e e e e e e e e e send that Township vedis Zoning Board of
adjustment regular meeting of March 18 2025 is now in session adequate notice to this meeting as required by the open public meetings Act of 1975 has been provided by the annual notice published in the home news and Tribune on December 13 2024 has been posted the main lobby
of the municipal complex on December 18th 20 24 please join me the pledge of lead to the flag flag of the United States of America to the rep stands one nation
indivisible and Justice all mam secretary roll call please Mr Carly Mr Bal Miss Shaw here Mr a here Mr chabra here Mr Sero here Mr Schneider here Mr D here Vice chair o'
Gorman here and chairman Kumba here thank you Madam Secretary minutes for consideration we have minutes of February 25th 2025 for approval what's the board's pleasure motion to approve second motion made by Vice chairman o' Gorman seconded by Mr Sero
roll call please Mr chabra yes to the motion Mr Sero yes on the motion Mr Schneider yes to the motion Mr D yes on a motion Vice chair o Gorman yes on a motion and chairman Kumba abstain thank you mam secretary resolutions to be
adopted resolution z25 2025 Brian K jansy for an approval what's the board's pleasure motion to approve resolution z20 z25 d225 second motion made by Vice chairman
o' Gorman second by Mr CTO roll call please Mr tabra yes the motion Mr CTO yes on the motion Mr Schneider yes to the motion Mr D yes on the motion Vice chair o Gorman yes on a motion and chairman kba abstain thank you okay uh good evening there is one announcement
uh case Z5 2025 appek bwat at 8 Fielding place has been carried to April 22nd 2025 with no Reen notice uh required if you are here for this kz5 2025 it will not be heard
this evening it will be heard on uh April 26 2025 beginning at 700 p.m. here in council chambers if you received the notice you will not receive another notice this will serve as your notice good evening ladies and gentlemen this is a regular
meeting of the township Edison Zoning Board of adjustment the board is composed of Edison Township residents appointed by Municipal Council who volunteer their time in service to the board Miss land use Law requires that members successfully complete a land use training course administered by the New Jersey Department Department of
Community Affairs the board also holds in-house training conducted by our board professionals the zoning board excuse me the zoning board abides by the provisions of M land use law in addition to our board's bylaws the zoning board is a quasi judicial land use board which
differs from the township planning board under Miss vian's law board members are required to be impartial and are not allowed to discuss any case prior to being considered at a hearing all applicants will have the opportunity to present their case before the board along with the opportunity for board members and board Prof professionals to
question the applicant and their Witnesses at the conclusion of the applicant's presentation of their case the case will be open to the public residents within 200 feet of subject property will be heard first followed by residents from outside of 200 feet all residents will be sworn in they'll provide their name and address and
they'll be given six minutes to comment on the application being considered without the opportunity for rebuttal residents may ask questions of the applicant the applicant's professionals and board professionals the board requests that these questions are asked prior to the commentary being made on the application once commentary Begins
the resident's timer will begin the applicant will be allowed the opportunity for cross-examination of their Witnesses under the law the chair is allowed to stop any commentary which is repetitive or an attempt to filibuster the board further the chair is allowed to stop any commentary that is irrelevant to the case or prohibited
from the board's consideration once the public portion is closed all public comments are ended unless new testimony is presented by the applicant following the closure of the public portion the the applicant will have the right of summation on their application following summation the case will go to the board for decision this
procedure has been followed by the board and is similar to the procedures followed by Boards of adjustment Statewide Miss Banus law requires the board to engage in a balancing act and is not required to strictly apply Township ordinances zoning plan or master plan as a board of adjustment variances are granted when appropriately
necessary following all legal considerations as has been the case with prior boards as board we'll see where we are at if we are still in session around 10:30 p.m. I ask that all applicants professionals and residents show respect to each other and be civil throughout all proceedings I ask that you withhold Applause booing
or interrupting of anyone while they are speaking the chair will not tolerate Outburst by applicants professionals or the public further since most cases are being recorded by a court reporter I ask that speakers do not speak over one another uh the first matter on the
agenda is closed session uh Madam Secretary just please read the close session into the record close session is executive session on application care one can I get a motion to go into close session motion to go into close public session second motion made by Vice chairman of
Gorman second by Mr Sho all in favor signify by saying I I iose nay the eyes have it board will Jour to close session uh we don't expect to be long and then we'll back to get to our agenda thank you e e
e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e can I get a motion to return to public session motion return to public session second motion made by Vice chairman o Gorman second by Mr Sero all in favor signify by saying I I all oppose nay as
have it for return the public session Madam Secretary first case on the agenda case number z32 2024 satchin Patel at 167 Morris AV applicant is seeking bulk and use variances to construct a two-story single family dwelling with
attached garage on a vacant property the following standards have not been met minimum lot depth required is 100 ft proposed is 89.7 ft affected property is located in the RB Zone designated as block number 813 lot number6 on the
Edison Township tax map all noticing paperwork is in order good evening good evening Mr zerio took my thunder that was what be my opening otherwise I'm Larry lavender of the law firm Wy lavender magnor I represent the applicant Sachin Patel uh if the board
members or the professionals would like to hear from my client that's fine um we'll bring them up but uh otherwise we just have the one professional that will testify um and I'd like to put her on first if it's okay and again if anybody has any questions on my clients please ask and I will bring him up okay
absolutely raise your right hand you Solly swear or affirm to tell the whole truth nothing but the truth to help you God I do please state your fullone name for the record Donna M Bullock b l l o c k Miss Bullock if you could please provide the board with a summary of your background and qualifications certainly
um a New Jersey licensed professional engineer I'm a project manager at Morgan engine engineering I have uh been working uh in engineering now for 25 years I provided public testimonies in many boards uh across the state mostly
in Mammoth oceans and middle sex counties I have been before this board for a couple other applications over the past two years um and uh my my license is valid okay thank you very much we'll accept you thank you so as stated the property is known
as one 167 Morris Avenue block 813 lot 16 Township of Edison middlex County New Jersey it's located in the RB residential Zone the property contains 10,465 Square ft the property is approximately 160t wide by 90 ft
deep um I passed out two uh color renderings so if we can look at those as we give my testimony okay Michelle excuse me I'm second Michelle uh this is a bul in we have a
court reporter yes oh well actually it's just bulk there's no use I have bulk in use it it does say that but uh on the the signin sheet or the agenda I'm sorry
but there's only two um bulk variances it's the uh lot depth and there's a section 37.4 with regard to pipeline okay all right sorry thank you no understand okay you may proceed um so
I I handed out two exhibits have have they been passed out will be um A1 is being passed out which isn't aerial rendering yes it's a uh 8 and half by 11 aerial of the subject property it's off of uh Google
Maps so we can see that the uh the property is located on the southern side of Morris Avenue it's at the easterly intersection of Morris Avenue and whan Street the existing property is um vacant it has
grass and a wood wooded area AJ to the properties to the north and west are Residential Properties and the rear of the property is adjacent to um the New Jersey Turnpike there is a 23 foot wide paved
existing street that runs along Morris Avenue in front of the property it does dead end at the most uh northeasterly property Corner um the the s is uh a vacant lot uh so onto
the west side of the property it's a grass area but it's also a paper street it's the extension of Wayland streets RightWay and we are surrounded by uh single residential uses so what the applicant is proposing
is just construct a 2300 squ foot two-story five-bedroom single family residential dwelling the property is within the setbacks of the RB Zone criteria there's a proposed two guard carage with a concrete driveway in front
there's a concrete patio in the rear there's proposed porch in the front we're proposing several shade trees along the frontage we are also providing um curb and sidewalk along the
frontage there is gas sewer and water service available within the RightWay of Morris Avenue for connections for the utilities for this proposed development um there is also a gas line that is located along the right away of
moris Avenue along the front of the property and it turns in the southernly direction to adjacent lot n I'm I'm going to point that out so I'm also referring to a the plot plan uh that was submitted
for this application I've made a blowup so it's it's oversized so that we can see that I've highlighted that the existing gas service runs along the southern side of Morris Avenue within the RightWay in front of our property it
breaks down to the South and it continues in the southerly direction um into uh the New Jersey Turnpike rway there's only a small sliver of the gas line that crosses into our property and also on this diagram I
show a green line which illustrates the 70 foot wide gas buffer requirement so as you can see that the uh the gas buffer is actually on the uh um south
side of the property and our whole development is encompassed in that 75 ft buffer area so what we're asking for is to have relief for the 75 ft buffer setback for
the gas line um and um also there's a variance required for lot L depth 100 ft is required and due to the the uh strange angle of the rear property line the current depth is only at 90
9.75 ft so that's pretty much what we're proposing and if anyone has any questions I'll be glad to answer them uh before I go to the board I'm going to kick it off with questions uh given your proximity to the gas line do you have a
letter from the gas company uh allowing this what we did get um we'll have to ask do we have that I don't have that what we did get was um a aerial photo from the adjacent gas company
showing us to provide for an accurate location on our plan the locations of the utility within the RightWay that I stated and that was provided for uh infrared map and who was it provided by it was provided by um Elizabeth gas
company okay this was not included in the board's packet no this is this the the locations of the utilities are shown on this uh plot plan that we submitted okay Mr chairman Mr yeah is this a
transmission line that we're talking about 75 pounds are great per square inch it's a it's not a gas if it's a gas hookup line that's not it's not part no it's it's not this a transmission line it's a gas main that that Services a lot
of people not just a connection yes okay and how many feet away from the digging will you be for that we will be where the closest of the building is off of Morris Avenue we will be 26 ft away okay and on the other side um to where it
goes perpendicular with the uh East property line we'll be 44 ft away and how much digging will you be doing are you you just putting in a well the gas line that does run along the frontage of the property um it will be in the area
will'll be doing curb and sidewalk yeah but no Foundation yeah Mr chairman in the past is to make this easier it's not something we usually Grant the variants to what we say is you have to dig it by hand which is almost impossible when you're trying to put curbs in but we ask that the representatives of those of those gas lines be there while they're
doing the digging so that there isn't any any problems because we've had things blow up over there I mean recently about three or four years ago one of those houses blew up with a gas along 27 so thank you Mr all right so I would I would um be very very um
careful with the approach does the board have any other questions for Mrs block Mr chairman M so as I understand the whole structure is sitting in the gas buffer zone that is correct and then
your sidewalk and the curb is really sitting on top of the gas line yes yes it is pictorially it does show that the gas line does run under a portion of our proposed sidewalk SO gas Line's more linear and our sidewalks on
an angle so they will Elizabeth gas is okay with that putting structure on top of the gas line well we'll have to get that confirmed right so do we need that would be part of the condition for the application we
would need a clearance from Elizabeth gas yeah no no problem at all my client and do we know how deep is that gas line there no we do not can you find that as well because you're disturbing dirt on top of the existing gas line absolutely
and and we'll make sure that there's a representative from the gas company there we would need the letter before we vote on this application I agree Mr D [Music] okay I I don't have any further question Mr Cher yes I so what is currently there
at the property um if you look at the second handout that I presented as exhibit B uh A2 um it's it's a a street view from Google Maps that shows the property okay
it shows that it's a a piece of land it's grassed and um on the uh easterly sides are wooded areas and as you can see from this photo uh the the slope is is a general 2% slope from the edge of the pavement down
toward the uh direction of the park uh the turnpike okay thank you any other questions I'm sorry this lot was always vacant no structure was there before I understand I'm sorry sir I was just making the notes yes bring the
microphone closer Mr lavender you bring the microphone closer to you there you go thank you I apologize everyone I was trying to take notes I didn't we're gonna have a Juggle next too so chainsaws I hope the to the best of my knowledge this slot has been vacant we we don't have any information
that suggests there's been a building there before and the existing utilities that you have you need to extend that on moris 7u as well correct well the water service does go uh in front of the whole property there's actually a fire hydrant
at the most uh northeasterly corner of the property so as it and this I do not see fire hydrant on this one it's clipped off on that one it's on the extreme side to the east there is an
existing fire hydrant at the end of this RightWay where the road ends and where the guide rail is there to keep you know the road from extending further what about electric gas and uh sewer line um there there is sewer we have manhole structures uh in right in front of the
property so right in front of the property uh yeah directly in front is a uh sanitary manhole and then there's a another manhole which is the connection for the service which is the intersections of Welling Street and Morris
Avenue okay so you w need the clearance for extending all the utilities as well parallel to gas line you're digging on the street that's where the existing gas line as well yes sir okay thank you Mr chman thank you Mr D
anyone else from the board okay Mr laer that's um I'll rest that concludes okay but I believe the board had asked for some guidance from the gas company before we I I I I thought I stipulated
that that would be no problem for my client we don't have that now but for I think that's okay so then you want to carry for another yeah okay that that makes sense how long would you estimate I mean you're dealing with utility how long would you estimate you need what it took months to get that
um it's a good point definitely more than 30 days Hank do you have any idea 60 plus we'll have to come back and just Madam Secretary how about
May 13th or May 20th yeah which one let's do the far what May 20th May 20th yeah okay so that's a letter from the gas company um saying that we can build over top of that with the with regard to whatever they're going to build but sounds like sidewalk and
um and then we'll certainly stipulate to and I'll try to get that information that there'll be a representative of the gas company of for when whenever it's being done correct and then also that mean it's it's being built um you know within the proximity of the gas line that is okay all right you have anything
to add before you no I thank you all okay it's my first gas line and I I didn't realize there was all these problems with it so but I appreciate the board's um patience and we'll get that information for every okay thank you very much all right so for anyone here present for anyone listening at home uh uh this case will be carried till uh
Tuesday May 20th 2025 meeting will begin at 7 pm here in council chambers if you received a notice for this case this will serve as your notice you will not receive another notice uh this hearing has been this case has been carried to
Tuesday May 20th 2025 7M here in council chambers and thank you very much thank you board thank you tell that yeah uh we're not out to the public yet um so this is not something that the board can hear there is no comment right
now that will be at the when we go out to the public at the next meeting when this matter is scheduled Madame secretary next case on the agenda please case number z31 2024 Big Fish 1918 llc at 1918 linkoln Highway
applicant is seeking bulk and use variants to convert the second floor of an existing commercial office building to two one bedroom apartments standards have not been met in accordance with the master plan this is not a permitted use in the GB Zone minimum sidey yard required is 15 ft proposed as 10 ft
affected property is located in the GB Zone designated as block number 1143 Lot number 26 on the Edison Township tax map all noticing paperwork is in order good evening Mr Sachs yes good evening uh Mr chairman members of the board board professionals Lawrence Sachs on behalf
of the applicant Big Fish 1918 LLC uh this property is located at block 1143 lot 26 uh the property address is 1918 Lincoln Highway Route 27 uh the property is located in your GB Zone uh what we
are proposing is to convert and I'm sure many of you are familiar with this this is the old uh Mara and Richmond law office building uh almost right across the street here from the municipal building uh in any event what we're looking to do is convert the second
floor where that law office used to be into two one-bedroom apartments um there really will be no other site changes except uh the uh planting of some additional Landscaping um because it's in the GB Zone uh we need a use variance
to permit uh this residential use uh we also have one pre-existing non-conformity bulk variance and that would be for minimum side yard setback uh 15 ft required we have 10 feet existing and proposed um so I do have Mr
chairman I do have two witnesses I have uh Miss Laura Laten a professional engineer uh who will just briefly describe what's being proposed from a site standpoint and what's there presently and I also have my professional planner uh Miss Colleen mcer uh who will go into the uh
rationale for the granting of a use variance um I've also will acknowledge I've received the two staff reports uh one from Mr Carly dated January 16th 2025 and the other one from Mr bignell the planning report uh dated March 13th
uh so Mr chairman without further Ado if we can have Miss Totton sworn in and I'll get her qualified would you raise your right hand do you solemnly swear or affirm to tell the whole truth nothing but the truth to help you go I do and if you would just pull the microphone closer and just State your full name for the record
laurelai tton l o r a l i t is in tom o TT n Crest Engineering Associates Millstone Township New Jersey ma' if you could just please provide the board with some of your background and qualifications absolutely I graduated from Lehigh University in
1977 and Ian ago I obtained my professional engineering license in 1983 it is still in good standing and I have worked at six different firms over the course of the year of which my firm crested 31 years I have um testified
before numerous planning and zoning boards throughout the middle part of New Jersey with excursions up into northern and southern New Jersey okay we'll accept you thank you very much thank you I did not prepare these plans I have reviewed the plans I have visited the
site and I feel confident I can describe to you the existing conditions the uh site is uh 12, 500 sare ft it is located on the Eastern side of Route 27 about a half a mile 3/4
of a mile from here um there's one point of access directly from Route 27 to a parking lot containing 12 parking spaces there is another point of access with cross access easements to the adjacent building to the south of this building
there's one handicap parking space on site um there is no proposed improvements with the exception of adding installing some trees and there is one light that needs to be repaired
on site uh there existing utilities already to the site the two apartments would connect to these utilities within the existing building and I as already stated the property itself and the existing
building meets all the requirements of your Zone to GB except for the sidey setback which is an existing sidey yard uh SE existing condition and there's no proposal to change any of those there's no proposed digging on site so with
regard to the comments uh about the pipeline there's going to be no digging so there's no issue there um and I did have the opportunity to review the comments from both the engineer and the planner and I
feel very confident that Fletcher engineering will be able to address all of those by working with the engineer and the planner okay so we'll go through the reports then um we'll start with Mr Carly all right I usually make a mistake
uh talking into the microphone um as Miss Totton and Mr saxs uh related our office issued a letter on January 16 uh 2025 uh the application as described by
the M taunton's uh description of the site layout is accurate uh and generally I'll just leave it to Mr saxs and Miss tton is there anything in our report there are some uh revisions that we look for to
the site plan but generally we uh defer to dot for your Frontage on Route 27 and of course the fire marshal for fire safety on the site and uh then there's administrative uh issues that you'll have to deal with Mr uh uh picillo uh
the township engineer on is there anything in the report that gives uh you pause Mr saxs Miss Taunton no um Mr Carly there's really nothing and I'll just give some clarification just for some of the comments that are in here uh in paragraph
3.2 uh Mr Carly is requesting that we designate four spots for the apartment residents and we will do that and we will post appropriate signage um with respect to uh a apartment access to the building I did hand out uh which I guess
we can pass around is A1 which is an interior layout uh of the um of the proposed uh apartmentss on the second floor and there is an interior access which leads to the outside to each apartment which is separate and you'll see that on the plan and just for the
record uh each apart the each apartment will have one bedroom one living room one kitchen one bathroom uh they're modestly sized apartments one is 8117 square feet and one is 783 Square ft um
let me just jump a little further down on Mr Carly's report um outdoor lighting uh can be activated by motion sensors we'll we do that um Miss Totton going to paragraph five the storm order I think you alluded to it um
the design engineer can certify that there will not be any impact on the storm water management features absolutely there's no change in impervious cover or any characteristics related to storm water management okay and uh with respect to paragraph 5. for
uh because of that because there is no impact there won't be any impact on neighboring properties would that be correct that is correct there will be no impact on the neighboring properties all right uh on Mr Carly's report paragraph 6.4 he wanted to know if we're proposing
any emergency generators we are not and I think Mr chairman Mr Carly I don't believe there's anything else we can't comply with with respect to engineering so Mr Carly that about says it all chair that's good makes you happy makes me
happy happy is a relative term Mr Bell yeah Mr chairman our our our comments are summed up in number 11 in our report outside agencies if required or exemption letters the architectural plan I received um uh via the U email so
I'm satisfied with the with the drawing that I have it just should be uh um at some point certified that that's the that's going to be the floor plan um will there be residential parking signage for the U Apartments yes we'll do that okay um pipeline buffering I
don't think you're doing any digging out there are you no so you're not going to be putting nothing in the ground for like cable or TV or you know electrical that's all done already that's all done so then you don't really need to U you should ask the board to to give you a waiver to the pipeline buffering okay um
let's see uh Refuge recyc is that going to be separated for the Residential Properties or we have a yeah we have a dumpster on site so certainly the uh they going to share it they'll share it exactly and and just for the record again I know there was a comment about the use of the
first floor it's a logistics company that has two employees and they have normal business hours 9 to5 and their deliveries would be just your general UPS FedEx truck Amazon truck if they get anything um I just want to put that on
the record and you you spoke about the lighting that's fine and I'm sure your planner will put the proofs on the record so I'm satisfied thank you Mr chairman thank you Mr uh does the board have any questions uh for the engineer Mr chairman Mr D so what is the current use
of the existing building yeah so right now the uh the second floor is vacant that's where the law office was uh Mr Mara and Mr Richmond have both retired uh working remotely if there working at all so that's going to be vacant and
that's how this second floor becomes available the first floor is devoted to one tenant who is a logistics company uh and as I stated they have two employees two employees and uh and that's it and then all the stairwells
the stairs you have is a current stairs that the how the you have two current um the uh washroom on on the first floor yeah there's a bathroom on the first floor yes yeah we didn't we didn't show on the architectural but there is obviously offices and and a bathroom
there so and then you you adding just same space no yeah we're not second floor is existing second floor it's an existing second floor it's just going to be par and then putting to bathrooms in there exactly exactly okay thank you Mr chairman thank you m d any other questions from the
board seeing none thank you very much thank you Mr chairman I have one other witness who is my professional planner um Miss Colleen mcer great hand you solemnly swear or firm to tell the whole truth nothing but the truth to help you got I do and state your full name please Colleen
mcer uh M mcer if you would please provide the board with with a sumary your background and qualifications uh yes I attended Boston University where I received a MERS in urban planning in 1996 I am a member of aicp and my license is current I started my firm
swix stall uh and mcer in uh 2019 and I've testified before multiple boards including East Brunswick Oldbridge sayerville South Brunswick and also Edison Save The Best For Last your license are current in good standing correct we'll accept you thank you all
right M mcar I know that uh you've you have a PowerPoint presentation which I think we pass we have handed to your secretary as exhibit uh A2 uh so if you could give the board the benefit of your analysis uh particularly as to the use
variances use variance and the bulk variance that's being sought here sure thank you and good evening board members so I have reviewed the application the ordinance the 2024 comprehensive master plan the staff reports the survey
architectural plans and visited the site the property in question block 1143 lot 26 located at 1918 Lincoln Highway also known as Route 27 consists of 12,500 ft and contains a
3,170 ft twostory office building so tonight we are asking the board to approve the conversion of the second floor office space to two one-bedroom residential units the first floor would remain as office space currently the second floor is vacant and has been for at least 18
months the property also contains three Street trees and additional Landscaping including hydranges aelas and trees within the rear and side yards 12 stalls are existing whereas nine are required and as we've stated we can dedicate four stalls for the
tenants we are complying with all but one of the zoning regulations the one existing deviation from the ordinance requirement is the minimum sidey yard whereas 15 ft is required and 10 ft is existing the this is an existing variance which has shown no negative
impacts to the adjacent property the property is within the general business Zone The Zone permits a number of uses including Retail Services professional office theaters motels and restaurants residential units are not permitted the proposed mixed use is well suited for
these two compatible uses the office use is a low intense use while the residential units are a good use since will provide much needed housing uh just to add for the office use I was told by the applicant that um the employees are only in two days a week the rest of the
days they work at home so it's even less intense use the surrounding area consists of both residential and Commercial uses to the rear of the property located on Matson Road are single family dwellings located within a residential neighborhood to the east is one uh 1920
Highway Lincoln Highway uh which contains a three family dwelling and 19222 which contains a vacant office space with residential units above or one unit I'm not I couldn't ascertain beyond that is an apartment complex known as Lincoln Gardens to the west or
commercial uses and to the Southwest is a residential development known as Wood Haven which fronts on Lincoln Highway to the north are commercial uses and residential uses one of which has a residential apartment above Barefoot massage located at 1935 Lincoln Highway
this site is appropriate for office use and two residential units similar uses exist in the surrounding area and directly to the north and east of the property if you want to just flip through the exhibit uh the first page just shows the front of this existing
building the second page is the rear of the property which shows the house a couple houses on Matson road the second photo is that of our building and it shows the rear entrance to the property that the tenants would use the next page shows 1920 and
1922 Lincoln Highway so the structure on the left is the office with the residential unit above and on the right to to the right of that is the three family dwelling it has multiple mailboxes so it might even be more than
a three family but the tax assessor could only firm confirm that it was a three family uh the second photo shows Lincoln Gardens further up the roadway the next page shows directly across link
Highway uh just a couple of commercial uses and to the the photo to the right shows Barefoot massage which is a service and then there's residential also located within that structure and this is just a view of
Lincoln Highway AKA Route 27 looking east and west and then the next photo is that of the sidey yard setback whereas 15 FTS required but we only have 10 and it shows uh a good distance and then the Landscaping between both
uses and then the last photo just shows all of the different types of zoning uh majority of which on Route 27 Lincoln Highway is General business but uh all of the different types of zoning around the property and then the photo on the right shows a red
velopment area located further down um uh where PL fold Avenue is and uh the master plan does discuss possibly expanding that so to further discuss that the relief that is required for a D1 use
variance must satisfy the positive and negative criteria there are several ways to do this the main point though is that the general welfare will be served because the existing site is particularly suited to the proposed use the two uses are compatible and there will be four stalls dedicated to
residential parking typically though the tenants would be home after the office uses have closed the existing second floor vacant office space would be converted to two residential Apartments thereby putting to space to a beneficial use the surrounding area consists of mix of commercial and residential uses so
this proposed use fits in with the character of the neighborhood the mixed use building supports the principles of smart growth by providing residential within a walkable Community with available Goods services and public transportation and is aligned with the state development and Redevelopment plan
since this property is located within planning area one with regards to the Township's master plan the township recently undertook a comprehensive master plan which was adopted in 2024 in which the town's three housing goals and policies are stated two of which apply to this
application provide a diverse range of housing options across income household size and age groups by working together to promote accessible affordable and diverse housing options the township can help to ensure that the community is a welcoming and inclusive place to live for all
residents goal two to encourage smart growth principles locating Housing close to shopping employment and Transit and at reasonable densities to conserve energy and open space and maintain a balanced density throughout the township Edison can help create Dynamic
communities by encouraging mixed land uses where residential and Commercial and recreational uses are in close proximity and can benefit from each other this is also a smart growth principle in addition to these stated goals the master plan raises other
issues this property contains an existing partially vacant two-story office building and this proposal is is an Adaptive reuse of the property one that provides a benefit especially considering the housing shortage the master plan States quote both homeowner
and Rental vacancy rates have remained well below adequate levels over the past several decades the very low vacancy rate suggests substantial unmet demand for housing it also States single family dwellings represent the highest share of land use whereas Apartments make up just
4% whereas single family dwellings 62.3% it also states there is an ongoing need for affordable housing options in the township as is the case for most of New Jersey and Nationwide for Edison in particular there is a lack of highquality modern housing at price
points for young people entering the market finding affordable rental units is also an issue not just home ownership the master plan discusses office vacancies in the Town Center Zone on Lincoln Highway next to the municipal complex and that the Redevelopment area
should be expanded on Lincoln Highway not just planfield area Avenue area I think it mentioned up to Division Street uh a mixed use will keep the property functional and fully F utilized while creating more pedestrianism and potential Transit un
users it also recommends mixed use in commercial zones quote other recommendations regarding commercial uses may be implemented through Redevelopment design or through specialized mixed use or Transit oriented zoning all of this shows that the
residential opportunities are lacking and that office space may be in lower demand in this area and that Lincoln Highway is in flux and can be transitioning to a more mixed use type devel velopment in order to combat the vacancies and underutilization of certain properties and to deal with the unattractive appearance of buildings and
lack of landscaping this is an attractive building on the property and has landscaping and Street trees so it is contributing to a more attractive appearance on Lincoln Highway with regard to the special reasons the project meets several goals of the ml including goal a to encourage
Municipal action to guide the appropriate use or development of all lands in the state in a manner which will promote the public health safety and morals and general welfare the units will provide housing which will help meet the needs of Edison residents goal two to provide sufficient space in
appropriate locations for a variety of Agriculture residential recreational commercial and Industrial uses in open space both public and private according to the respective environmental requirements in order to meet the needs of all New Jersey residents this project
will encourage well-designed anti-sprawl Land Development that is consistent with land use patterns and consistent with the recommendations in the state development and Redevelopment plan for Metropolitan planning areas while Lincoln Highway is considered a commercial Corridor and
much of it is located within the GB zoning District it can also be appropriate for residential uses such as Apartments this is shown by the existing residential uses on the roadway A diversity of housing needs need to be provided and apartments are necessary to fulfill a housing need but in Edison are
only 4% of the land use apartments are not typically provided in single family residential neighborhoods but can and are provided on roads such as this which provide a transitional use adjacent to a single family residential neighborhood there will be no negative impacts from this use and the benefits
outweigh any detriments there is also walkability and access to amenities services and public transportation with regards to the existing bu variants we are seeking approval from the deviation from the minimum side yard and uh 15t whereas 10
is existing and this is the Eastern side of the property and the adjacent lot contains a three family dwelling there is sufficient attractive Landscaping to mitigate this variance and the proposed use would be in closer alignment with the three family use rather than an office use it is my professional opinion that
the municipal land use law would be Advanced by the proposed deviation from the zoning ordinance requirements and the benefits substantially out weigh any detriment the proposed use for most the purposes of the ml occurs on a site that is particularly suited for the use acrs
no significant Det to the public good it does not substantially impair the intent and purpose of the Zone plan and the zoning ordinance that's all I have thank you m mcar uh certainly she's available for any questions Mr chairman thank you very much um so I'm going to kick things
off so on page two of um A2 the photos the photo on the left side showing a fence is that your offense I believe that's the jent because the good side is facing our property so it should be the res residential
development it it does need some work okay yeah we're pretty sure it's a neighbor's fence I I it doesn't look in great condition I doesn't I acknowledge that but I believe that's that's their fence so Mr aat yes given I'm not sure if you
saw this this visual the condition of this fence I mean since this case is coming to us for for approval I think may be in good opportunity so as to repair this or replace yeah we need some can you just
bring your microphone down Jim excuse me you need some TLC to say the least what to say the least yeah um it's faded it hasn't been taken care of in yeah there's there's there's quite a quite a divide within it it's been
installed yeah Mr chairman and and Mr I just spoke to my client we don't believe it's our fence however uh uh we will seek consent from that uh property owner to shore up that fence it looks like there's a section that needs a little uh little attention and if so approved it'll make we can make that condition
that's fine okay all right thank you and I know this wasn't a planning question but it was just opportunity just it just opened it up um so okay all right so does the board have any questions for uh Mr mcer Mr shair have a question um so what is the current use of the
basement I actually do not know that I'm sorry M Mr chairman I didn't hear the question I think it's storage Mr choer what is the current use of the basement oh the basement I believe is just storage for the logistics company there's no occupancy down there there's no business is it
finished no okay uh my next question would be these plans that were prepared um dated August 26 2024 are these the latest plans yes okay um how come they don't show the show the rear the side doors that are shown in your second page
on the right hand picture these doors are not shown that may just be an oversight but just take a look look into your architectural plans yeah we if it's if it's an oversight we'll make sure that the architectural plans are consistent with
the site plan okay but I'm just curious what are the those dos go down to is that separate basement AIS what are those doors there's a set of double doors wait I'm sorry sir you're gonna have to if you're G if you're going to speak you're gonna have to be
sworn we can we can have them sworn in Mr let's do it Mr sex by the microphone please do you solemnly swear or affirm to tell the whole truth nothing but the truth so help you gu yes I do you have to pull the mic sit you can sit down pull the microphone closer and state
your fullone name for the record please my name isaj Ali Mr Ali is a principal of gulberg Builders who will be the developer I think the question Mr Ali was the those two doors where do they lead to the two double doors this is the
front of the office when people come you just bring the microphone closer to you I'm sorry uh those are the two doors which lead for the office so those that will be the access to the office from outside and what about the doors the
doors on this right side is the one which will lead to the apartments because that was for the first floor you can say that the one in the front is for the office office and the one on the side is for the apartments of the previous office building so I see two in the front I see
two in the existing first floor plan I see two there's a little uh overhang there and then I see one in the rear which would be for the apartments above but then in your picture that you guys provided exhibit there is double swing doors it looks like it's going to the
basement Miss chop just for clarification looks like the one it's on page two the photo to the right correct are you talking about the OB plan we're talking about the planner's
exhibit that goes to the office as you can tell the the rear door is shown in your architectural plan if it's on the same elevation why aren't those double hang doors shown yeah the one which is showing on the architectural plan if that's the one
you're asking that goes to the apartments I understand that but the one to the right that's showing underneath that overhang that's an emergency exit I've been told am I correct it's an emergency exit property owner is confirming that
where is that connecting to is it connecting to your basement come on come on right sir you're going to have to be sworn okay there raise your right hand do you Solly swear or affirm to tell the whole truth nothing but the truth to help you God uh yes and please state your fullone name
for the record if you you have a c just see in the microphone thank you I uh my name is hoi fan Mr fan is the uh principal of big fish he's big fish all right so he's the property
owner so M you're probably the most uh qualified person to answer these questions so go ahead Mr B all right this uh that door in question is exit emergency exit door and you can go from
there you can either go up to the office or go down to the basement okay so it is access to the basement yes and do are the same set of doors on the other side as well of the building no okay
and what did you U what is the use for the basement you mention uh no usage is unfinished just some people we for now we let the first floor tenant used to store some whatever whatever the stuff they come up
they need some temporary storage we let them use it okay and what a big conditional statement saying that the basement will not be finished will not be used and is inhibitable for any future tenants
that's correct yeah we we have no problem with that condition okay thank you no problem thank you Mr okay all right so you can bring m m g back okay all right so does the board have any planning questions Mr chairman chairman so in reference to on the
second page in reference to this wooden fence if this got approved would you agree to replace it well no I I've been told even let me give some more qualification that property that's on the other side of that fence is not even our property that
is clearly not our fence um it's owned by the property owner at that residential property our property line ends several feet from that from that fence are you good with that yeah he he can't thank you I'd be TR we'd be
trespassing if we if we tried yeah so okay we thought it might be on the property line but it's not it's actually all right thank you very much M any other uh pling questions from Mr um just one thing uh Vice chair um that fence will be addressed I'll
address it with that thank you Property Maintenance okay any questions all right thank you very much thank you okay Mr sa thank you Mr chairman uh before you go to the public just a quick quick summation um as you as Miss mcer has
testified we are surrounded by a number of residential uses and this is clearly uh meets a definition of an Adaptive reuse of property we're not looking to expand the footprint we're not going to be uh developing any further land uh we're just going to be uh really
converting this second floor uh into a use which is really in demand throughout New Jersey and certainly in Edison uh I think we've satisfied the uh special reasons for the granting of the use variants um I think we've satisfied the positive criteria we've enumerated
several goals of planning and clearly I think from the testimony of both Miss Totton and from M mcer uh there isn't going to be any negative detriment uh to any of the surrounding area uh certainly uh no detriment to your Zone plan and zoning ordinance and I believe it's
consistent with the master plan so I'd urge this board to approve this application uh it's very similar in fact to an application which is board approved from the same developer back on Woodbridge Avenue a number of months ago uh so I think uh you know they're they're looking at these properties to
try to provide some residential modest size apartments for uh for people in Edison thank you Mr chairman thank you very much okay so we will now go out to the public um so first we will begin with anyone within 200 feet of the subject site if you within 200 feet of subject site you received a notice uh
via certified mail anyone okay so now go outside of 200 feet the subject site anyone outside is 200 feet wanting to be heard seeing none can I get a motion to close the public portion motion to close the public portion second motion made by
Vice chairman of Gorman second by Mr chabra all in favor signify by saying I I oose nay the eyes have it public portion is now closed and we'll go to the board Mr chairman Mr D I make a motion to I make a motion to approve this application the applicant has met
all the negative and positive criteria the site is particularly suited for the use ined the use is not detriment to the public good or Public Safety and there are no objectives um this motion will incor all of the testimony of the applicant attorney Bal
planning and DNR engineering report and member of the board uh I will add uh there were condition uh that there will be the basement will uh not be habitable it it's unfinished it's going to stay unfinished yes
unfinished okay and the applicant will if it still applies the applicant will seek consent to sh up the fence if yeah if if we can but I think that's about the best we can do and not even sure the property owner will agree but I'm sure Mr rayot will uh probably ex exercise
his authority so and the board will grant the waivers of pipeline buffering okay all right so motion made by Mr DAV is there a second second second by Vice chairman Gorman roll call please Mr chabra yes to the mo yes to
the motion Mr Sero yes on the motion Mr Schneider yes on the motion Mr D yes on the motion Vice chair o' Gorman yes on the motion and chairman Kumba yes on the motion unan as approval congratulations thank you Mr chairman thank members of the thank you m secretary is there any further business coming for the board
this evening that'll be all this evening all right can I get a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn second motion made by Vice chairman o' Gorman second by Mr Schneider all in favor signify by saying I I POS nay the eyes have it Bo stands a Jour good evening everyone