speak tonight I am proud to say my family and I've lived in Bernard's Township for over 20 years our children grew up in this town Bernard's Township is not a city it's a town this is not an industrial park this is a bucolic Country Town this applicant has come into our town to try to build something that will benefit only them it is clear to everyone that they are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole it's even clear to them that it's not a fit it's not suitable they know this which is why they come with many lawyers and why they are requesting so many significant variances and exceptions to rules of the zoning of Bernard's Township these rules are here for a reason to adhere to our mission statement without rules and ordinances we are nothing more than a Banana Republic variances should only be awarded due to justifiable reasons one of the reasons to award a variance is because the compliance to rules will cause unreasonable hardship I don't see how they meet this criteria because any hardship this applicant claims they have is of their own making it is hubris and arrogance for them to assume they can force their way into our town and be granted exceptions that serve only them that are actually a serious detriment to the town maybe they shouldn't have tried to build their project here and force fit it now getting exceptions for their self-imposed hardship would just cause our Town's people to take on a huge amount of our own new hardships for all of us our infrastructure was never meant to handle this especially in what is predominantly a residential area with a senior living community right across the street Allen Road is a one oneway windy road uh one lane windy road and has places with a 25 mph speed limit they're crosswalks let's talk about this applicant for a minute why why do they need so many truck loading zones originally they applied to fit 24 and now it's 16 right that's still a massive inordinate amount of truck Bays this applicant has not disclosed what products will be coming to and fro on those multitudes of tractor trailer trucks traversing our one lane Allen Road in a residential area and imagine what their plans would do to such environmentally sensitive area with significant Wetlands which have been talked about by others here and what exactly are they manufacturing they've not disclosed this information either this applicant is not forthcoming they are scanned on details yet they seem to know they need a colossal amount of tractor trailer truck Bays to me this seems covert secretive and deceptive they won't say who the tenant or tenants plural will be they don't tell us what their manufacturing and doesn't 16 tractor trailer Bay sound like warehousing and transportation facility I was under the impression that there is no location in our town that is zoned for warehousing and transportation another reason to give a variance is the use will not change the essential character of the area the plans of this applicant would completely change the essential character of this area and yet another reason to award a variance is the use does not conflict with the general intent of the ordinance the plans of this applicant is completely in opposition of our mission statement we need to defend our principles sometimes special exceptions may be granted to an applicant by a zoning board because it is beneficial to the public welfare no aspect of this proposal will be for the public good they may claim it's tax revenue but that that is a fan bargain I would never want to make giving variances and exceptions must not Material impair other uses in the zone the applicants plan would make this impossible there are human beings living in the zone it's a densely populated area the hills is one of the largest planned residential developments in all New Jersey there are over 4,700 single family homes of which bassing Ridge portion has over 2,000 homes there are dayc carees elementary schools you see kids walking playing biking people living extremely close to Allen Road people live here and Allen Road is the only Road in and out of Basking Ridge area of the hills Allen Road is winding through it all and there are just two entrances on either end to get in and out of the hills for all these people the infrastructure is simply not adequate it is not a fit for this applicant at all not to mention ridiculously out of character signature acquisition tried to do the same thing in Bridgewater they did the same thing in 2023 to Bridgewater they proposed before Bridgewater zoning board to tear down Office Buildings on Route 22 Route 22 and replace them with two Warehouse houses sound familiar that site was near residential homes and a senior living community called Laurel Circle Bridgewater zoning God bless them did not let this happen they fought it and that was a location on US Route 22 it would be obscene to let this applicant build their plan here and let's talk about the most critical Fellowship Village we're going to need you to wrap up okay I will wrap up it would be abs absolutely perverse to allow this applicant's outrageous plan to be located so close to the senior living facility I can't believe this is even being considered I'd be ashamed to live in a town that would not value and respect these hundreds of senior citizens in their homes it is all our job to protect these vulnerable people to me it would be nothing short of elder abuse if this goes through if even if even one death occurred to due to this plan becoming a reality I'd be mortified to live in this town that allowed this tractor trailer warehousing operation of all the boards I think this board holds the highest power you guys are charged with the most important mission to protect the very lives and health of the people here to protect the Integrity of the environment to protect the very character of the Town your decisions say a lot about who you are but they also say a lot about who all of us are in this town please represent us well thank you thank you for your comment thank you next your name and address please ma'am Helen Lawler 69 door Chester Drive basy rench 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 thank you for your hard work U on in this process um I have been been a resident of Bas kinger Ridge for over a decade and in the general area for multiple decades um so I've seen a lot of changes um first I want to touch on um the application itself I do find some similar problems as the other commentators um with all the months we've been here um and all the materials we' reviewed we still don't have Clarity on certain key details that are imperative the outcomes and the quality of life um here in town um which would certainly be uh potentially influential to um the future of of how we uh reside here um with the lack of information um there is a risk to the residents of this town um while I do support business in general I'm concerned why we are still missing the details you know for instance I would think that a market study would have been conducted to identify Prospect tenants um or a desired target market um if that's not being disclosed for whatever reason we can only be left to believe that presents something of negative consequence or alternatively that perhaps applicant simply has not considered these points which would also be a concern um because certainly that could create a long-term situation um questions like well will they hold the property longterm will they flip it for a cash infusion will the tenant be a good member of the community will the applicant is this part of a larger strategic plan of the compasses the applicants other office and Retail properties on Allen Road as well as in Warren across the street from Riverwalk Shopping Center um once these things move forward certainly we can't put the toothpast back in the tubeb as they say the question here is accountability um for the applicant as well as the tenant towards the community and the answer is right now there is none um let me move on to another concern um which is human behavior um certainly the residents who would see traffic change uh would change their behaviors accordingly which would impact roads like Liberty Corner Road Somerville Road and so forth but I want to talk to you about um a couple things that have happened to me in the past um that would also impact behavior of the truck drivers um as we know the interstates are getting increasingly um busy and having more incidents many years ago before it got that uh as bad as it is today there was an accident on 78 and the entire town came to a gridlock uh people were coming off of of Martin on Martinsville Road exit cutting through town um it took me 40 minutes to get to Finley for a stop and then another 20 minutes to get to 287 to proceed on my day um uh we are as I found out gridlocked between the highways in the swamp um so we are we are landlocked there um you know this is this is increased over time um and I think this is not just an Allen Road and the subsequent roads attached to those to this area of the southwest corner of town but really the whole town we're talking about um Allen Road yes 202 to Liberty Corner perhaps uh Maple through town 78 uh to Valley Road and let me just give you some examples of recent incidents that affect 78 and 287 between that intersection of those highways through to Maple and King George Road some of which either closed completely or partially the lanes in those roads and in some cases also directed traffic onto roads like Maple and mount Ary September 16th um September 1st that was a complete lane closure uh August 30th all lanes were closed I'm sorry the the first was not complete but it was multiple lane closure August 14th which overflow to Maple Avenue August 9th residual backup on 287 um was a problem some town roads were impacted August 8th um with exit uh exiting traffic on uh exit 6 on manir July 16th with um traffic on on Maple U I'm sorry there was an accident near Maple Avenue so some traffic came off there July 10th and June 26 which was an hours long backup with traffic coming onto Mount Ary um I also myself encountered some traffic where I got off of um King George Road and made a left onto Valley Road and there was considerable traffic this was back in the spring and it was 2:30 in the afternoon approximately so there's um certainly other roads in town that could be impacted by this decision we're going to need you to wrap up y I'm I'm almost done so um I do also want to point out a couple other um concerns in regard to Allen Road itself um at the top it's 600 roughly 600 feet um down to about half that at the intersection um I certainly don't want a tractor trailer on my on my rear bumper um coming down that Hill particularly in bad weather but also not even up that high just a couple driveways down from the applicants um 150 Allen Road there is water runoff that freezes regularly um and that is a bit of a tricky spot and then lastly I want to address um the the actual backup traffic on that intersection between Martinsville Road and Allen Road um we were told in testimony that there are approximately three car lengths um equivalent in terms of the size of the trucks um with that we were also told that approximately two uh trucks could turn at the light on in the direction of 287 uh 78 rather um I observed it myself um I probably think it's more like one but that aside um I do think it's important to note that um you know having three or four or more trucks backed up could easily make a five or seven minute trip down the hill a 20 minute trip down the hill um with added time to go to either of the interstates thank you thank you thank you for your comment is there someone else your name and address please sir good evening my name is sidhar gopinath I live at 12 queenberry way in Lafayette W in the hills 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 please proceed thank you very much and I appreciate the work that the board is doing I also want to congratulate all the residents and other folks who have spoken so eloquently tonight there are several things I wanted to say but I'm going to actually summarize into one key issue that I would like to point out that I haven't heard today that I think is sitting on everybody's mind before I do so I just want to make a point I'm a small business owner in general I'm very much in favor of business in general I'm very Pro development I understand and appreciate the benefits that a business affords a community in terms of employment in terms of Revenue in terms of taxes however when we make these decisions they have to be made with the entire impact of the community obviously in mind we've heard many people talk about the quality of life in this area and I'm sure those of you here on the board I'm not sure where you live I presume you're in this Township and enjoy the same degree of beauty that we all have talked about but like I said I'm not going to dwell on those points that have been made I want to dwell on a point uh that I call safety those of us who have lived in bassing Ridge in the hills and the surounding communities for a decade or more we remember a time when it was not necessary to have a alarm system it was not necessary to have lights in the front of your house that would be activated by motion where it was not necessary to have flock cameras located at the entrance an exit of the broader community at either end of Allen Road I think most of us here are aware that in the last several years the safety picture has changed marketly in our community we are now victims on a almost daily basis of car theft as well as home burglaries in our community small community within the hills we have experienced this many more times than I would like us to have in fact we experienced a home birth over the last I believe it was about 10 days ago so the activity that you see happening in our community is not only people installing new HVAC systems people installing new driveways but you see a lot of activity related to security people installing new security systems we see ADT we see guardian we say Sentinel we see all kinds of people come in and out of the neighborhood one of the things that the police department mentioned to us as a community when this burst of of criminal activity started to happen about two years ago is they said you have to be very careful about who you let into your neighborhood they talked about um having systems where you could identify who was coming in and who was going out when I reflect back on the 10 years or so previous to today my recollection is that there were fewer people and fewer incoming Services into our neighborhoods I could be wrong I have not done a study but anecdotally the amount of traffic coming into our general area has increased dramatically a few years ago I had a handyman who I didn't know very well come into our neighborhood and as he exited he ran over somebody's dve driveway and a little Stone you know part of the driveway sort of fell off wasn't a big deal but I mentioned this to him um and he said you know I'm not part of the community and and it seemed to be an explanation not even an apology what I read into that is hey I don't live here so I don't care as much I think we've all seen that happen maybe not in this community but in life in general so I think when we're letting people into our community within a few meters depending on where you live we need to be really careful about what we're letting in we need to be really mindful of what the priority is so today in our community I think the priority is security I think the police department along with other officials need to focus on ensuring that our burglaries do not go up but that they go down that the thefts go down that we are a secure neighborhood once again again like we used to be and so there's two things I'd like to request the board to do number one is from a priority standpoint I would like the board to prioritize all activities that contribute to the security of the community I would also like the board to consider very carefully any activity that may exacerbate the downgrade in our security meaning letting in forces that we don't have a very good understanding of or that we don't have full control over ultimately I feel the question is this what price are we the entire Community including the board willing to pay to sacrifice the quality of life that we enjoy to me the answer is very clear I therefore very forcefully request the board to reject this development and allow the community to focus on the number one priority that I think we need to tackle which is security thank you very much thank you sir thank you next comment your name and address please sir Alejandra Lopez and 229 Peter Hill Drive 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 yes thank you please proceed uh I am grateful to all the community and experts to talk about traffic environmental uh the constructions financials I just want to share my perspective on this and I want to try to make my point with silly examples I came here to talk about my garbage can the height of my car and the light in in 287 in Mont area and me go to the points I fight every day to my kids to pick up the garbage can even going out getting in why because I'm getting a ticket for the association if my garbage can is not inside my my my garage yeah I cannot park my car in the streets because I get a ticket so I obey and have the rules so the same rules all the community has here needs to be followed by the new company coming and not ask for exceptions so why we're trying to get less for a big company where all the community of us follow simple rules and that's the value I want to express here the second example I want to talk about is when I crash my neighbor car I produce a damage to the car of my neighbor I didn't run as as a community people I went to my neighbor and PID for the damage and in fact I offer my wife car to drive for a while so I don't see here what the compan is doing for us for the people that will affected for many years on the value of properties yeah the third example I want to take here is the traffic light I mentioned when I drive all the way coming to 87 going out exit 26 we line up there and pass many years before we have a traffic light the traffic light came and I was say to my son I'm impressed because here the things are doing fast well took like three or four months because I see one sign with a black garbage back there then comes another sign so at the end was very nice you see signs everywhere you canot get lost so I trust that this comes in effect that I have not the same time a traffic light took to put in place could take years for this company to build a single wall in the property so that's my my comments thank you sir thank you next [Applause] comment you bring that microphone right in front of your mouth buddy your name and address please sir um my name is Rishi antham and my address is 71 Darren Drive okay hang on one second we're going swear you in 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 I do thank you please proceed okay good evening distinguished members of the zoning board my name is Rishi santham I'm 15 years old and I'm a sophomore at Ridge High School tonight you've heard the perspectives of many people in the town you've heard from senior citizens and middle AG residential people I speaking from the point of high school students and new drivers and I'm here tonight because I want to speak about how worried I am about the plan to build two huge manufacturing facilities at 150 Allen Road to start these facilities are going to bring in a lot of truck traffic to our community we're talking about the biggest trucks on the road WB 67 tractor trailers and they'll be up to 16 loading docks for them I can't help but wonder do we really want these trucks driving up and down our road and our quiet streets this kind of traffic is going to mess with our school buses which are already on tight schedules because if you don't know Ridge High School is actually switching to a new later schedule and it's already been hectic enough and let alone with a new uh business bringing in all these trucks into the town that's going to be extremely hectic and ruining the schedules of the schools which is not going to be good for any of the students and along with that the trucks are going to bring in noise and air pollution which isn't good for anyone especially for the people who live near the school and near Allen Road and it's just going to ruin the air and it can even lead to health issues but this traffic isn't just an inconvenience it's a serious safety issue especially for new drivers like me or I'm going to be I'm going to be taking the written test this November and I'll be getting my permit next year in September when I turn 16 there are about 420 kids in each grade with these new drivers on the road it's going to be extremely scary for them to navigate these small roads of Basking Ridge let alone with hundreds of trucks around them that are massive and that's going to be extremely dangerous and cause so many accidents and that's also going to affect the kids who are walking and biking to school and how and it's going to affect their after school activities I don't think we should live in a town in which walking to after school activities should pose as a safety threat on top of this this is going to hurt the overall well-being of the community kids like me are traveling back and forth multiple times during the day whether it's for sports clubs or other activities with all this traffic it's going to add a lot of stress for both students and parents who are worried about what roads are like finally the developers are asking for changes to the existing rules that are supposed to protect our environment and Community they want to destroy 4177 trees and only plant 167 176 in return they want to build oversized buildings too close to people's homes and Disturbed slope sloped areas this is just the beginning if this is approved what is stopping this business or any more businesses from coming into the town and industrializing the neighborhood and and this will create an industrial and noisy neighborhood which I do not want to be in so I'm asking you to think about the impact that this will have not as just an inconvenience but as a real safety issue to students my age and older please consider the future of this town and its safety and I want to come back to a peaceful town the way it's always been thank you for your time thank you for your comment next comment Ellen Pinson 99 Allan Road Liberty Corner I don't have to say please ra it's already raised uh 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 okay um I would like to reinforce the conclusion of fellowship's expert planner um the 0.15 F AR has been in place since this economic zone was created and has not been subject to a variance that I know of the Town chose this level of development for this area due to the environmental sensitivity of the Dead River Valley um the Dead River which runs through my property I we own both sides um the the surrounding flood plane Wetlands Wetland setbacks and Upland provide protection for the headwaters which are right here in Liberty Corner they absorb potential Downstream flooding and provide critical habitat that protect biodiversity our farm has a lot of animals and a lot of nature we often see Heron fly in and land as well as foxes and everything you can imagine um but this protection did not happen by accident for many decades and master plans the town the state the county the residents and the businesses have accepted less economic gain um and less tax revenue out of respect for the environmental sensitivity of this area and also of course for the benefit of the general public and property values and so forth the town acquired the town has acquired the flood plane uh along the Dead River as when it as as development happened they would require you to dedicate the flood plane so that represents a Sacrifice by the property owner and the developer as does the 0.15 F it is a low f um we also benefit I we benefit personally from Farmland assess M this is a sacrifice the towns have to accept because they want to a general recognition that you want to have protect Farmland protect the environment and so forth again we're not the town's not the town would otherwise be getting more tax revenue a farm pre U Farm preservation is another program that the county the state I don't know exactly where the money comes from but it's serious money that actually protects the 60 Acres on the corner right next to this property right on the corner of Somerville and Allen Road that's again a sacrifice on the part of the of the state and the county and so forth um lost my place okay we also have directly across from the 60 Acres belongs to the English farm with the subject to the preservation of the Farmland the towns laid out I think $2 million to acquire what's now called Liberty Park right um Sons of Liberty Park I should say Earth Richard's property then as you travel east on Allen Road large sections of are protected by wet the wetlands as is lot of my farm as well as a large very large field that is owned by Fellowship Village again preserved open space so this again it represents what the town has been about it isn't some new thing in the latest master plan this has been going on for 40 years because I've been around for that long um so I I just see that this plan these these uh this business operation we understand that they want to take advantage of the zoning but they have not but the town has to recognize that they that sacrifices have been made and I believe that the 0.15 f as well as all the other denial of all the other variances and and exceptions and so forth the town would have a solid basis for denying this if this ever was um objected to and taken to court because we have you're I think you're entitled to defend defend your zoning your history and and all that that's gone into protecting the town and the environment and that's that's basically why I think the F restriction is s hugely significant and a basis for denying this appeal successfully denying these uh requests um the other thing of course as many people have mentioned is that we're asked to buy a pig and a poke here we don't know what they're bringing in and there has not been any serious presentation on the issue of what is light Manufacturing in other words we're told we we're presented with a design for a warehouse but then we're made a promise that it's only going to be light manufacturing but there's been no discussion no refinement of that issue and we don't have it obviously as people have pointed out we don't have the tenants uh to speak to that those issues for instance I mean you can Define there may be an overlap it may seem well is packaging considered light manufacturing you know if you just bring in some items and then spend your whole spend all the the production is all just packaging it up and of course what makes it suspicious as people have mentioned is the fact that they need so many loading docks it just doesn't add up and we have no we have no way as many people have said we have no way of V uh identifying what's really going to show up and of course I I agree with everyone in terms of the traffic and all those other issues but I just like I say think that this plan that they've submitted makes hash of our zoning requirements and our plan there obviously was not thought through as to how to deal with this type of issue and and I'm afraid we might all have to make some more sacrifices to put this whole thing to rest thank you thank you for your comment we're going to take a five minute break and then we will can I just actually how many more people want to make a comment that are here tonight a handful more okay let's take a five minute break can I ask everyone on the right hand side who raise their hand when you come back please sit on the left hand side so that we um can hear the comments efficiently e e e e e e e e e e e e e um Was preparing to make a public comment please be on the left hand side of the room we're going to see if we can um get to everybody tonight we're going to do our best is there even a CH I I there's always a chance but I doubt it I doubt it based upon the the number of hands that went out we never we never know but uh let's see Miss Kea are we back on okay Miss Herrera you're there and you could hear us I'm here she's here she can hear us okay we continue to have a quarum yes and the board is back uh on the day back in session thank you um your name and address please um yeah hi chaali Patel and I live at 54 Sentinel Drive okay Mr Warner is going to swear you in do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the TR truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you pleas you right to the microphone please I just want to say thank you for listening to us um I actually came here to just listen and and I'm compelled to now speak so um I don't have a lot to add because I think all my amazingly smart and articulate neighbors already said everything but I do stand here before you today not just as a concerned Community member but as someone who deeply loves this place we all call call home I'm just like really emotional right now just hearing all these things is really nerve-wracking um this warehouse this this giant impersonable structure threatens to strip away the very heart of our community our peace the character of our street the Clean Air our children breede my children breede it's all at stake my kids grew up here we've been living here for over 10 years they played in these Parks went to these schools built friendships on these um in this amazing Community um I watched them flourish in in a very tightened community where there's going to be life lifelong friends that they are always going to um have and rely on to see this is now threatened by a s shadow of a massive Corporation it's heartbreaking and you can probably hear I'm shaking right now um as I was listening one thing that came to my mind and that actually compelled me to kind of just say something um is there's a famous song um you don't know what you have until it's gone and that's exactly I what I felt today this is more than just a building it's a choice that we're that about who we are and what we value do we prioritize this faceless Corporation over the people that are sitting here who built this community I urge you to consider the long-term impacts on our families our environment and the spirit of this Community thank you thank you for your comment next your name and address please sir nagra CTIC War 84 patrial Drive Basking Rich please raise your right hand you swear to God or affirm that the testimony about gives the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed so a lot of my fellow residents of the town have already spoken on the subjects some of them may be repetitive but I would like to add a little more personal FL flavor to the entire conversation a history I came into this town in the midst of pandemic I immigrated from India into the land of opportunities that this country and the state and the city provides and when I came here the Realtors gave a lot list of towns across New Jersey and couple of them actually discouraged us for Mo moving to Basking Ridge couple of major reasons for discouragement were lack of access to grocery stores long drives people would have to make to make to a g grocery store relatively higher taxes and so on and so forth but definitely this Township has some great schools no doubt about it not just in New Jersey but United States this Township has some beautiful Serene residential communities and that's what attracted to us we traded off with all the higher taxes that we pay because we live in a Serene County within a very healthy environment what are we going to see here now on this road God forbid if this proposal goes through every 3 minutes I repeat every 3 minutes between 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. which includes school hour including Mount Prospect a truck p on this road those hours are also the walking hours on the Pavements across the Isen Road and just for the information of the jewry here my patio actually overlooks the Allen Road and I'm sure during whole of spring and summer we keep the patio door open because of the fresh Breeze that it brings into the house I'm sure after the truck start plying I dare keep those doors open for the polluted a polluted air to enter the homes two there is a beautiful walking Track which we see a lot of seniors kids Elders pet owners take a walk and such a beautiful residential Community which makes this town a very attractive Town very vibrant town and very Vibrant Community I'm not sure with a truck passing by that same walking Track just few feet away every 3 minutes a 30 minute drive you would have seen on both sides of the road two trucks passing by or 10 trucks passing by that time in 30 minute walk I don't know how many people would actually walk on that road I if that would have been the case I would actually recommend this Township to dismantle the payments and extend the roads to make the trucks fly on the road no harm let's not have a payment so close to the trucks and I'm not talking just of the payment which is next to the road I'm talking about the walking Track which is just next to the payment and you will see a lot of people actually walking on the walking Track and this is I don't know whether it's east or west side of the Island Road or north or south side but it's on one side of the Island Road there's a long walking Track which stretches across the communities and goes all the way past Mount Prospect School the second point that I would like to add here is uh I have a middle schooler son and I have a Primary School son my middle schooler son actually bikes on that road and payment quite often as many others would do I'm sure after the trucks come on the road I dare anybody would do that and I'm not sure how many would have factored that has the traffic analysis factored these kind of behaviors I'm not sure the another element that I would like to add is on this road very close to the uh proposed to uh Venture there is a four-way stop sign imagine three trucks stopping there amount of traffic pile up and I added earlier that the the commute distances for for this town are relatively more for even a small grocery purchase you need to make a 15 minute 20- minute drive now that adds another five or 7 minutes because of the trucks flying adds to the H quality of life if I may use that word which has been spoken quite often so far and as I said why did I come here it's not just the trade-offs that I made but wonderful Community who made good recommendations to come into the town and this part of the community called Hills I'm not sure if this proposal goes through I would ever dare recommend anybody to come into the hills I'm sorry to say that signature Acquisitions is a great company I have seen some of their values have gone through their website I know they respect human values and sentiment I humbly request them in the interest of the larger Community they withdraw this application I humbly request them and I know that we have a great jury here who are doing their job with great pride and uh compassion for the what they do I request you to take a just decision on this on this subject thank you thank you for your comments sir next Who's Next your name and address please sir okay uh Justin H 33 Liberty rge Road do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony about the to give us the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes I do thank you please proceed all right uh thank you uh board members and um fellow residents of basin rid um I want to share my story about living in uh Basin rid uh I just moved to Bas in last March with my uh three years old son and my wife we moved here because my son is a kid with special needs and we we are thankful for the toship that the the the education district has a program to support kids like my son with special needs and my son loves here when we came here and we as a whole family love this place more day by day because it's a wonderful place with beautiful nature with peaceful life with uh nice people and my son and my wife we love to work out through the way to enjoy the beautiful nature until the time that some big trucks came across my son would be so terrified he stopped moving he keep on Yelling no TRS no TRS stead so when we know this thing that someone would bring so many trucks to our community my son become even more scared about this place he even said we I don't like this place anymore so we also noticed that his classmates also who are kids with special needs even with normal kids they are so terrified when they saw the big trucks come through the Allen Road so it's not a simple family case it's a case that common to every family so as a parent we definitely don't want our kids Liv in an area with so many big trucks that coming through the road so we urge the board members please consider preserve this place for our children so that they can have wonderful and memorable childhood and most importantly they can be safe now talk about myself I'm a staus dis I have over 10 years experience I've worked in the National Institute of Health as a a research statistici also in Industry my exper experience and my training uh driven me fascinated about the estimates that provided by the applicant especially the number of daily traffics provided by the applicant I wanted to know why and how they derive this number so I started follow everything I attended several hearings and eventually I found that their calculation was only based less than 20 data I don't know know where the data they obtain I don't know whether the data they obtain are close to the places that are very similar to our places and being a statistician my intuitive my intuitive uh feeling told me that this number is not trustable because SLE size is less than 20 so I asked the traffic engineer can I have the confidence level or range for this estimate and interestingly he only told me that the lower bound can be zero that's very optimistic but two implication implications of for the being zero one it's impossible because the business doesn't allow zero tra traffic or trucks coming through daily second one in that it means that the variation is so huge so if you consider the upper bound of the confidence LEL or range it would be over 100 or probably several hundreds so I asked it might be very large for the upper bound he said no objection so I EO to a former uh resident statement that we have to prepare or consider the worst the scenario for this case mean that we have to consider over hundred of large CH pour into our local traffic given that current local traffic during the traffic hour the the rush hour is pretty bad now if we over hundreds of TR large trucks pour in that would be very bad not only for us as residents but also a very bad consequence for the board members who W make the decision whether to allow this traffic to P in our local traffic so I would like to send the message that as a statis I strongly recommend you don't believe this number because it's unreliable and unbelievable and if this is a question in any college the traffic traffic engineer provider answer for this he will definitely fail the examination I will assure you thank you thank you next please is there a next comment hi your name and address please my name is Su prakash tarti and I live 17 jown Cod thanks can you bring that microphone higher please please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm the testimony about to give us the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed thank you uh I come today here in front of the esteemed members of the board as a parent I moved in this neighborhood a year back I have two kids fourth grader and a kindergartner uh I I when I moved here I made a promise to my family and to my kids of a way of life of the Fabric and the beauty and everything we discuss that a lot uh going through the comments I just want to bring one aspect of it uh which I believe will resonate with many of the parents as as me and maybe right in future who come over uh this beautiful neighborhood so for the two kids that I have uh as a parent five days in a week I have to FY them around for various activities that they engage in they love to do and we as a parent make that promise and we do our duty as a parent and it goes from 4 to 7 most days and there are two days where it goes from 4: to 8 for both the kids I have to make like 2 * 2 to six six faires maybe in different places wherever there activities are as a parent what matters most when I get in that car for making those rides is certainty certain amount of certainity of meeting my kids at a certain place at a certain time what we hate is ambiguity variance things that come from statistics and guess what signature acquisition is bringing right to my door to my neighborhood to my street in truckloads variance ambiguity and statistics as a parent I would want to be there for my child see his smiling face right there and do that my duty as a parent every time every day I just want to urge the members of the board here to think of me as a parent and many others like me who are here in the neighborhood many others like me who will come here in the neighborhood in future as to what we do for my kid and for their kids and we want to do that in the best way possible so just help me and be there for me thank you thank you for your comment next comment is there a next comment your name and address please ma'am yes my name is madavi pupala 17 Honeyman Road Basking Ridge please raise your right hand do you swear to God or affirm that the testimony about to give us a truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes I do thank you please proceed thank you so this project of uh signature Acquisitions has only one beneficiary and it is solely owned by themselves the sign nature Acquisitions there are several several several downsides disadvantages to the community including the township and just to give a perspective I would uh um I'm going to put this in context for you in 28 listings number one fellowships senior citizen residents impact number two cutting down of trees number three increased heavy truck traffic on our roads number four proximity of schools number five unknown type of manufacturing six environmental degradation risk seven wrong estimate of truck traffic eight new Young Drivers driving to school nine productivity loss of to people with increased traffic 10 decline in property values for residents 11 eventual loss on tax revenues to the town 12 increased wear and tear of the roads 13 train on public Township resources 14 risk of increased crime with strangers 15 increased noise and smoke pollution for residents 16 risk of truck accidents potentially life-threatening 17 setting a precedence for more facilities such as this one 18 strain on Emergency Services in town which are already running very thin 19 the no left turn and Peak our truck non-truck traffic only for WB 67 trucks all other incoming and outgoing traffic into the site is not accounted for 20 the township has not refined light Manufacturing in the master plant and has not passed a new ordinance this cycle of new applicants requesting variances on Allen Road will continue until the light manufacturing definitions are changed 21 why was this existing 150 Allen Road building demolished while the variances are being heard by the zoning board did the applicant follow the environmental commission study recommendations about proper care for lead paint and as asvestas and did they use proper disposal techniques 22 since the building is demolished would this be viewed as a new application permit 23 why did the traffic study did not cover the mount ERI road to 287 24 the traffic study also did not include albrook School Which is less than one4 mile from the site 25 highlight that are Town consists of single Lane roads that are not designed for this kind of infrastructure and Manufacturing facilities the town will see rapid derating road conditions 26 our roads cannot accommodate the turning radius of WP 67 trucks this is a disaster waiting to happen 27 what if signature gets the highest possible variances approved and they turn around and sell the property to a different developer and the new uh owner does not need to adhere to to the all these limitations we have asked for Signature 28 sidewalks are to close to the are so close to the main road pedestrians kids bikes to the school and their safety matters several several several reasons are uh we all have put in signature Acquisitions if you only have any conscience to any of these matters listed please please please withraw the application save and save us all amen thank you for your comment next comment your name and address please sir yeah Diego 229 Patriot Hill Drive I'd like to apologize for the h i mean no disrespect by it uh I'd like to start off by just saying I love thank you 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 doubt please proceed Lopez Mendes and would you please come and sign in over here when you're finished when you're finished you can comment and then hit it at the end okay uh just to start off I'd like to say I love Basking Ridge uh we're a town um a small town we love our trees here uh we had a pretty famous tree that was 600 years old uh where Washington was uh to this company cutting down 300 trees uh might not seem like a lot to them but it means a lot to us to my understanding uh growing up in in Basking Ridge there really wasn't a lot to do uh and the reason for that was uh besides you know going to wonderful parks and doing a lots of community events uh because our town cares about the perception of our town the safety of our town and cares about who comes into into our town growing up I didn't understand uh how important these things were uh you know I was just a kid trying to have fun uh I want to thank the board members before you and you guys directly for always holding those values and taking them into consideration I lived in the hills for 20 years uh I remember walking to ra Aid yes I still call it ra Aid uh to get some chocolates as a young kid or play uh tennis my parents knew that the sidewalks of basing Ridge allowed me to walk there by myself with no wor with no worry or to pick up my younger sister from Mount Prospect walking or even to let her walk alone I can't say that would remain the same with these massive trailers going across Allen Road heck you know uh I was pretty scared of Crossing Allen Road with no big trucks and I can't imagine uh the little kids Mount Prospect uh trying to cross those roads that's why we kind of added those flashing lights on Allen Road to them this is a waiting game to to us this is our home thank you thank you for your comment can you please sign the sheet next comment [Applause] please name and address please uh Karen L Roa 11 Morgan Lane Basking Ridge in the Hills do you swear to God to Refirm that the testimony about to give us the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes thank you please proceed um I don't have sure I don't have too much more than a lot of people have already come over so I thought perhaps what might help is um some photographs um I don't know if you wanted to see the photograph I I thought that we were done with testimony and and producing new evidence um I thought this was commentary yeah P public comment is testimony and public members of the public are entitled to present uh factual evidence uh just like any other fact wit so what do you have there no further Evidence dur um personal photographs that I took of the some of the crosswalks you have three photographs three photographs can you please show them to applicant councel due process Constitution thank you well I'm going to object to all three she can present them if the board allows them because I have no idea when they were taken who took them she never laid a foundation we we we'll ask so please do get with any photographs we as the predicate questions who took them when and are the in accurate depiction of what they report to represent so assuming you have that personal knowledge please share that with us when you make your presentation yes I six seven and eight I took these photographs myself I took them today I took them from my car as I drove along Allen Road with my iPhone be P well we'll just make them in the order you gave them p67 P6 p7 p8 and what do you intend to demonstrate with these photographs um I intend to to demonstrate I wasn't really intending to demonstrate I was just making comments um like I said I didn't have too much more to add but those are three of approximately eight crosswalks that are on Allen Road from the four-way stop going down toward Douglas Road um um I have personally walked the the section of the road approximately 200 times in the past two years um I as I walked them once the application was put in I started keeping a general track of how many times my kids didn't have cars sto for them at the crosswalks um first of all I'd like to say that it hits close to me if you see the one that says Independence the view of the crosswalk of Independence that's where we come out my kids come out um it's at the bottom of a relatively steep hill and for some reason it's very hard for people to stop there it's hard for people to see when I was young I grew up in a different town very similar place where we cross the street at the bottom of a Long Hill my brother was hit by a car when I was about 8 years old he was about 10 and he almost lost his leg he was able to walk by the grace of God and had multiple issues for years thereafter um some of the incidents that occurred in the past just couple years on in though in between those eight crosswalks specifically um a 70-year-old man was hospitalized after after he was hit by an SUV on Allen and Hamilton Road one of the photos Will Show You Hamilton Road um crosswalk a bicyclist was hit in about 2019 um on October 6 2016 I believe that is the date I'm not entirely sure but it was October 2016 um a person was killed trying to cross and one of the crosswalks that they were killed at is one that we tend to cross quite a lot just based on where we are um I'm sorry that threw me off the best crosswalk is located at the top at Hamilton Woods it has 85% stop rate the two worst crosswalks are the second Hamilton Woods crosswalk which is across from Patriot and it's got a blind curve coming around and it's coming down a slope which is very very similar to what happens when you're coming down further down you're coming around a blind slope toward the 150 Allen Road so it's a similar situation where you've got that blind curve you can't see very far you don't have a lot of room to stop um that has a 25% stop rate it's more on one side less coming around that blind curve that's similar to the one that they're looking at percentages you're giving us are are what are based on the number of times that people stopped or didn't stop when my kids went to cross this the stop You observe that I observed myself over the two 200 times in the past 18 months that we took walks um it's not scientific just what I've tracked um the independence crosswalk at the bottom of the hill has only a 15% stop rate that is also where you can see on there the town sends a police officer to sit there the most often um often because it is very difficult with people coming down the hill one of the um commenters had mentioned about the township spending money the that property I don't begrudge anyone who is looking to develop their own property to make money off of it I think that's a reasonable thing to do but I also think that it's reasonable for them to H abide by the restrictions the town has has zoning that says that's where you're allowed to do certain things however the town also says in order to be allowed to do those things on this property you have to fit within um the requirements that restrict you and one of the biggest things that I've seen is an intensity of reaction by people and I think that's caused in part by the intensity of the usage that they have suggested which is significantly more the variances are one of the big issues um on the intersection of Somerville Road and Allen Road on one town um as one other commentator had mentioned the Sons of Liberty farm that was purchased on November 30th 2008 for $3.1 million one of the stated purposes was to preserve the land and Forest in that particular area of town um the adjoining property at 200 Allen Road on November 13 2009 the township paid Township in combination with other governmental agencies paid 5,25 th000 in order for the property not to be developed in return for the township substantial payment as well as not developing the property the owners agreed to remove no more than 18 trees per year um in my opinion that goes to show when you when you live in the Hills which I do I live at the bottom of the hills you hear trucks a little bit from 78 it's not too bad as other me commentators have said however the particular location of their development removing that many trees would significantly impact the number of trees the noise coming from 78 and um the environmental we have a large detention Basin right across from our home when there's large storms it overfills and is actually more than what it was originally meant to handle there's a lot more water that comes down that hill so the water that will hit them um that property is very important when you remove that many trees as the town requires in its ordinance that you replace those trees in kind we're going to need you to wrap up soon wrap it up absolutely um I'll just read one simple list of specific changes for Allen Road that the two towns in Somerset County did to try to improve safety they added additional signage at crosswalks they added blinking yellow lights with push button activation at the main crosswalk that's the 85% one at Hamilton woods they added blinking red light at the four-way stop they added a blinking orange light at amher Muse they replaced lighting to add brighter lights at certain intersections they recommended a roundabout at a four-way stop after a study was conducted by Somerset County they installed speed measuring traffic devices and they restriped the section of Allen Road which is immediately in front of that area that used to be um two lanes in each Direction and now they reduced it to one lane in each Direction um that's it other than I'd just like to request that um unless the applicant significantly reduces the size of the building and the amount of trees removed and addresses the lighting that the um application be denied thank you for your comment next comment is there another comment can I ask by show a hands how many more still need to make a comment or would like to make a comment okay thank you your name and address please sir Gary brers 6216 Fellowship Road 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 please proceed thank you my uh my parents moved to uh to to Basking Ridge to Fellowship Village uh in 1997 I believe so I'm the second generation moving to Fellowship Village uh I did that two and a half years ago with my wife and we've enjoyed U living at at Fellowship Village um and um now we're concerned uh because of the uh the event we're talking about light Manufacturing um when uh when I pull when I when I leave Fellowship Village I go down to the stop sign and I make a left or right on Allen Road um I'm finding that I have to be very careful when I pull out because there because of the curvature uh trucks could be coming cars trucks could be coming from the left or the or the right and so I'm careful and there's a blinking light on the stop sign itself um now with with the uh the event of the light manufacturing we're talking about uh two buildings that are about I I think it's about four times the footprint of the original building um and accommodating all of the uh uh number of uh uh trucks that could be loading and unloading there every day uh and we've talked about over 80 80 truck trips so we're talking let's say in an in an 8 hour period we could be talking talking about 80 trucks um um a truck every 6 minutes and um so pulling out onto Al Allen Road is a problem could be a problem so I think most myself and all our other senior citizens are are being very careful at our Corner when we pull out on Allen Road now a lot of times when I pull out on Allen Road I'm going to uh CVS or I'm going to Walgreens uh and when I come back from Walgreens I stop at a four-way uh a four-way intersection at Somerville Road and I proceed to uh to to go up the hill and and and the road the road is very curved and lots of hills uh and when I'm coming back to fellowship Village I'm cognizant of the fact that uh I'm I'm going to be passing uh uh 150 Allen Road at some point and when I get to the point where I'm actually on a curve going up a hill and as soon as I get to the top of that little tiny Hill then I can see 150 Fellowship Road ahead of me and it isn't a great great distance at all so I imagine that when cars were pulling in and out of there when the building was there with uh with office folks they were driving cars mostly and now I I'm envisioning that uh uh an 80,000 lb truck is came to a stop at a at the stop sign at Allen Road and is about to make a right turn and I'm I'm envisioning a car or any other vehicle doing what I normally do which has come heading towards Mount Ary Road and all of a sudden I'm seeing a truck pull out not a car a truck and a truck isn't going to go very fast when it's from as starting from a stop position so I'm envisioning um that we may have uh many accidents there and I'd like to for safety purposes uh I'm hoping that for many reasons I'd say ditto to the many of the people all the people that have made comments here last week and this week but ditto to them but also um I just like to see the um this light manufacturing um um unapproved and uh uh uh and and and and and and and save many lives perhaps in the process thank you thank you very at that corner thank you next comment please a an address please sir tile Stein 172 Riverside Drive swear to God to Refirm that the testimony about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do thank you please proceed the property owners have the right to develop their property within the limits of our zoning and just like every resident that comes before the board of adjustment they have the right to ask for variances and exceptions no one wants a warehouse or warehousing and in fact it is prohibited in this town I support light manufacturing being that I come from a family that owned a small Factory as as I grew up and I worked at I think it's a good thing for this town the state and the country to have it I found I found a comment uh scratch that if this is um denied what we replace it office that won't be occupied or how in which would definitely have impact on our traffic schools and taxes as we know the board of adjustment listens to the testimony and when done with the summations it becomes a negotiation hopefully during the board's deliberation some deed restrictions can be offered some and some recommendations can be given maybe after some straw votes from the board the appc applicant will understand where it's heading and either agree with the recommendations or pull the application I have faith in the board thank you thank you mron thank you other comments was there another comments Miss kefir one more okay one more one more Miss R your name and address please thanks my name is dul sendes I live in 229 patri heal drive thank you 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 and then please speak loudly sure well I appreciate your time um to hear all of us and I really appreciate that you're hearing each one of us I really want to ask you as parents as um uncle as a aunt as grandmothers of uh families that live here and can take that in your hearts and really think when you take your decision and listen to each one of us that we have poured our thoughts and try to make all our feelings into put our feelings into words and that you can listen to your community as board as members of these boards these board I know that you want to do whatever is it in your in your um will and in your power to do what is best for your community you have done an oath to protect and help the safety of your community and as a mother I just want to ask you to use that oth and that responsibility that you have for your own Community for the children that live here your children that live here all the children of those families here that are asking for your help to vote and always look for that security that we all want our families to have to live a safe life to see our children grow in safety wherever they go as mothers we want our children to come home safely and we do not want to have one yes or one no to impact their lives and knowing that our life can be lost by one decision a one yes or one no what it means to a life of that child what it means to the parent if it if something God forbid happens it is our responsibility as members of a community to always look after the safety of our children we owe them that they already leave lots of horrible things that they hear on the news we are here and we can do our best for them and that is our responsibility as a community and that's what I want to ask you to really take take that in consideration and I pray and I know that in your hearts you're really going to take that seriously and think of each one of your children and as members I know that you're here because you want to do the best for your community thank you thank you for your comment thank you keep for you no no one on the list okay all right so so seeing no um other comments I'm going to close the public comment portion of uh of this hearing um it's also past 10:30 so we will not be getting to subm this evening um we'll uh look to do that at a at a future meeting so the expectation will be um I think Miss keeper will help tell us when uh we're going to carry this meeting to but I think the expectation then will be to move to sumti um um for the next meeting and I expect to hear from three uh three lawyers at that time um the the objectors attorneys uh as is the procedure and like in court the objectors attorneys would go first uh they'll decide between them which will go first and which will go second and then applicants Council will go third summations are their explanations uh of what they understood the uh uh the evidence to show uh whether or not a certain relief is necessary and if so whether that relief uh the the applicant met their burden of proof to obtain that relief or not uh those are what the summations are uh and I think Madam chair if I may we we anticipate uh after those summations that there may be some discussions uh some uh uh business matters uh legal matters to be resolved uh uh and then the board to have before it and the board by the way will be with the advice of council resolving those issues uh and then ultimately the board will be deliberating and deciding uh based upon the relief that is required and being sought has the applicant met their burden approve or not and they will vote uh and that will ultimately conclude the matter easy as that I just like to ensure that uh you speak the micophone Jeff L I'd like to just ensure that no further public notice is required when we carry it to November 14th well we we're going to confirm the date but uh as far as I'm concerned we're we're going to be carrying it legally we'll be carrying it tonight without further notice to a date time and place specific uh time will be 7:30 place will be here and I believe the date is November 14th November 14th thank you okay so we will have another meeting before then uh yes we will that will be a normal uh scheduled meeting we will not be hearing signature at our next meeting which is [Music] November six six which which dat is it it's a Wednesday okay is at the sixth or the seventh sorry 6 okay so our next meeting will be um November 6th we will not hear signature at that time and we will hear it at the uh 14th meeting okay um if members of the public if you're leaving can you please do so quietly so that we can finish up here thank everybody for their um respectful comments um are there any comments from Members I'd like to thank Miss Herrera for joining us via YouTube and FaceTime thank you very much for allowing us to do this I'm sure the public is thanking you as well because they were all here thank you motion okay great um is there comments from staff none okay motion toj a quick question the November 14th meeting I mean quarum issues again I just want to make sure do you know who can be president I mean if not I'd be open to doing this again next week or another day I mean that's fine I have right now um as of my most recent poll I have one two three four people confirmed who are they who are they that would be Mr Cambria Mr chairwoman Jers Miss Herrera are you available on November 14th my fings pulled out Miss Herrera is available on November 14th uh Mr Halon hopefully is available on November 14th and we'll um reach out to him and and hopefully he will be able to join us after 30 years okay so uh thanks for that is there a motion to adjourn mtion second second all in [Music] I thank you Jamie thank you so much congratulations congratulations congratulations