##VIDEO ID:jryK4SGo17o## e board regular meeting for Tuesday January 21st 2025 adequate notice of this meeting has been given in accordance with the open public meetings Act njsa 10 colon 4-6 on January 9th 2025 proper notice was sent to The Courier News and to The Star Ledger and filed with the clerk at the township of Bridgewater and posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building Please be aware of the plane board policy for public hearings no new applications will be heard after 9:30 p.m. and no new testimony will be taken after 10 p.m. hearing assistance is available upon request accommodation will be made for individuals with his disability pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act or Ada provided the individual with the disability provides 48 Hours advanced notice to the planning department secretary before the public meeting however if the individual should require special equipment or services such as a Cart transcriber 7 days advaned notice excluding weekends and holidays may be necessary and just a quick note there is Hardware within this building that is uh for hearing assistance should that be required would everyone please rise to salute the flag I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for Miss propes the roll call please please we specialist in manof specialist helping out with us to welcome her Maria welcome welcome to our group thank you very much we look forward to working with youy vesio here mayor mench is absent for the record councilman kersch here Mr papis is absent Mr mcor here Mr Wang here miss sakur here Mr banga here M choit here Mr chowdery and Mr Atkins is absent you have a quarum you can proceed oh I'm sorry um Bill Burr board engineer will not be joining us and Katherine sarmad our planner is present very good thank you at this time am many members of the public wishing to address the board on any land use matter not on tonight's agenda please feel free to come forward at this time seeing none hearing on moving on board attorney Mr PE I don't believe we're issuing any oath of office this evening so we're going to move not tonight we're going to move on to a set of board minutes that we have from January 7th 2025 any comments or change to the record take a motion to approve the minutes for January 7 2025 that's Mr chowri can I have a second please all second that's Miss sakur could I have a roll call please we can do those by Voice vote if you'd like just need abstentions for whoever wasn't present at that meeting very good all in favor I I I moving along to the resolution portion of our agenda for this evening we do have our first resolution memorializing our board professional appointment for Mark peek Esquire our board attorney sitting to my left any comments change the record hearing none I'll take a motion to adopt the resolution of the planning board of the township of Bridgewater authorizing and awarding the contract Professional Service to Mark peek Esquire Florio Puchi steinhart Capell and Tipton that's Mr chadri could I have a roll call I'm sorry could I have a second please I'll second that's Miss uh chtz all in favor I I no you need a roll call for that because it's spending money okay chairman besso yes councilman kers yes Mr mcor yes Mr Wang yes Miss Sora yes Mr banga yes Miss charoit yes Mr chowdery Mr Atkins I'm sorry he's absent no issues moving along we do have another resolution thank you very much and welcome back to our board thanks appreciate it pleasure work likewise our next is a resolution memorializing the adoption of will Burr the fourth professional engineer is a planning board engineer would like to make that motion to adopt this resolution I make the motion that's Mr mcor could I have a second please I'll second that's Miss chtz could I have a roll call please chairman besso yes councilman kers yes Mr mura yes Mr Wang yes Mr yes banga yes cardo yes Mr chowy next we have a resolution for the planning board of the township of Bridgewater awarding the contract professional service for our board planner to Katherine sarmad professional planner any comments or change to the record who would like to make the motion to adopt the resolution appointing Katherine as our board professional I'll make the motion that's Miss sakur I'll second that's Mr mura could I have a roll call please yes yes Mr M yes Wang yes M Sora yes Mr banga yes Mr chardo yes Mr chowy and uh just for the record U Mike papis arrived at 708 okay we administer the um o of office yes I I was sworn in at the township rior oh okay great welcome back Miss Arman thank you next a resolution authorizing an award of contract for Consulting planner and that's Michael Sullivan of Clark Kon hitson of 100 at 100 Barrack Street in Trenton any comments for change to the record hearing none who would like to make the motion to adopt said resolution all motion that's Miss chtz could I have a second please all second that's Miss sakur could I have a roll call please chairman viio yes K yes Mr papis yes Mr M yes Mr Wang yes M sakur yes Mr banga yes chardo yes Mr chowy next we do have a resolution memorializing the appointment of all elected official Miss probes how would you like to handle this if it's okay with Mr peek I think we can do that on one roll call the appointments were would have been made yes they were at the municipal reorg they were made at our reorg this is our officers yeah our elected just chairman chair secretary and assistant secretary yes yes I'm going to do one you could do that as a as a block so just Bo election of board okay the resolution is for the election of a chairperson date of election January 7th on the nomination of maricio ves's planning board chairman the next is the election of a vice chairperson on the nomination of Asha sakur for board Vice chairperson the next is an election of board secretary for Nancy probest as board secretary for 2025 and the last not least is Sonia chtz as elected board secretary for 2025 any comments or changes to the record hearing none could I have a motion to adopt this resolution motion that's Miss sakur and a second please that's Mr Wang could I have a roll call please yes M yes Mr yes Mr M yes Wang yes Mr sakur yes Mr banga yes Mr chardo yes Mr chowdery moving along in our resolutions uh we all other resolutions listed on the agenda this evening are in pending status inuring including the heritage in of Bridgewater moving along to our application portion for the evening we do have one application and that's for Icon Keystone njp 4 owner an amended site plan at 1120 Route 22 block 205 lot 5 and who is representing the applicant this evening Mr chairman members of the board board John marora representing the applicant um it's a long name but let's call them link Logistics that's the name of the parent entity which is actually the fee owner but uh yes 1120 Route 22 East uh between North Gaston Avenue and Adamsville Road North and it's fairly simple what they want to do is uh just remove uh unused office portion of the building uh and continue their current operation just as it is currently being operated uh it's there's just no use for that building right now it is deteriorating so they want to replace it with nice sidewalk in Green Space um unless there are questions from me I'll move forward with our Witnesses um we have two this evening the engineer is uh Tony Dian from Kim kimley Horn uh and we have Frank aleso who is the director of property management uh for link Logistics um if there are no questions I'll call both channan forward is call them up over here I'll swear them both yeah okay now if you would we'll start right do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're going to give in connection with this hearing will be the truth and nothing but the truth yes great could you uh just State and spell your name for the record Alo f n k Alo a l SSO okay thank you and excuse me Frank would you just explain to the board what your relationship is to this property I've been the director of property management since 2009 Lang okay and Tony uh you also have to give the benefit of your credentials since we'll be asking you to be sworn in as an expert oh I'm sorry you're welcome uh I'm employed by kimley horn I overse development services in New Jersey business address is 301 sweeton New Jersey licensed professional New Jersey SP AC the state I believe this is actually my first time um LIC is active good standing Tony Di as an expert in civil engineering does the board have any objection to Mr Diggin or Mr alesso's qualifications no objection please proceed thank you um why don't we begin with Frank why don't you explain exactly what you you're asking the board to approve link Logistics doing and why you're asking yes we're looking to demol demolition the office section of the building since our ownership in 2019 we actively marketed the space for office use and have had no interest and at this point in time the whole premisis is starting to deteriorate and needs us to spend some money and we don't think that it'd be wise to put the money into the building being that there's no market for rent and how would the facility operate after if assuming it is approved after the demolition work and restoration work is completed we would install some green space to make it the curb appeal for the neighborhood and then the operation behind which is linemart and the warehouse would continue to operate as they have been since 2021 202 to when they occupied the premises you would not anticipate any increase in traffic or any change to the operation that would be noticeable here in Bridgewater absolutely not okay Mr chairman I have no further questions I propose any questions from the board maybe thank you I'll open up to our board for any questions just my my I want to make sure that I'm I'm uh orienting myself right to these these photos that that you submitted um proposed building visual one view one and view two um Can can you describe like what what you know where was the camera so to speak and what what direction are you are you looking okay you know I think it' probably better if Mr Dian answers those questions uh because those exhibits were prepared by his office okay can we move on to Mr diing then there no further questions for oh I'm sorry if I'll I'll I'll wait maybe that'll be the first qu maybe you'll even address it all right you have the opportunity to question I I have a question um Mr um aleso could you describe again the changes to the um operations that will take place with this proposed I guess reduction in your structure currently no change in operation the warehouse tenant in the back continues to operate as they have been for the last two years and the vacant space which is office that has been vacant for since prior to we purchased the asset but at least 5 years now six years would be removed and in its place would be landscaped area trees and vegetation of that sort most of the the building how it works is it's actually an ancillary office area so there's not much curb appeal that we have to do to the building to the facade just the one section that gives you the pass through from the warehouse to the office and we'll do that to match the building standard as it is today and uh just for my edification the the tenant in the rear the rarehouse portion is what what kind of a tenant what do they a logistics company they distribute all types of goods and how many U employees are for how many people are on site what's the uh I was saying any operation look like Vehicles hours of operation right now they're working one shift from 7 to 5 um and anywhere from 30 to 50 individuals there's another building in the back um that tenant is coming out as well and then linart would take that space as well is is the Hope in the future and uh describe the vehicles that uh come in well there are 18 wheelers that do come to the building for shipping and receiving um it's not a lot of traffic it's anywhere from 5 to 10 trucks a day and then the rest is just automat like you know to Total Car Parking and the uh Vehicles the the whether it's the automobiles or vehicles of employees or visitors or the trucks what uh route do they use to access this what road do they use or roads do they use come they come through Route 22 and then they load and unload on I would say the east and west side of the buildings where where the uh tailgate areas are okay which you really don't see from Route 22 and uh I don't remember seeing on the plans are how the vehicles how are they loaded and unloaded well they back up to the building and that loaded vehicle loading dock into a loading dock at Lo loading dock how many uh loading dock Bays do you have on that structure no I apologize I'm responsible for like 350 buildings throughout the Northeast so approxim approximate I I would say there's interior loading I recall that so I would say about 20 loading dock positions okay that's all I have for now thank you Mr Pap um another question if I may um so uh you you said you you've you took over ownership uh in 2022 no that's when theint tenant linemart occupied the space okay there was Baker and Taylor was in there prior okay Baker and Taylor had occupied both the office space and the warehouse no they they may at one time have had some portion of the office space but when we took ownership in 2019 the office space was broken up and there was some legal offices some medical offices some personal business offices I'm sure like Printing and what have you but they were ancillary to not connect it to uh Baker and Taylor in the back there was Baker and Taylor actually had warehouse space the buildings were connected they were separate operations yes sir okay and um in the intervening time those leases have expired and N none have been interested in staying and and that's why the building the the office portion of the building is currently vacant yes okay thank you councilman any other questions 5 to 10 they come in through uh 22 East enter into the property and then dependent on the tenants operations whether it's shipping or receiving but most of them come in and they park on the east side of the building yes M Mr chadri could you move the mic a little closer here oh yes uh is the truck number of trucks actually changes uh based on the timing like a Christmas time or something I would imagine during Christmas time it might spike a little bit instead of 5 to 10 it may go 10 to 15 during that six week period okay um during the regular routine week I'm not sure of the standard of whether they come in the morning or the afternoon I guess a lot has to do with traffic um but they definitely lose the east side because that has interior loaded thank you s can you can you just um Explain the phrase interior loading so there the trucks actually drive almost into a garage like you would in a residential spot into there's a garage area on the side of the building so instead of loading at a bay they're going and then there's inter to the building the interior of that area okay and using forklifts or whatever they're loading same type of deal tailgate equipment such as load and docks okay is that because of like weather considerations or there's just a logistical benefit to doing that that's how the building was designed so since it's there it just makes more sense for weather constraints day like today you don't want to be loading outside that's the yeah so you're not opening the building to the entire out outside climate Mr aleso I'm looking at uh page two of the land title survey here if I'm understanding this correctly this first section here that we're seeing this is proposed to be demolished is that yes sir okay uh as of current uh from Route 22 are you able to see this portion of the structure yes okay uh after the demolition of the building will the um existing structure what's to be remaining will that be visible yes but it will be somewhat camouflaged over the landscape area that we TR plan to improve FR and I see here from the renderings that there's some vegetation to be planted in the place of where BM a burm and then the plant we go on top of the BM okay and the parking areas that are directly in front of the building proposed to be demolished will that remain um status quo yes okay so at this time there's no proposed change to any of that parking immediately upon entering from Route 20 correct okay um the demolition process approximately how long um would that take defer to my construction uh department but I'm going to say about six months okay and during this time I'm assuming the removal of all the materials will take place within that 6 months period or there will there be piles of stock piles of materials that'll be no they'll remove the debris as going and what would take some time is because of the age of the building they have to do some environmental make sure there's no asbest or anything and such there and if there is that would delay a little bit of the construction of the the demo scope of work okay and for the board's information uh when a demolition like this takes place is it demolished uh to grade or to below grade is some of the below grade taken out there is a section on the right I believe that where there was the cafeteria that might be slightly below grade do you recall I believe the cafeteria as you're looking at is this are right here okay on the left side is that correct the exhibit that's on the screen right oh you're right it's on the right side that would be below grade and that would be backfill that would be backfill okay so ensuing would be essentially a an entire landscaped area uh that has the proper drainage installed for for no sheet flow to be going toward the building obviously toward where the existing sheet flow is is yes be going okay any other questions uh yes Mr banga yes yes I'm sorry to the steps yet yes they'll mean so that's just uh exactly what's on the the rendering that was made available okay that's all I have thank you thank you Mr Banger anybody else so just want to make sure that I understand so when you look at at this property now from the highway you essentially see the office building if you look really carefully you see some of the warehouse but at this point the warehouse is kind of on the sides of your vision it you know you probably drive by and think it's just an office building yes okay are those Landscaping trees that are proposed to be planted are these deciduous trees or how how large do these get they would eventually grow to all the rest of the trees are there it's pretty much the same type of tree Mr Mr Dian will take you all through that as well any other questions Miss Sarma do you have any questions just just a handful chairman thank you um You' mentioned that the um the newer tenant owner had sought to advertise the office base do you know how much total square footage of office space there is it's just slightly under 50,000 square feet and you'd mentioned that prior to the new owner it had been utilized you know fragmented into different tenant spaces at any point after the building was acquired a few years ago was it ever utilized by the current tenants no it's not okay thank you and then I just as a point of clarification I think you'd mentioned that there were was approximately 20 dock doors on the building that's a my best guess it's just in looking at the site and um we might want some clarification although it's not changing at all it appears to be a little over 40 dock doors and they're all on the western side of the building the Eastern side has those rollup doors um but there's probably like 40 or so dock doors again that part's not changing that exists today that operates today but just so the board is aware it's you know of what the magnitude is I have nothing else thank you thank you any other questions from our board members I uh I don't know who this question would be posed to but it was mentioned that there uh if if this is approved and this front portion of the building is demolished that there would need to be some attention paid to materials that might have to be disposed of um if we get to that point i' have some thoughts about that about how that is monitored and um we're in the midst of um in the township there's another structure that may also be demolished and there's a environmental expert that is engaged to help monitor the air quality so I would like to be able to touch on that later thank you Mr Papas at this time I'd like to invite any members of the public to question Mr aleso based on his current testimony please feel free to come forward and if I could for the members of the public we're going to limit this to questions for the testimony just heard no commentary there'll be plenty of time for General commentary later on okay sure Vince O'Brien I live at six Grim Drive which is the dead end which butts up to that complex right there um my first question is with this demolishing of the office space in more Ware space are you anticipating more truck loads no okay uh commentary to my street which backs up to this property over the past 25 years I've lived there I've had trucks trying to deliver to Baker and Taylor and they come down my dead end Street realize it's a dead end and back up over my property do you anticipate that or can you put up a sign we'd be glad to put up a sign but Baker and Taylor has been out of the building for 5 years I've been had a since Baker and Taylor left the building but three times in a row with trucks backing up because there's no way out over my property and I have to fix it at my expense we'd be happy to put up a sign with the anticipation of this office space into warehouse space uh more traffic at at holiday times the office space is not going to be replaced with warehouse space the office space once it's demoed will be replaced with Landscaping total Landscaping total Landscaping there will be no increase to the square footage of the building only decrease and to the left of the building in that field which currently has a drainage is there any work going to be done there none to my knowledge will your company take care of the Landscaping that currently is not taken care of for some time now since that's part of your property we I was under my understanding that we did take care of the landscape in there my neighbor can probably speak better to that but according to what he told me outside the answer to that is no they haven't taken care care of anything I will assure you that we'll take a look into that this is just for questions you're starting to testify and just ask him questions about his testimony that was the last comment I had well I think there's two valid items that have been raised Mr petus so we can make sure as we're keeping a a punch list here um I I think in addition to any signage um you know we may want to just discuss uh communication with drivers sure um you know because obviously trucks don't just show up your property there's you know substantial communication that occurs um so so I I'd just like us to explore an appropriate um uh measure of uh uh of of comfort that um uh there'll be strong communication particularly anyone who's new to to the complex that they understand the traffic flow um and we can certainly work out the detail and then the second is that we would just you know want to make sure that um you know we cover that that the entire property uh you know will be properly and appropriately maintained uh on a go forward basis to you know alleviate any concerns for portions that you know may or may not have had that occur in the past speak the observation of the neighbor at six Grim um I went out there tonight to look at the lighting I came to the hearing and I put in 1120 route22 and it took me to your house so I didn't there because I knew it wasn't on the gri so I think that Google put 11202 there change the location so that all right so yeah mean you know Google's a very powerful operation I don't know how uh a correction like that is made but um this is the first that I've heard of this they'll they'll fix it for you okay problem I was not aware okay all right so I guess Mr peek if we could just make sure that you know kind of corresponding with the um with the instructions is that there you know be that reach out to Google or other leading mapping Services uh to make sure that it the the one and only uh entry to this uh to this property is acknowledged along Route 22 thank you Council are there any other Amendment with the public that wish to ask any questions based on the testimony just heard that'll close the public portion for this uh for this witness then we'll move on to Mr Dian very good good uh Tony could you explain to the board what your relationship to this project has been the homework you've done and the exhibits you've prepared yes I'm the engineer record and I've been involved in the design couple years now um you can go go right through it as our attorney uh mentioned we're here before you tonight to seek amended site plan approval for 1120 Route 22 uh for demolition approximately 63,000 grow square foot office footprint of which will be reestablished with lawn and tree plantings I'm first going to describe the existing condition and then I'll move into the proposed with the exception of this first exhibit all the other exhibits I'm going to use mark this in exhibit A1 this is an AAL exhibit of existing conditions prepared by my firm horn dated January 21st 2025 it's SC North is so again the project parcel is located 1120 Route 22 it's a regularly shaped lot 43645 lot 5 you see it's a regular shaped it has Frontage on Route 22 the eastbound Direction and also proper out to G property has three right in right out drives across the right away there is no connection Gast out along the frontage there are mature plantings what I've seen a well lawn out front and this area in the Northwest is wooded the area to the west of the building exhibit is aention center of the site you have total is 435,000 square foot uh 370,000 of which is warehouse space the larger box here and centered on the front facade is again it's a 65,000 square foot G square foot um bacon office building see there's uh truck docks on the west side I will get that number and enter that in on testimony but it's probably in the neighborhood of 40 um on the rear there is 100,000 squ foot uh building uh with a tenant I think it's us container and on the east side uh there are drive-in doors and staging areas um at times this has been striped out as parking and in the front obviously you have um parking as well as um landscaping and the office space is vacant it's an ongoing maintenance concern which is why they seeking amended site approval to demo that um just point out site is fully conforming From the Block requirement standpoint in the joint review letter board professionals pointed out that while the office space is being demolished and that is the permed principal use Warehouse use is an accessory use but since that's not changing still letter of no interest point out the letter that we did not include the 100000 foot rear in reality that didn't need to be submitted because the portion we're changing is the 60,000 foot office space we counted that asare had our s plan that typically submit loan that way when uses on the site the usage changing whether that's a pad site where you're adding more traffic to it if that threshold exceeds 100 trips per hour so in this case No Reservations about not having submitted the 100,000 building again that's not cons 65,000 foot ware in of office questions on existing conditions have any question on existing conditions yeah I have a couple um so the only way to get to I hope my directions are right the west south and east portions of the building is essentially through what I'll just call driveway number one as you're heading eastbound on 22 correct uh you can also circulate on the get there from all the driveways the most direct route would likely be if you're coming down to looks like it's tened on this Western Corner most direct route would be the first driveway you can also come in the third driveway and circulate back through here oh okay all right I that that wasn't clear right along the property line yes okay um all right thank you all right now it's a little clearer okay thank you um actually can you can you just move to the to the left um yes thank you all right so if I'm following along the building if you could scroll up you know somewhat slowly so those are all trucks and those are the among the 40 Bays correct I will confirm that number for the survey I don't have it right now the approximately 40 Bays okay and then um if we're if we're focused on the south part of the building um are there any entry points there there are Bay there yes okay along the South oh I'm sorry along this the southern facade yes there may be entry points there drive IND doors I'm sorry what some Drive IND doors but not docks okay and then along the east side are there is there entry to the building yes there are driving doors on the east side okay now that building behind you um what is what is that being used for right now now it's being it's Ted by us a container so they're basically a container operation I don't know if they're storing I can't speak to the specifically I don't they store coners in there oric I okay I guess maybe what I'm looking looking for maybe from Mr peek is there a delineation between storage and warehousing or you know are they the are they synonymous is one a subset of the other I mean it would depend what the definitions say in the Township Code but you would think in the conventional sense you know in the land use sense you think warehousing and storage would be the same discuss the same item but unless your definition say otherwise so there are multiple definitions for warehouse which were part of the 2021 or 2022 Amendment and that's because warehousing has changed significantly in the last 15 to 20 years um so part of what changed with all of the manufacturing warehouse zones or most of them in Bridgewater was that they warehousing just warehousing generally and there's I think three or four definitions for Warehouse in the in the code were were changed to from a permitted use to an accessory use um as far as the implications for for how it came to be at this board or why it's at this board or why it can be at this board uh I included a little bit and I think Mr D kind of touched on it but from a planning perspective this is what's known as a pre-existing non-conforming use because it was zoned into non-conformity it existed legally before the Zone changed The Zone changed only three or four years ago so we have a good memory of it so that's sometimes not the case but this use this building and warehousing use existed prior to you know I I understand I guess my you know Layman's view of the difference between storage and warehouse and I don't know if our code acknowledges this to me storage implies stuff goes in it stays there for quite a while obviously it comes out at some point it doesn't live there forever where warehousing to me implies stuff goes in it it probably doesn't stay all that long it's not intended to stay all that long and then and then it it it it leaves um so I would consider them similar not identical um and you know the potential impacts could also be a little bit different is that a is that an accurate way to look at it yeah and warehouse is a form of storage right all warehousing is and as you break it down further there's like typ your tradition dwell Warehouse before the Amazon and all of the the straight to cust consumer warehousing there was dwell warehousing which is what you think of as traditional warehousing longer times it sits there um in the warehouse before it gets broken up shipped out then there's things like distribution centers fulfillment centers parcel hubs cross stock warehouses there's a whole breakdown which is I think what the the ordinance attempted to to address and many other municipalities have attempted to address because the state has issued guidance on warehousing because of the change to warehousing so it's it may be it may be in the same big box with a lot of dock doors but what H the actual function of the warehouse is kind of different it's what you mentioned like stuff will be in a warehouse how quickly it gets turned over the kind of vehicles that move it that kind of defines the the more Niche portion of what type of Warehouse it is um I think maybe it'd be prudent if you'd like to ask the the applicant what kind of um what kind of distribution they do um how long typically things are stored there that's a good indication um but uh if that if it is any different than than your impression of a warehouse um that's likely because as the tenants changed and things have modernized maybe the warehouse that was built 30 40 years ago and it was um I'm forgetting the name Baker Baker and Taylor Baker and Taylor it's probably changed a little bit since then um but it's very difficult to morph into the the types of the different types of warehousing without changing the bu building too so distribution facilities are usually quite larger than this they have dock doors on multiple sides of the buildings they have many more dock doors uh cross do warehousing are generally skinnier buildings with docks on either side of the building so um but I think it might be prant to ask the the applicant to just give some some kind of testimony about the type of warehousing all right well maybe there's a good opportunity since the question has been placed um um you know what what I guess what type of warehousing do you have going on now and you know for the reasonable foreseeable future what is the business model look like lmart I'm not 100% sure but I believe their leases through 2030 their operations a little bit different than Baker Taylor Baker Taylor was really an supplying Amazon books so they were a book distributor out of there so depending I guess on the book some books came in on a Tuesday or gone on Thursday there could be books that came in in January maybe didn't move to August I'm not sure um here I would imagine most of the stuff that comes into the warehouse leaves within a six-month period okay and what types of materials all different types of house Goods personal items they're a true um what we call p&l in our industry can can you repeat that they they're just a logistics company so they pick up stuff at the Port comes in here and then they move it to another to to an end user but usually through a retailer or a wholesaler okay so so they're not you know they're not loading up trucks and delivering it to my house they're this is not like they're delivering it to like a Target or a you know something something like that um is any portion of this capable of um uh having um Refrigeration there is no Refrigeration in the space today is there any anticipation for that okay so the building in the in the in the back is not subject to this conversation that there's no no changes going on there no changes okay all right you me you mentioned you know the word Amazon um which you know I I think you know can can be you know beneficial and also scary at the same time sure um you know given given the way that that that the company has essentially become ubiquitous with the way we live um so in Baker and Taylor was was warehousing items that were going through the the Amazon Network yes I would call them at that time maybe middle mile so they sold items that went to an Amazon Last Mile building but that Baker Taylor told me that Amazon put him out of business business well Amazon put them out in this market they actually relocated somewhere else but the cost of doing business was Amazon became negative for them okay so what you're saying is like a a book didn't get put into a truck here and went to my house it might have gone to an Amazon fulfill to an Amazon location and then it went into a truck and then it went to my house yes okay all right thank you sure continue um question if I could um I'm sorry were you going to make a comment um the um before this was Baker and Taylor long time ago I remember when I was a young Mac uh Mac operation utilized this um this is when I was quite young and there's a in the northeast corner of the property there's a hel helipad I guess you'd call it northeast corner that circular asphalt um I'm assuming helicopters don't land there any longer right no yeah um is there any reason that that has remained in place no reason um there if you scroll down towards the bottom of the uh the site you can see on the east side of the site there's outdoor storage of materials those are I guess uh trailers but above that I don't know what that material is there in the middle of the parking lot containers or I'm not sure and then on the western portion of the site um there are trailers at least in this photograph which were your exhibits uh there trailers that are parked um is that is that in which operation do those trailers belong to trailers could have left at 100,000 foot building be us container time up the uh this I guess the southern part of the photograph of the the back of that large structure there's a is that is is that a roof the black material is that roof material is that a an addition to the back of that structure the main building the a canopy there's some of a platform there and that's just a outdoor canop and is there are there is that are there Drive-In doors or what what is Drive-In doors to the to the if you're staring at the back of the building to the right of it there there are the opportunity for a van to pull up to the back of the platform drop something out and someone can handpick it on a on the canopy Under The Canopy Under The Canopy Under The Canopy okay um are there um I I guess that's all I have maybe questions for later when we're discussing the application any other question based on the current conditions stat I have nothing further very good continue so go to the proposal now I'd like to just ask any members of the public had any kind of any questions based on the current conditions for Mr Di no hares material story there to my knowledge today any other questions would we be would you be willing to put that as a condition I would have to go through the lease to see what we agreed to with the tenant linart when they moved in but um we do request MSDS sheets from all our tenants so and we are very portions of any hazardous materials on our properties it's not a good thing are sheets you mentioned some sort of sheet with an acronym SDS sheets they used to be called MSDS sheets they tell they're when you see a con um a drum and you see the triangles it tells you exactly what the chemicals are so they have MSDS sheets that tend to share with landlords of anything they're storing in the building so that if they are stored there a it helps us for the not only the environment for insurance are they being stored properly and to my knowledge there's no chemicals coming in and out of this building Mr Alesa we talked about that front area being used as office space I believe that was in your report the you did mention I heard some testimony that there were generators on top of that roof I'm not sure if the if the generators are on the roof they're not active so they would be part of the demolition okay So to that end there would be no fuel storage located anywhere nearby for fuel generation the only fuel storage and I would have to confirm I don't recall whether the fire pump to this building is diesel or electric so if it's diesel there would be a small container for the fire pump for the esfr sprinkler system but other than that that would be the difference and that would be common in most warehouse distribution centers that have esfr sprinklers any other questions um so are those going to stay are going to be re landscaped with trees we'll move on if you would okay proposal okay thank you he just discussing existing conditions all right move on now to the proposal I apologize I have two more existing conditions I want to talk about uh our southern boundary our parcel line is a Somerville uh burrow boundary uh the vanir uh Elementary School is just off the page here uh there's there's playgrounds on the back of sports athletic fields and it's further south um approximately right here I believe encompassing um Grim Drive this is also out to Gaston Avenue this is Bridgewater Township here and then south of this area is Somerville burrow this is r10 in Bridgewater um again we are m1b and the uses on the East I'm not sure if it's occupied or not but there office U buildings here on the east in the m1b as well um I did mentioned earlier directed to the call to sack and Grim drive but proceeded on and wanted to check out the lighting tonight the existing lighting because it was raised in the professionals letters um on entering the the first drive there are um some po mounted fixtures along the drive to light the way back to the guardhouse approximately 25 foot in height then as you go around the site um there's not really any sight Lighting on the West Side other than the building mounted lighting throughout um both the west side of this building south and east side and similarly on the 100,000 foot building there's building M mounted lighting as well um what I could see driving through North Gaston Avenue looks like the there's not a im allow amount of glare coming off the property line um my opinion it looks like it's within that's all I have for is there a fence there uh yeah there is a a fence here you can see yeah it's east of the base and then it comes down the drive while probably about 20 25t off the back of the curve line is that fence in good repair right now um I didn't take notice to it so probably is usually if the fence is down on my way to hearing I will that out it's in good condition so another on sorry along the property line or the East Side uh there was a fence along the east side I don't know if a see a fence here separating this tenants yard AP no further questions I moved on to the proposed condition any further questions yeah just one final one you mentioned a guard house can you just show that location guard house is located right here okay and and well I mean there's no Gates or anything but that is what is controlling uh access in and out of the main part of the site I believe there is a gate uh it looks like it was open went through but the that would be the uhing point I was there this morning there was no one in a guard house is that the only gate from any of the entrances into the complex when when um when when um trucks are backed into the warehouse positions um the the I I if I'm using the right phrase the the cab you know of the truck um you know I I guess obviously he's in front of it um as we get to the areas that are going to be opposite our uh Neighbors on Grim um you know is is there is there risk of or is there significant um uh you know light leakage through that forested area or is that area including in winter time s sufficient to um minimize or or hopefully prevent you know any light from you know headlights cuz you know this you know if they run an operation till I think you said what 7 o'clock at night or well even five I mean you know you know this time of year it's it's pretty dark by then in five years that I've been responsible for the building I've never heard anybody complain about tail light headlights okay because you know I'd just be particularly concerned about you know the the two homes I guess at the end of the culdesac but if I'm seeing some nods that that's never really been a problem then I'm not going to search for one I come come to the lect please well it's need to be question time yeah please come to the podium she need to come to the if you could please come to the podium this will for open any questions for the public please come to the podium state your name and address Grim drive just ack question about we don't know the difference between your company's trucks and the building behind it which is totally fine but they do go through hours of the night I'm letting out my dog I notic know the headlights don't bother us of the noise but I don't know who going what TR I'm not sure what time us container in the back if they're truck traffic compared to when you say ours we're the landlord so we're we're not operating there it's just it's our tenants yeah lineart linemart so I'm not sure what Lin Mar's operation we I thought they were a 9 to5 a one shift operation um but I'm sure it's possible too that in a lot of warehouses truckers do arrive to the site and park their trailers there during the middle of the night and then pick up another truck and and vacate or trailer I should say but I wouldn't know whether it was us container or lineart without being at the property question question for for uh Miss sarmad um do we restrict hours of operation for either warehousing or storage or both unless it was inforced by original so our ordinance would allow deliveries at 3:00 in the morning that would I think that would be a function of the noise ordinance if they were violating if they made noise yeah I have I have to see I don't think it does though you know maybe we can parking lot that um you know we we we certainly want to permit um you know a a land owner and and a a tenant being highly successful but at the same time you know make sure that there's some reasonable protection for neighbors that are in fairly close proximity the issue is is this application doesn't really touch on that use I mean this application is strictly limited to the elimination of the office space that's vacant they're not expanding they're not modifying they're not doing anything to the preexisting Warehouse use so there's only so much you know you can go into that because it's outside really the scope of the application okay but at the same time you know because you know in addition to being a planning board member I am a member of the Town Council I I guess uh if if we felt as a proactive uh um safeguard for residents not just here but anywhere I guess theoretically we could pass a Township ordinance that would would limit uh limit hours correct yes within reason I mean you know I mean yes could we this Warehouse is not new this has been around for years and maybe they have work 24 hours hours a day going there now after this has been there 10 20 15 years I think uh we might run into a lot of resistance on that well I mean that's that's that that that's why we have excellent councel provided to us who would tell me whether that is or is not feasible you know I'm simply looking to um if possible prevent problems um yes we have a noise ordinance our noise ordinance General speaking is effective but you know a noise ordinance is a little bit you know a dog chasing its tail um you know if possible you know and you know I could certainly have this as a takeaway to see if this is a problem worth considering um you know again if if if I'm a if I'm a if if I have a solution chasing a problem then that clearly doesn't work um but if it is a legitimate problem it's it's it's something that I you know I I may ask our our counsel to uh to review or certainly ask our administrator to keep his ears open um you know if we do have instances of uh Ware Warehouse or storage operations that are occurring clearly beyond the reasonable uh uh um time on on on the clock but in addition our uh the people living in the area have not said anything about noise well not yet um you know M so first of all perhaps they may during the comment period or even if they don't um you know I see one of our Collective role and then speaking myself as the com combined planning board and and council member as it's even even better than chasing a problem with a solution is preventing a problem within reason you know and again you know you know I I I'm generally speaking not in favor of overregulation I'm not generally in favor of any more restriction on either businesses or residences than we have to um but at the same time you know I I'd hate to have a circumstance where you know we H we had an opportunity or have an opportunity uh and then you know we're we're doing something after the fact that's that's my simple point so Mr papis you know if it's just a point of awareness um you know if this becomes a problem not just here I'm talking anywhere in the township you know I I think it's something we may need to consider I certainly um Mr kers um I do have a a question as a followup to councilman's um on the western side of the property uh between the edge of pavement and the property line there are trees I'm looking at the area the tree yeah that area there um is there a fence along that stretch of the property could you uh point out where that would be so that's a CH I'm sorry say again could you speak into the microphone please there's the fence we talked about that's 20 foot beyond the the curb is that what you're referring to but you can see that in the landscape yeah I'm just wanting to clarify so what is it a chain link fence and the height have have you been on site Mr Diggins yes okay and is it just are there is there just a regular chain Ling fence without any slats to it is see- through is it possible with the uh property owner be willing to consider putting um some sort of a plastic those slots that would maybe impede any headlights uh to I know there hasn't been an issue for the neighbors but you know if there's no ability that we have to at this point to regulate the hours of operation and at some point another tenant comes in and wants to operate 247 then there would be potential headlights of the cabs facing west towards those Residential Properties and uh wondering if you would be willing to agree to a condition of approval that there would be those plastic slats that are inserted in chain link fences I can get back to you on that I'm not well then we'd have to eventually wait to vote on this I mean that's just me I mean there I may be the only board member but of approval we can walk the site it is winter and if there is a a screening issue it would show up right now I we've heard there headlight glare issues that exist we can kind of work with the township on that were an issue hethy there what type of trees are they are they not because if they're they're trees that just have leaves that fall in the fall that's not going to accomplish what I'm concerned about agreed that's why in the winter you would see that though I think these are mix of Evergreen and deciduous but I would just state that the plastic in the fence is not always on yes proposed are there any other questions based on current conditions from our board or from the public none please move on so the next uh exhibit I'm going to show is the grading and drainage exhibit sheet c400 was submitted with the site plan it's dat August 20th 2024 and this sheet is a 30 scale um so basically what I'm showing here is the old building footprint we're removing approximately a 32 32,500 foot footprint um and placing that with just shy of an acre if you will of lawn and fairly robust landscape package um proposed landscape package does meet the ordinance requirements um for every 5,000 foot of disturbance you're required to plant Three Trees so we're planting 26 silver Maples planting around 200 bushes various species satisfy the 10 shrubs for for 5,000 ft requirement as well as the 10 shrubs for 20 linear footage of foundation planning there was a comment in there about um the number of trees being removed we catalog those um we had not reason for that is I believe CR Li disturbance is about I measure it's not about it's about 16 ft offset from the building and I believe in in the ordinance the updated landscape ordinance 126-1 191 Section 1 c1a tree preservation is required everywhere except within 20 foot of the building replacement after that all these trees would be within that first 20 if any of them are ever green not in great shape due to the proximity of the building by the way this is a demo sheet c101 shows AAL back to c400 Yeah so basically the building comes down we put nearly an acre of lawn back the only infrastructure to speak of that's being installed is approximately 90 foot pipe from a yard drain here uh that would Connect into the existing storm water infrastructure as evidence in St Water Management report we submitted we do meet the requirements for S coal and8 and that because of our reduction of impervious by nearly an acre we've met the condition where our post development is less than our pre-development as far as water quality technically not required to um throw into that because of the it's less than a acre of disturbance and we don't add a quarter acre of new impervious all that to say this will be a stabilized lawn area and it won't have any negative impact in terms of drainage around the rest of the site this is odd but I don't have anything else to say about proposed bu the desire to point out where the rendering Vantage points were coming from this is our c100 Liberty of adding these these were not submitted this way but added view one and view two for the building renderings view one is looking up that stairwell that was mentioned earlier then vi2 is kind of at a corner back across the lawn so again these are the uh proposed building visualizations prepared by Kenley Horn uh dated November 2024 they were part of the site plan application this is view one looking straight up that um stairwells to remain you have a nice landscape package here these are silver Maples one thing I point out about the building there's question about materials and we can talk a little bit what you're going to see afterwards semblance of an office building I see the continuation of the panels and the glass if you will two so this is further call this further west looking back across the the newon area building was connected in this area you can see that office feel the mat here is is eph continuous to match the East and West sides see now there were some questions about Demolition and how the building connected I think we have structural engineer visiting the site tomorrow if there's not and it's underpinned have to address that that would submitt demo put up to the board for questioning everything right well does that conclude your testimony does okay you mentioned there was an expansion potentially does that mean that this was an expansion at one point the office space not not by virtue of there be an expansion could have been built that way from that front portion of the building has been there as long as I can remember um not sure if it was part of the original but think it's always been there they number of years ago it was enhanced the appearance of it was enhanced with this fancy glass but it's been there as long as long as I can remember the landscaping that's proposed uh from what I'm seeing is there any proposed walkways to be installed or is that essentially existing walkways based on the uh parking that was there uh are there any walkways that are proposed within the landscaping that's proposed or uh the walkway borders are the walkways that are there that are there okay everything outside of the Landscaping is utilizing existing walking paths yes okay I ask a good question is there is there an entrance at the front is that what's kind of to the so right in this view this was the um the parking lot is approximately four foot lower than the the building finished floor was right here so that's there'll be steps up that that grade separation will be the same um I can go to the exhibit that's this area right here so this parking lot's not all of it but portion of it's 4 foot lower approximately this will remain this will be your lawn area will there still be an entrance at the front of the building or sorry no the not that I'm aware of now okay any other questions questions Mr B what exists today will just exist there and then the connection that we were talking about with the expansion joint that opening when that goes away will be finished off to match the rest of the building that's still what's currently there and it's been there as far as I know from the original construction of the building back 30 40 years ago from the exterior it look it looks like a two-story office building but inter internally it's one yes just clear one high high SE space yes Mr Mr Wang please signage any signage any signage nothing has been requested by linemart today if it was they' have to go through Township approval so uh are there any uh Lighting in on this side after after this renovated did you say hien the lighting lighting yeah there we don't plan on upgrading any of the lighting there might be one or two fixtures that are add it to the front the one thing that we may be doing to this building and I would have to confirm is all our buildings are being upgraded to LED lighting so that would I wouldn't say it would brighten the spot because we work with different lighting fixtures and bulbs to maintain appropriate Li but just becomes an efficient thing for us as far as cost all right thank you any other questions we are have nothing in the plans to add ER to the building today no anybody else yeah I have I I I guess I have you know kind of a conceptual question um you know because it was said before well you know nothing's really changing in that building so you're kind of limited with with with what you can do and I I I guess I'm going to challenge that and say well they are changing the front facade of the building they're essentially closing a hole that's going to be created when um the office building and whatever connector piece is taken out so um you know I I I guess I just like to understand does that open the door for for us to uh explore the operation that's going on in that building well they're not seeking a variance they're only seeking amended site plan approval when a planning board considers site plan approval the proper inquiry is to what extent do they meet the township site plan ordinance Ingress eess storm water type things since it's already a lawful pre-existing non-conforming use that inquiry has been settled um so it's really are there you know again issues with traffic circulation with lighting with noise things like that so those are inbounds traffic light noise exterior fencing site accommodate you know what what's happening in this instance you know again they're just seeking to remove vacant space um and they've testified that the you know the tenant's the same but it's certainly you know fair fair game all right thank you Mr chairman if I can um so just following up councilman's questions um does Mr do you know does m armad do you know M po props the uh when was the last or the attorney for the applicant when was the last site plan approval for this site e more than that it's got to be probably upwards of 50 years if not more because this is this building has been there as long as I can remember even as a young child so yeah yeah yeah we did submit an OA request but they yeah unable to locate it um right question answer to your question Mr K our testimon is that the use isn't changing I mean obviously there's a change in the structure but the use itself will not change because that front portion of the building is not being used no I understand and the reason why I'm asking this you know is that um you know typically speaking our hearings uh attempt to be as collaborative as possible um you know allowing the applicant to to make the case and wherever possible finding a solution that allows the applicant to be wildly successful in their Endeavor on that site and at the same time provide sufficient protections to any potential um you know to to any potential surrounding neighborhood so that that's really the nature of of of all my concern here is is where where is that middle ground um you know including some reasonable protection you know um you know as I think I stated earlier I'm not in favor of overregulation I'm not either either of people's personal Behavior or of corporate Behavior but at the same time you know I I do want to make sure that um you know we we don't have a downstream problem that we could have foreseen during today's hearing well I mean certainly link Logistics I don't know if you know the organization you can certainly ask Mr leso if you want more background but it's a first class operation um this is not their only property they're a nationwide company very very substantial organization um so it's certainly you know our interest to to get along well with the towns where we operate and obviously that would include bridgew we want to be good citizens corporate citizens um as well but I I I just don't want to overdo the application it's just a demolition of a unused office so certainly other than the Aesthetics you'll see from Route 22 there wouldn't be any changes noticeable to anybody in the in the township um once you know in the before and after conditions yeah no and I'm I'm sensitive that I want I don't want to overdo it I don't I also don't want to underdo it you know I don't want to just have a situation where an applicant ever comes here and says Hi here's our stuff you know motion to approve you know it's get you know maybe you'd like the town like that um but you know I've been before this board many times before I would never be some presump and that's and that's that's our history because you know we're we're all here to represent um you know you know what's what's right for Bridgewater and and you know again more often than not that middle ground is found um and and you know that's that's the spirit that I think we all have C can I ask a question uh about outside storage because it's come up and and I guess to follow up on the councilman's questions uh you know I recognize that this application is limited but yet you're here with two witnesses and they've been able to ask answer some of the questions not all of the questions that we've had and uh maybe that hadn't been considered um but you know we we do have concerns and we want to do our best as Council Mur said to try to anticipate issues and and if if if a property owners doesn't come before the board for some relief of something then it limits our ability to um have this kind of a dialogue um so the outside storage I I know it was said that there's these aerial photographs and we don't know when those were um taken um but outside storage you know can get out of hand now is what image that we have there bumping up against that depends upon your perspective I guess and that's why again if the neighboring property owners have a visual screen then maybe some amount of outside storage isn't an issue but if it become if there's U if that screening doesn't exist or if the screening deteriorates and that that's that's why I was questioning and making the comments about screening and so um you know what is a what is a a reasonable amount of outside storage versus you know we asked in the board majority of the board agreed to have a condition of approval of no outside storage that's probably unreasonable what's a reasonable amount is it a percentage of the uh impervious surface uh you know I'd be curious of both Mr peek and Miss sads comments about something like that is you know what would be a reasonable request to make to see if the applicant would agree to it but but that's why that's why I was asking about the screening because again you have Residential Properties to the West uh right now you have a commercial operation to the east whether that commercial operation continues or not in some other form you know we're here to try to think of we should be thinking of those things so that's why asked about the screening so I don't know if you have any comment about that but miss sad would you I don't know if you've heard my question while while they're thinking about my question maybe you could U you could uh comment on what what's an appropriate or reasonable or um standard for outside storage from a percentage of lot coverage or impervious surface coverage presently it looks like they have outdoor storage that's covered in the rear where they have that kind of covered dock which is appropriate because it's contained it's kind of um regulated in that it it's underneath a canopy on the western side of the building it doesn't appear like there's much besides the trailer bed it looks like maybe they're trailers back by the USA container um and I can't tell if they're parked if they're ready to get hitched up to a truck no idea of how long those are stored for um the concerning part is that there's something this is aerial imagery from 2025 according to Google shows something in the Eastern parking lot not Cars just stuff of some sort which I I don't think that anything that's just kind of out there is good because you don't know what it is you don't know if it could leak you don't know if it can contaminate um but I I think you know we have to ask the applicant they they've noted that they're not supposed to be storing stuff there I don't believe so um I think the first thing to do is ask the applicant if they do outside storage or utilize it presently what portion of the site it's located on does it interfere with any parking spaces because parking is a function of the requirement if they're being blocked by outdoor storage that's generally not a good thing um so I guess we have to throw back on the applicant and say where do you presently store things outdoors if you do um and you know what's your where is it you able to I recall across my desk once there being conversation about them asking not asking one of our property managers toward the site and saw outside storage and instructed lmart that it's not permitted um so I'm not 100% sure I did not drive through the building on my way down today if that exists today if this aerial is from 2025 I'm not sure if that's related when we informed the tenant that it's not I don't even know what the townships if they allow outside storage you're talking about that and we're talking outside storage we including trailers that it's very common for trailers to be parked in a parking lot of a distribution warehouse but outside storage something sitting on a pallet or 30 drums or stuff like that I wasn't aware that was even permitted in the township no in my in the absence of a resolution you know for the original approval for the site and you know with the I don't know if this board should permit or regulate outdoor storage in connection with the pre-existing non-conforming use because it could be seen as an expansion of that operation so I think you know if the applicants willing to say that there is no outdoor storage with the exception of the canopy in the rear then there is no outdoor storage on site are you are you willing to say that yes wonderful thank you thank you Miss Sid does that conclude your questioning as well no it does not I didn't even get started very good any other questions from our board SED thank you Mr Jan You' mentioned that the kind of the black architectural detail that's epis panel on the on the buildings facade is that a question yes that's ephis panel paneling is that what's presently the day or those or are those actual windows I the the uh exhibit let me go exhibit so my understanding is that there's we're matching what's out there and that's eits that's out there so it's just meant to be a faux window to kind of replicate what was on the front of the building right okay so it's just architectural nature it's not window paneling glass paneling sorry believe so yes okay thank you um as far as I know you'd given some testimony related to the storm water can you just give a quick overview of how the water is captured for that existing portion of the office let give you an overw I think my laptop is um so basically there's a detention Basin in that Northwest corner there are inlets in both of the truck well the Western Truck Port and the Eastern parking area that loop around to the detention Basin our proposed St water Improvement basically connects to a portion of that FR infrastructure drains to the det the the S plan if I if I'm correct there was a lawn Inlet on kind of the Eastern portion that's going to direct the water that way so the the replaced landscape area has a high point in the middle kind of coinciding with that step as you're looking at those views part of that was sheet flow to the West around Islands tol on the west side and the remainder drain East to that yard wonderful thank you and that and you mentioned before that won't have that shouldn't have any impact on how the water is currently managed today should be a slight Improvement because of the reduction in okay thank you um something I did not bring up but kind of struck me as we were having the conversation and I apologize for not catching it was um the parking the parking count on the site um and it's uh it is what it is because they're not touching the parking but just looking at the ordinance and again we don't have the resolution for when this is approved no idea if there was a warehouse parking standard no idea what if there was a parking variance granted Etc but the warehouse parking standard 1 per 500 which when you get to both the buildings is almost 950 parking spaces from a quick cursory count there's like 450 spaces or so on the site so um I think the the the board should capture that there's a pre-existing non-conformity to parking if we weren't talking about a pre-existing non-conforming use and a pre-existing condition for the parking I would otherwise ask if that front portion parking is used at all um and if there's any way to reclaim more impervious but in the in the effort of not touching the parking to avoid a variance condition because if you remove even one parking space then you be looking at a new variance but what's there is there they're not touching it so it's just pre-existing nonconformity um but as any kind of um if this is seen favorably by the board and approved can you provide the actual parking counts yes if it's as condition absolutely we I think when we discussed that we actually have on our table that we didn't analyze the parking that issue correct and I just did it from an aerial and from the site plan count it's about 450 spaces um so uh it doesn't comply with the ordinance but it exists there today so and it's not being altered in any way so it would just be another pre-existing non-conformity which doesn't require any variance relief or variance testimony um as far as the use of that front lawn area it's just going to be is it going to be utilized by staff is it is it proposed is it is it have any kind of purpose or is it really just going to be re you know Rel landscaped and made green Rel landscaped in main green okay thank you very much um I think that's all I have for this witness thank you thank you m i' like to invite any members of the public that wish to come up and ask any questions based on the testimony just heard please feel free to come forward at this time please come back no please come back to the microphone thank you just state name again for the record Vince O'Brien six Grim drive with all the construction we've had in our roads the past 6 months the guys that have been subcontracted by PSG that are working on our streets are spoton stopping starting at 700 a.m. in the morning or before so with this demolition what time are they going to start what time are they going to stop they will start and stop whatever is permitted but normal course of labor for that site would be probably for demolition that we contract is probably 7:00 a.m. to 4: p.m. yeah thank you very much thank you any other members of the public okay that'll close the public portion for this witness Mr mamor do you have any other Witnesses no unless there are questions for us for the from uh any other Witnesses I mean I I believe like I said it's fairly straightforward we're just taking a unused part of the building down it's just a demolition um we've discussed a number of conditions that we've agreed to if the board is in in Lin to approve us we would certainly accept those conditions are there any supplemental questions from the board okay hearing none Mr P do we want to review all conditions well just the public gets a chance to generally comment uh if they wish I can with that being said any members of the public please feel free to come forward to the podium for any general commentary based on tonight's application there's no interest close now I could go through you go the conditions yes uh other than the standard conditions that are generally applicable to to uh any approval uh we would have that the applicant has to reach out to Google and other GPS mapping sites to make sure that the entrance is uh the Route 22 entrance and and nowhere else um keep them out of the residential neighborhoods I had uh that the applicant will walk besite with the board engineer to see if there's any areas where headlights or or things of that nature can leak over to neighboring property lines and they'll remedy you know Implement such remedial Solutions as are reasonably suggested uh there'll be no outdoor storage on site except for the canopied area to the rear of that main building and they'll provide a parking C yes they're all acceptable conditions question about the uh the uh board engineer walking with the applicants professional would that have to be finalized prior to compliance being um finalized yes it should be okay thank you where the plans are signed yeah Mr peek my apologies the uh site walk here does that also include during the demolition the uh construction phase of the landscape we'd like to potentially have a member of the U Administration be available or be on site when that demolition takes place to monitor the air quality um I mean I guess that they'd have to follow any de regulations and I don't know that uh a municipal I think that's all superseded by uh preempted by state law so the state when it comes to like air quality I don't know that the state when it comes especially to environmental regulation they want to avoid a patchwork where you have 565 municipalities each with their own standards of of what's necessary St what you need to do so I'm not I mean I I don't know I know that when uh we've been discussing with another commercial property owner they're plan to demolish structure they have to um remove any hazardous materials and um dust is the issue when any demo takes any Dem demolition takes place and the the ability to monitor the air quality of any dust is a concern um those are usually conditions of the demolition permit the construction Department imposes so typically I guess a construction official from the Construction office will will will be there usually there's an on-site meeting before the work begins whether it's demolition or construction and the construction Department imposes whatever conditions it it typically imposes we can I can reinforce that as a condition just even though I think it's standard operating procedure but that a precon yeah meeting will be held to you know review all the pertinent environmental and you know drainage and you know Soil Conservation District if they're going to get invol you know take care of all that stuff so it can be addressed yeah that's fine our general contractor or demolition contractor I'm assuming this Township would be no different than other would have to get everything certified that there is no hazardous materials when we do the Demolition and if there are hazardous materials such as asbest that it's going to be Abad properly and that's right that's kind of the stand standard in every municipality and we would never take down a building first of all if we bring debris to a transfer station and there was spiked with something hot in it we would we we'd be you know in trouble they're not going to take it from us can I add something just from from the building permit standpoint building of this size the county would be involved with as well a form that they would have to fill out with their building permit so there's oversight not only the from our local the code office but the county would have to over a certain over certain number of cubic feet part of the building permit the county um gets involved sorry County Planning boardy I'd have to confirm M but there's a form that's issued with the building permit when you're when it's a demo over certain number of cubic feet thank you Mr BR we do have an approval letter we submitted from the County planning board well Mr P at this point now have we satisfied all conditions and requests yeah just ready for somebody to make make a motion uh you know either to to approve or to approve with the condition stated or you know conversely to deny please Mr chowri correct I Believe Miss sarmad mentioned that it's a pre-existing non-conformity as far as the parking goes we'll just memorialize that we have a baseline moving forward so if they try to expand or do any other work on the building you know we know what we're starting with and line is yeah we'll provide that relief if any would be needed yeah we we we'll certainly provide that he Board of attorney Mr peek if anybody like to make that motion enter us into deliberations as well I'll make the motion Mr cor that's Mr chowri okay entering deliberations Mr Wang I think the condition uh with the conditions and um this um application is um is um you know uh templation of the office building and make the building um site um beautiful right and that's that's the main purpose um and and also I I think you know uh basically uh all the conditions should be satisfied and in with with that that I am in favor of this uh uh app Mr mura couple comments to me the project scope of work is demolishing an office building removing some tarmacadam and doing some Landscaping I hesitate to include the warehouse as part of this project we're coming looking at a plan view you're coming to that office building and you're going to decapitate it from the warehouse you're separated uh you have a scope of work for that and you have a cost esate for that I hesitate to change your scope of work by including a lot of Warehouse involved items um per regarding Personnel according to state New Jersey there'll probably be less Personnel on site there's less Peak Peak trips coming into the site which I assume would be the office Personnel won't be coming in anymore well they're not there now anyway but uh there will be a decrease in traffic entering and leaving that site during the peak hours um regarding parking you got a lot of land there and I didn't see many cars parked there I'm not sure how many people you have there but I doubt you need 500 spaces um but be that as it may there some calculations have to be made to satisfy the requirements what else do I have here I've not heard of any complaints about truck idling or parking overnight so that doesn't seem to be a concern among the public um we've addressed the timing we've addressed the disposal of the construction rubble and one other item is that uh if you started demo work now uh in this cold weather everybody has their windows closed and they probably wouldn't hear it so uh those my observations on the project it's uh Demolition and Landscaping so I would endorse this Council m kers i mean I think I've pretty much telegraphed you know where where I'm going with this and and what my concerns are um you know I I want to find that middle ground between allowing um you know this owner and any any specific tenants to be successful with sufficient um protections uh to to to our residents because it does abut uh a neighborhood albeit a small Bridgewater neighborhood I've said from this day US during Council meetings um you know whether whether an issue involves three homes 30 homes or 300 homes it doesn't matter to me if it matters to our residents it it it matters to me um you know that that's the reason you know why we've spent this time we spent this time to get to a good decision um I I think this overall um is a good decision um you know the lens that I use I think the lens that all of us use is not just um you know this applicant that's in front of us um that does seem to be running um you know a very responsible business but anything that we do goes with the land um you know that's the principle of of any of any relief that that we we ever provide so you you have to sometimes twist twist the cube you know 90 degrees and see what that see what things look like from there um but overall you know I think it's a good plan um I think there are reasonable protections for the neighborhood now whether they're you know this opens up some degree of a can of worms for storage versus Warehouse versus what should Bridgewater permit what shouldn't Bridgewater permit well that that may be a public discussion in a different form for him um but you know overall you know I think this makes sense and you know I wish the uh the owner continued success at this property Mr chadre yes uh giv the conditions that Mr I think I Mr benga I'm okay with this application uh you know given the conditions that we discussed and the applicants um you know eagerness to accept uh I think this will increase the buffer zone uh you know as discussed I think it was about 130 ft so you know right kind of line with what we expect of Route 22 uh and you know as long as the disposal of materials are in accordance with law I'm okay with this application Mr Papas um I appreciate the U uh applicants U working with the board and professionals uh certainly think the the appearance will be an enhancement I think the building has always been maintained as long as I can remember no matter who the tenant's been there it's been well maintained at least from Route 22 and I appreciate the applicants cooperation tonight thank you m chood um based on the proposal of the demolition of the unused space and lessening the impervious coverage creating more green space I don't really have any opposition to this and I'm inclined to approve it I'm in support of it as long as you guys uh follow the conditions that we've mentioned before Sora I EO what M choit said I think this is a I mean creates a further front yard setback adds more green space more space for water to go I think that's a great I value the fact that you're willing to do this instead of not spend money on and let that office space deteriorate over time you know I I really value that instead of an iord that it could be even though the building's been Main maintained for a long long period of time I don't want to deter people from making decisions like that cuz I think it's the right one for the township and for you as a as a land owner so I'm I'm in support in favor of this and short of echoing all the symtoms that we've just heard uh whenever there's an opportunity um that comes up for a demolition for example I think it's very important that it's closely monitored especially when there's a community close by there so I think that's that's on all of our minds up here this evening on the day um you know air quality is important but especially when you're talking about Asus which was used up until probably the year 1979 or so possibly uh so that's something I'm really looking you know closely at um also we talk about opportunities I think also we heard some commentary tonight about the opportunities uh to put proper signage uh in place you know where maybe there wasn't any uh that you know anytime there could be less impact on the uh the residential neighborhood that abuts the area I think that'd be great uh the communication uh with uh whatever said services to correct that issue would be great um and um uh I also appreciate the fact that you'll be working uh closely with our engineer as well uh to walk the site I think that's also important and uh I think it's also probably a good opportunity to um maybe in the future consider that parking area in the front close to Route 22 as well as that helipad but probably more importantly the parking lot if it's not being used uh again it's right off of Route 22 and it's just uh you know an open area for parking for any potential nuisance in the future coming right off the highway so uh but other than that uh again I would also be inclined to support the application and and to see that uh the building um brought to a good state with that I'll take a motion to approve this application I'll make with with said conditions I will make that motion that's Miss sakur and a second please second that that's Mr banga Miss probes could have a roll call please chairman besto yes councilman kersch yes Mr papis yes Mr Gora yes Mr Wang yes Miss sakur yes Mr banga yes M chardo yes Mr Chow yes thank you very much we appreciate your time congratulations to the thank you good luck [Applause] okay there's no other business schedule this evening on the agenda if there are any comments by our board members please uh feel free the only question I have is is looking ahead at our calendar for the foreseeable future what do we see coming coming down the the pipeline one subdivision that is yet I don't expect them to compl February Bas that is uh the only thing as of right now that's okay and so so looking at pipeline looking at the pipeline that you just said and the and the calendar so it seems like our February 4th meeting may not have anything for the agenda well resolutions several resolutions that need to be adopted so okay so so February 4th could be resolutions only in all likelihood unless some substantial progress occurs with with what you've mentioned okay okay a few of the resolutions that we only had almost we had Quorum but no more than that I I won't be able to make it that first week and I know I was at a few of those so just want to yeah right I'll be [Music] away um so just to confirm several resol that'd be fine do we have enough votes that evening with you need a quorum and then a majority for Resolutions correct no you just need a quorum to open business you could have just one vote could adopt um a resolution as long as whoever is part of that Quorum one member of the quum Pres eligible and voted in in the affirmative for that application okay so chances are we looking at February 18 if that subdivision is deemed complete likely that be early okay so to just to provide as much notice as possible there may be a quorum Challenge on March 4th I shouldn't say a quarum a challenge to achieving quarum February 4 March 4th I I see possibly four members impacted um on that night oh I I understand before we um before we finalize scheduling notice I'll take a check form make sure that any other questions that'll take a motion for adjournment Mr cor can I have a second please I'll second all in favor I adjournment at 900 P p.m. everyone double check that form that was circulating just confirm your information pass it that way