[Music] [Applause] um Eileen opening statement hereby declare this meeting of the Howell Township planning board to be open adequate notice having been given pursuant to the New Jersey open public meeting act in the following manners first on January 5th 2024 copy of said notice was emailed to to the Asbury Park Press and the Star Ledger second on January 5th 2024 a copy of said notice was hand delivered to the clerk of the township of Howell third on January 5th 2024 said notice was posted in the office of the planning board and on the bulletin board in the Howell Township Municipal Building 4567 rout9 Howell Township New Jersey in accordance with the fire prevention code and your safety please be advised that this facility is designed with two emergency exits which are at the front and rear of the meeting room furthermore smoking is not permitted in the municipal building please take note that this meeting is being videotaped for possible future broadcasts on Howl Township TV 77 thank you roll call Mr Cristiano has been excused Mr Mr Greenfield here Mr leio has been excused Mr tanhouse has been excused Mr Withers president Mr Rebel here councilwoman fiser here miss Pike has been excused Mr Carbonic has been excused chairman huster has been excused and we have Vice chairman Mercer here you do have a quorum thank you okay want to um rise and um um have the Pledge of Allegiance and remain standing for our men men and women uh for here on abroad I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all thank you all right so we have to approve first of all approve the minutes from May 9th 2024 Greenfield myself and Miss fiser need a motion yes motion to accept um minutes from May 9th meeting second okay Mr Greenfield yes cwom Fisher yes and chairman Mercer yes motion carries thank you okay second one is June we need to approve the regular meeting from June 6 2024 myself Withers Rebel and Miss fiser I'll make a motion to accept the minutes from the meeting of June 6th second I'm sorry who was that Mike yep thank you Mr Withers yes Mr Rebel yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman Mercer yes motion carries thank you okay resolutions I'm sorry correspondence I have a letter from Robert Simon he is the attorney for case number sp105 a a v rhw property LLC he's asked that this matter be carried to the September 19th meeting of the board and that an announcement be made tonight that no further notice is required of the applicant and you also ex crave the board an extension of time to hear this application through September 30th 20124 all right I'll make the formal announcement the uh application of sp105 AA VR HW property LLC of Victory Road will be carried to the board's regularly scheduled September 19th 2024 meeting at 7M in this meeting room all documents are still available within the Town Hall during normal business hours I also have a letter from John Jackson he is the attorney for case number sp123 SMC Properties LLC which is also on tonight's agenda and they have some work I guess they need to do after their technical review meeting so he asked that this application also be carried to September 19th 2024 with no further notice and they're good on time for this all right I make the formal announcement the application of sp123 SMC Properties LLC will be carried to the boards regularly scheduled September 19th 20124 meeting at 7.m in this meeting room all documents are available in town hall during normal business hours and last but not least I sent out three land use ordinances that were introduced by the Council on Tuesday night and they are up for public hearing and adoption at the council's August 20th meeting so we need to comment on them for consistency with the master plan I don't know I guess so Mr chair I can jump in on this there are three ordinances 2430 2431 2432 all three of them are I mean Austin I could do all three at the same time because they basically all have to do with the same thing but they're separate ordinances um all three of them have to do with the governing body allowing Farms to host events so one is where they're allowed to do it in terms of like the zones that are allowed there's also the parameters associated with the permit process versus the approval process if it's a minor event versus a major event and the last one is uh just simple definitions but all three have to do with Farms allowing these events to take place in the last re-exam if you guys call we did recommend that the governing body review and basically consider allowing Farms to host these kinds of events which would generate revenue for them and allow them to remain farmed so all three of these ordinances that were introduced this past week by the governing body and up for public hearing and at their next meeting are consistent with the last master plan because the governing body like this board found found yes this recommendation was appropriate and the governing body obviously chose to implement that recommendation so I would uh recommend that the board offer uh determination that it's consistent with the master plan okay all right uh we'll just have to have a separate vote for each ordinance for record okay all right so as Jen said the explanation is the same for all three so do you want to go to the first one the first one is ordinance 2430 and that was the definitions okay make a motion right I need a motion in a second a second Brian Greenfield was the motion and Mike was the second yes Mr Greenfield yes Mr Withers yes Mr Rebel yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman H Mercer yes motion carries the second ordinance was ordinance 2431 which was to add the the events to uh certain zones I believe hold on 31 is is the permit type whether it's major versus minor thank you okay make a motion a motion I'll second motion Mr Withers second Mr Greenfield yes Mr Withers yes Mr reel yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman Mercer yes motion carries and the third one is ordinance 2432 that's identifying the zones that it's permitted in thank you make a motion motion I'll second Motion in a second Mr Withers or I'm Sor Mr Greenfield yes Mr with yes Mr reel yes councilwoman fer yes and chairman Mercer yes motion carries and that is all the correspondent say I know you want to keep saying chairman huzar I I'm so used to it sorry this is my first time so you're doing fine um all right so we go through the resolutions some we can approve some we can't um first one case number SD 30003 C how Township resolution granting minor res sub subdivision approval and with ancillary bulk variance relief um we cannot vote on this so this will be on hold case number sp114 96 Industrial Court LLC resolution granting final major site plan eligible voters Greenfield myself fiser and that's it motion make a motion I make a motion to approve second motion second Mr Greenfield yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman Mercer yes uh motion carries resolutions memorialized next we have case number SP 11107 9 North realy LLC this will will be on hold as well not enough voters next one we have is case number SD 30007 a vet Brothers LLC resolution denying minor subdivision with ancillary bulk variance relief eligible voters Greenfield and myself make a motion I'll make a motion I'll second motion a second Mr Greenfield yes and chairman Mercer yes motion carries resolutions memorialized okay and then we have case number SD 3011 lizn hope I said that right Properties LLC resolution grinding minor subdivision appr approval with ancillary bulk variance and design waiver relief eligible voters myself Withers Rebel and fiser motion I'll make a motion second Motion in a second Mr Withers yes Mr reel yes councilwoman Fisher yes and chairman Mercer yes motion carries resolution to memorialized then we have case number SD 3015 Neil and Monica Slattery resolution granting submiss sub granting submission waivers eligible voters myself Withers Rebel and M Fisher I'll make a motion I'll second motion a second Mr Withers yes Mr Rebel yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman Mercer yes motion carries resolutions Memorial next we have case number SP 11126 4461 Route 9 realy LLC resolution granting submission W waivers eligible voters myself Withers Rebel and councilman Fisher a motion I'll second a motion a second Mr Withers yes Mr Rebel yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman Mercer yes motion carries resolution next we have case number SP 11116 Jersey Central Power and Light resolution granting submission waivers eligible voters myself withs Rebel and councilwoman Fisher motion I'll make a motion second a motion in second Mr Withers yes Mr Rebel yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman Mercer yes motion carries resolutions Memorial next we have submission waivers uh that first one was worth development okay the attorney had another hearing at 6 so he's going to be late if we can skip him and do him after okay um so next one case number SD 3015 aaham weinman preliminary and final major subdivision and with ancillary Vance relief good evening Mr chairman board members Kenneth Pape on behalf of your applicant this is a request for waivers and as is your procedure we previously reviewed the waiver request with your engineer and it's my understanding that he's prepared to make recommendations to you this evening Mr Vice chairman members of the board we have our review letter dated June 13 2024 where the submission waivers are outlined under number three in our report based upon review I take no exception to the waivers as requested for purposes of deeming the application complete okay go right to a motion then right to approve okay make a motion motion to approve pardon me motion to approve a second a motion a second Mr Greenfield yes Mr Withers yes Mr Rebel yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman Mercer yes yes carries thank you thank you and here is okay so we go back okay are you ready good timing come right up all right I appreciate it case number SD 2998 F Wadsworth Development LLC ramtown States final major subdivision uh Mr chairman as soon as I catch my breath it's Michael Herbert of the law firm of Parker McKay on behalf of the Wadsworth development Mr Vice chairman members of the board we have a riew letter dated May 30th 2024 where the submission waivers are outlined under number three in our report based upon review take no exception to uh the uh no exception to the waivers as requested for purposes of deeming the application complete any questions if motion I'll make a motion okay a second there have a motion and a second Mr Greenfield yes Mr Withers yes Mr Rebel yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman Mercer yes motion carries thank you members I uh had to work really hard tonight so I uh I do appreciate your time have thank you have a good night work hard to get here right yeah 195 oh I know it well all right last on the waivers we have case number SP 11127 Diversified Acquisitions LLC preliminary and final major site plan with ancillary variance relief good evening my name is Matthew pado of the law fir Sals Comm and gross and I represent Diversified Acquisitions we have had an opportunity to re review cme's report and also have a conversation with this board's engineer regarding those waivers yeah so we do have a review letter dated June 21st 2024 where the submission waivers are outlined under number three in the report the applicant has already provided a majority of those submission waivers within the last week or so and are requesting submission waivers from 3A for checklist item number five 3B for checklist item number 17 3E for checklist item number 14 and 3M for checklist item number 64 based on our review we take no exception to granting those waivers for completeness any questions MO motion I'll make a motion I'll second thank you we have a motion a second Mr Greenfield yes Mr Withers yes Mr Rebel yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman Mercer yes motion carries thank you thank you [Applause] good okay so now we're going to go to Applications before the board first one we have have is case number SP 11126 4461 Route 9 realy LLC preliminary and final major site plan with ancillary variance and design waiver relief [Applause] Mr chairman may I begin you may thank you Mr chairman board members good evening Kenneth Pape of the firm hurn Pape on behalf of your applicant 4461 realy this is an application for preliminary final can't hear really thank you this is an application for preliminary and final major site plan approval for an existing shopping center that's been part of the Howell Community for 50 or more years it has served your to this community well it's it's tired and in certainly in need of of some Rehabilitation we're hoping that you find that the rehabilitation that's being offered is substantial and will be a benefit and an improvement before I begin the substantive presentation if I would ask if your um secretary or attorney would confirm receipt of our notices and confirm that the board has jurisdiction for us to proceed yes the notice is in order thank you this is an application seeking to renovate refurbish an existing shopping center the existing shopping center is right here just north of us on Route 94461 your applicant is going to propose a number of improvements there's no storm waterer management system there is proposed a modern storm waterer management system the Landscaping is in need of some attention you're going to hear that we're prepared to modify the Landscaping to work with Miss speo the circulation on site needs work the the site is in was a dire need but is in need of attention uh you'll we went to your fire chief to work with him on the circulation plan and we're pleased that he issued a positive report and then you'll also hear from our architect who has uh created a very attractive building the building currently is its last use U before our client purchased it in October of 2022 was a furniture store the property exists without any restrictions or requirements on its use we're proposing that the building be used for two types of uses related to each other one is a home improvement related business and the other is Home Furnishings we're not looking for General retail we're not looking to have restaurants or anything else other than home furnishings and Home Improvements our client who owns the property does business as House of granite and he would be the primary tenant in the building he designs um granite and marble um surfaces he this what makes this building special for him is that there is an opportunity to not only have a showroom but immediately adjacent to the showroom behind there's is a space that's adequate for storage of stone so everything can be stored inside and there's also adequate space for there to be fabrication before we filed this application we secured from Matt Howard a ruling that this was a permitted use because the fabrication was an ancillary use to the primary retail uh showroom our client will also also has entered into at least for a furniture store next door we've got one one that's left that's we also are increasing the number of parking stols although we are asking for variance relief we're increasing by about 35% the parking that's there and you'll hear that with the restrictions on the use the history of this property and the increase in parking that we're comfortable asking for that relief four witnesses to present to you I hope that we can be succinct I think they came very organized the first witness is Lewis zner a professional engineer who's prepared the plans he'll introduce the property with aerial photograph and then go right to a site plan we'll go through the technical elements of the site plan and address your staff's reports the second witness who will testify is Steven rasi he's the architect who designed the new facade for the building he'll also take us through the interior floor plan to demonstrate that there's one to four tenants that that's the maximum number of tenants the second the third witness is Scott Kennel our traffic expert who will take us through the circulation and the adequacy of parking and our Final witness is Christine cfone she is a professional planner most often before your zoning board but here this evening she's to assist us in the presentation of the bulk variance relief The Lion Share of which is associated with the existing building because we're just working with an existing building with that too windy introduction Mr chair I'd ask if we could have Mr Lewis zugner sworn will'll share his credentials and go into the substance of presentation please right any testimony you're about to provide do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do all righted Mr zner please share with the board and the public your professional and education background certainly my name is leis zner Zu GN R I'm a licensed professional engineer in the state of New Jersey as well as several other states graduate of Virginia Tech I'm founder of the firm midatlantic engineering and I've been practicing for over 25 years and certified are accepted in front of numerous boards zoning and planning boards may I ask is your license in good standing today it is and were you responsible for the plans that are going to be presented to the board this evening I am would you take a few moments to identify the exhibit that you'd like Miss Rano to have available to you and then we can start with your substantive presentation certainly we submitted uh two PDFs and the ones that I would like to use one is labeled aerial exhibit not the overall but just the aerial and the other then would be the site rendering perfect I'll put that up here as well they've already been marked as well thank you then if you would begin by taking us to the property if you could describe the property's location tell us its size its Zone give us a little background before we go into the presentation of the site plan certainly and this board really meant just to acquaint you with where we are uh in this case probably simpler than some other applications you can see our site uh outlined on this aerial exhibit route N9 goes up and down through the middle of this board or plan our site is outlined in white and if you look below our site just south on Route 9 you can see where we are tonight municipal building so we're just north of this location what is the zone of the property uh we are are in the HD1 Highway development Zone uh you can see the commercial sites of course up and down Route N9 and then residential to the right on that board or behind our site guys I think the board is well aware of the site can we just get to it surely let's following the suggestion of Miss beam let's go right to the presentation of the site plan elements pleas switch switch exhibits this board is a compilation of plans we submitted in the site plan and color it up so that it's easy to follow uh our site block 355.82 several Lots 43 44 and 4501 totals 3.89 Acres as a quick overview of what you're seeing here uh and what Mr Pape introduced it's an outdated building uh the infrastructure is in need of improvement and that's uh what's before us tonight that's the application uh providing updated storm water we're Paving certain gravel areas that were behind the proper or behind the building to create complete and adequate circulation those areas uh were in need of improvement and we're doing that uh the building is being improved but not expanded uh we're increasing parking and I can get into the details of that if that's acceptable Mr P I just before we do make two points the first point is that part back of the building that looks like a backwards capital F that's the opportunity that attracted our client to this building the front of the building is the retail area where the show rooms would be but that backwards capital F is the opportunity to store the materials indoors and to fabricate and be directly connected to the showroom just want to make that point and I also wanted to make this point we have we we've made certain uh asphalt improvements as Mr zner just indicated prior to the meeting your engineers have asked that we consider doing a greater amount of Paving um we have no issue at all with those recommendations I'd ask that we defer to a meeting in the field with your engineers and we'll follow their good guidance but what we show is what we thought was enough but if more is necessary so be it okay and just to follow up on that where you've pointed out the a more commercial portion of the building in the rear so I'll talk my way through you can see vehicle parking around the building primarily in the front uh near Route 9 but there are loading spaces sort of hidden behind the building in the rear that connect to that uh part of the building but if you could take us through site plan elements Ken before you move on from that sure so I don't take exception to them working with laur's office in terms of the pavment but that's not leis that's not going to put us in a coverage issue is it surface over surface no we're uh no it will percentage perfect that I just wanted to make sure because we can't after the fact approve a variance so as long as whatever is going to be happening does not require variance relief I think it's perfectly fine to work on that after the fact thank you thanks for the clarification it's going to be repairing existing surfaces if you take us through I think we'll do grading drainage you take us through in your order sure uh starting with sort of the concept of circulation and parking uh of course it is in many ways a similar layout um we are increasing the vehicle parking spaces so at the site as it sits now has 44 and we're going to have 72 as designed so significant increase in spaces uh also those spaces were slightly undersized in their current conditions so once we re done the site they will be 9 ft by 19 ft and comply with Dimensions I mentioned we have six loading spaces at the rear of the building you can see those sort of back in the the loading area behind I think what's most important to the circulation we mentioned on repaving is that it is improved so we're creating adequate 360° circulation around the building uh the intent with loading Vehicles is that they would come in left of this building into the loading area and go back out that way but they can easily make it all the way around the building and that's also important to know in terms of emergency vehicles and we did work with your fire chief to make him comfortable with how circulation worked around the building uh Lanes uh have been widened for circulation so they're now all compliant they're uh around the building so uh 25 ft minimum in some cases wider for the truck circulation in back uh there is one item of relief and it's related to the existing building and right of way so the parking aisle uh below the building towards Route 9 where we have one level of parking that's slightly undersized uh we believe it still works and it's compliant and frankly can't be modified because of the dot right away um I would also note in terms of circulation in terms I think of it as pedestrian CC circulation we are adding sidewalk along the front edge at Route 9 you can see that in a lighter color the bottom of that plan if I were to jump to concept of relief is necessary because you're not connecting the sidewalk to the site are you planning on providing sidewalk from the RightWay to the building uh that was not part of the proposal or is it um a item that we could we could address we could make that connection I I think we should you know depending on what's going to go in there I mean I know they have some guaranteed tenants but I think that would be a good uh adjustment would it be a combination of sidewalk and pedestrian striping on the parking lot yes okay perfect so a sidewalk to the edge of the the grass and you could do it any way like anywhere you want leis it doesn't have to be like in the middle or whatever it just wherever you think is most appropriate right I understand the concept to make the connection 100% so committed okay um grading is relatively simple in this existing site essentially um other than enough grading to make the paving work in the back it's staying the same uh we are updating storm water management we're creating you can see in a a light green corner at the back of the property or the top right we're constructing a storm water infiltration Basin which will be compliant with current rules uh bring a modern element to the storm water design uh we have uh worked with your engineers's office of course we would continue to do so but we believe from a storm water perspective we've satisfied their concerns if they still have comments we'd be happy to work with them I think let's make these really important points storm waterer system where there isn't any storm waterer system that is modern stormwater system that's compliant with the applicable state and town regulations but I think it's also important stormwater system owns maintained by the property owner no burden on the town and that there's a recorded operations and maintenance manual that creates in perpetuity the private responsibility to maintain the system all true yes just think those are all important for the record for the board to know and if I could jump in there regarding storm water um as you discussed we do have numerous uh technical review comments um if you could agree to working uh with our office to address those comments leis I would be happy to do so yes okay all right thank you sure we've had the opportunity your staff makes themselves available to us in technical meetings so you're the reports were given to us we've had the opportunity to meet with them so we're not making empty promises we've worked all we discuss all of these with them if I may I think we'll go to uh so to just touch on trash and recycling elements for the site uh there is a proposed that the rear of the site where it wouldn't be seen would be just to the left of where I described the storm water basin a enclosure for a dumpster that would be within a masonry enclosure uh there's also uh uh proposed a container that we would have outside of the loading Bay for U and you might be able to describe it in detail but some of the scrap that comes out of the stone process gets recycled and so there would be a container there for that those scrap elements of marble or Granite that could then be taken away from the site M I failed to identify my client who's here this evening Joel ricean is if you could stand Joel Joel ricean is House of granite and we've interviewed him extensively and he shared with us that there's no garbage that comes out of there garbage that comes out of G it's garbage but the stone is all collected and it is re repurposed so that's what that specific container was before but again I mean you're going to have paper and other products that absolutely require the enclosure correct that's correct there's all those are two separate elements the the stone recycling container is also a standard dumpster within a solid enclosure on the site okay thank you go ahead uh landscaping and there's a Woodlands management plan here so you can see of course where we've constructed the Basin at the rear there are proposed plantings Landscaping back there there is some tree removal there as well and we've gone through there are proposed 62 trees to be planted but that falls short of the required number in The Woodlands management plan so there is a o OD amount of trees I think Miss SPO shared with us some guidance and Direction which we found to be excellent and we I'll put on the record and there was an indication that there's room for more trees so put more trees on there we'll put more trees on there there's also a recommendation that we work with an understory under the tree trees that are there and that we would come up with an understory plan and an additional planting with Sherry telling us where it goes so I see her shaking her head you Shak your head and the understory element is important because the rear of the site is a 50 foot buffer that exists that's all existing trees but as we perform some of this work we want to make sure that while it would be outside that buffer but that it is clearly planted with understory and an effective buffer there's also so Landscaping requested or across the front of the property as you can see across the front of the property we don't own anything except the building the parking lot and the driveway the lands that are green are owned by the state of New Jersey as part of the RightWay however we are going to go to the Department of Transportation to ask them for permission to install a sidewalk and what we were are prepared to do is to also ask that they allow us to plant in their RightWay it would be low plantings and we I believe that if we carried with us Shar bureau's recommendations for landscaping in that area and if we carried with us a resolution from this board indicating that was a a preferred element I believe that the dot would work with us so we make that commitment to carry that to the do and to ask them for permission to landscape their property in front of us I say reuse of a property that's really the extent of uh my description of what we're proposing there's a there's some lighting fixtures in here that are the type of lighting fixtures that the township does not favor to the extent that we are asked to replace those lighting fixtures with down LED lighting fixures if we could make that commitment we can yes that is the presentation of Mr zner other than to say Mr Zar you've reviewed the reports of staff are you comfortable advising the board that you've made yourself familiar with them that you can and you will address the technical requirements in those staff reports I'm confident we can meet any open conditions okay nothing further Mr Zer he's available to you and to your staff at this time so before I um I do have one question the um I see the parking spaces are right up against the building B baller yes you got it go ahead you got it Ballers across the or some kind of you know the car bumpers that they you the concrete car bump something the bumpers are not permitted need baller to like a big I defer planter whatever Ballard yes okay you see where they're they're you know very close so anybody running through the you know storefront you don't want that I also wanted to jump in ask a question regarding the loading operations for the site uh designed vehicle and how uh items would be loaded and unloaded at the rear of the site Mr mcneel with permission Scott Kennel is prepared to go through that movement when he test all right thank lose that point okay any other questions a quick question about the Basin has the appropriate um test pits infiltration testing in accordance with the NJ storm War BMP manual been performed at this time and if so are the results uh is the Basin right sized for the storm water runoff for the site per those results and that might play into the comments you have so that is exactly a comment additional soil testing will be required to confirm the permeability rate of the subsoil as well as confirm that has the adequate number of test pits so yeah that is a comment that we we can address or that we will address with the applicants engineer thank you okay Council woman s anything no open it up for the public um any of the other professionals no I'm good with this witness thank you I'm okay as well okay yeah so while he's still here we'll just open it up to the public and then then we'll do it that way so anybody from the public I see nobody standing we'll move on thank you okay then with permission Mr chair we'll go to Steve rasi our architect okay Mr zner will remain with us through the remainder of the even is adasi if you could stand to be sworn any testimony you're about to provide do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do Mr adasi please share with all of us your education and professional background so I'm a licensed registered architect in the state of New Jersey um I went to New Jersey Institute of Technology for architecture graduated in 1992 I became licensed in the State in 1996 I'm a principal at Perez and rasi Associates in charge of uh operations uh I presented in front of dozens of boards throughout the state of New Jersey including this board okay and your license is in good standing yes it is the plans that we're about to review with you or is this your work product yes it is I'm going to ask if you could in a narrative fashion describe what your responsibility was be please be certain to identify the improvements that you've made to the building and if you could also before we are finished if you could take us inside and identify the four tenants yes thank you so the existing building is a one-story retail building of approximately 46,6 71 square ft uh this building has been very visible structure in howl for generations and has served its intended purpose for years but now the building is old and it's tired and it's time for a refresh uh the new owners have requested that I give the building a new life with a complete facelift as well as to divide the building up into four Home Improvement or Home Furnishing retail tents uh one of the spaces being for the owners themselves uh with their house of granite retail store with slope uh stone slab design and Fabrication as the architect the client requested that I redesign the building to make it more usable as well as more attractive from Route n the first thing that we proposed in the new in the new design was to remove all the various signs the graphics the awnings and the flags uh the next thing was to make the front facade more visibly organized so that each of the potential tenants had a visually attractive storefront that defined each of their entrances we did this by utilizing the existing masine pilasters and adding new finishes and horizontal and vertical elements we added a new high-end finishes that would hint at the Stone and Tile Store use and we also uh we added ceramic rain screen panels at the base of the walls that would give it a rich feel and Visually anchor the base of the building to the ground in addition to that we use vertical wood slats stucco woodl fiber cement panels and trim bands to contrast the ceramic panels and to aesthetically divide the building facade at each of the potential entrances we added a new aluminum and glass door FRS with low E glazing we also added a new Canal uh metal canopies that accentuate the horizontal trim lines Mr chair if I could just interject and Steve I don't mean to interrupt you sure we've been working together for years Steve always does a fantastic job on the architecture he understands what we're looking for here in Howell we've been working together on this on this building for quite a while now I think the facade along Route n is fantastic I think it's a tremendous upgrade to what is there now there's a couple little tweaks that I would make to some of the other facades that have some continued blank walls that Steve has committed to working with my office if you guys were to approve this tonight we could do that as part of resolution compliance I don't mean to cut you off but I don't know we need to go through every architectural detail the board doesn't generally get into that level of detail if you're okay trusting me I will make sure that the building looks okay and this this building is in that refresh Zone correct on correct you know and so but it is a marked improvement over what is there now the the front facade is fantastic there's a couple little tweaks to the other three facades that we need to make to just keep it in keeping with what we've done in other buildings and Steve is well aware of the type of things that I'm looking for and has been very easy to work with from my office so if you guys trust me I can make sure that the building is going to look fantastic good thank you Jennifer yes we we will do that I think that brings our architectural testimony to a conclusion with questions he's available to the board and the Professionals for questions if there are any any nobody open to the public I make one point the building is designed to accommodate up to four tenants 1 2 3 or four tenants and and that would be a restriction that we're comfortable with it's designed for home furnishings and Home Improvement businesses so I imagine the bigger space is going to be the their space correct the granite space the northern the northern space is the is the northern okay the northern attached to the warehouse attached to that big capital F building okay if I make piggyback on that question so so far we have two tenants we do we have the the owner of the building and we have a 15,000 foot furniture store right in the middle of the building so we the same owner different owner different owner we and Mr Howard has signed off and allowed them to to begin their their fit up okay thank you thank you I'm good good public anybody from the public no okay thank you okay thank you very much thank you Mr Scott Kennel is our traffic expert I know that he has testified before the board before I would ask that he be sworn we'll share his credentials and make a presentation on the adequacy of parking and circulation all right any testimony you're about to provide you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do Mr kennel if you could just identify to the board your background and your qualifications as a traffic expert yeah and Scott Kennel K Neel with MCD and Ray Associates located in Manasquan I have over uh close to 40 years now of traffic and transportation planning experience I've appeared before this board as well as 100 other municipalities and providing uh uh traffic testimony and I'm going to ask if you could um have were you part of the design team and were you part of the inspection of the property and prepare the report that's before the board this evening yes I've been involved in this project for over a year and our office prepared a traffic statement dated March 18 2024 which details traffic projections circulation and uh the parking that uh we're proposing for the site Mr chairman I asked that the board accept Mr kennel and allow him to testify as a traffic expert this evening thank you he's accepted if you would I think the mo the focus that we have is the on-site circulation and the improvements be certain to identify the loading areas and the circulation associated with the loading areas and then the parking that exists and the parking that would exist if the site was approved and we'd like to know your opinion about its adequacy all right I guess I there we go uh well as Mr Zar testified uh we're doing substantial on-site improvements uh that are is going to improve circulation specifically in the Northeast quadrant of the uh site we're at we're converting what is it just a gravel access road to a paved 28 foot wide two-way uh circulation aisle to provides access to the easterly and uh side of the building as well as to the Loading areas again with that design it allows traffic trucks to enter in on the norly side of the building as well as to be able to exit utilizing the north side of the building so that we minimize uh truck conflicts with the pass with the parking spaces along the west side and south side of the building so in my opinion that's a tremendous enhancement to what exists today uh the fire Bureau has reviewed the plan as Mr Papers testified so they're satisfied with the circulation patterns to adequately serve this building and as far as the parking as Mr papus testified this is going to be gear towards low intensive retail uses uh I'm sure many of you have been to uh granite stores or lighting stores and the space is generally occupied by inventory with a basically you know low uh turnover of customers our client expects anywhere from zero some days to up to six customers that come into the store and many of those are by appointment so we're not it's not a high track traffic generator High parking generator such as uh other retail type uses uh based on his operations which he he has as many as 26 employees not all of them Drive many of them car pull or get dropped off and we would expect a a a parking need of approximately 20 for the um House of granted employees and then as I mentioned they have uh as many as six customers a day so that's not a big uh demand and then when you look at the other uh tenant potential tenant that's going to occupy two of the spaces for as a furniture store that again is a very low parking generator on during the weekday they may generate as many as 10 uh Vehicles where on the weekend it's in a range of maybe 20 Vehicles so again it's a low parking generator and then space a or the one un un identified tenant or space on the northly side is approximately 7,000 square ft again the nature of the use would generate uh plus or minus uh 10 vehicles and again when you take all that into consideration the par Peak parking demand is going to be 40 to 45 vehicles and we have 72 parking spaces so based on the restrictions that are being considered and the type of uses it's my opinion that the park and supply of 72 spaces is more than adequate to serve uh the known and and and future tenants of this uh of this building if I may just I want to make certain points so the building currently has functioned with 44 spaces and no restrictions on use we're proposing restrictions on use and we're increasing the 44 to 72 does that influence your opinion that the parking is adequate yes most more def most definitely B based on my office research and Industry standards for these type of retail uses again it's my opinion the 72 spaces are more than adequate to serve the anticipated demand buildings not growing and for decades buildings survived with 44 parking spaces correct correct if you could circulation so if you can identify how a vehicle enters the site and gets into the loading dock and how if the vehicle leaves the loading dock and and and exits the site yeah basically trucks that would access the loading area would enter at the Northerly I think we can work not working there we go would would utilize this driveway the Northerly driveway and circulate okay in a in a clockwise pattern and then access the loading docks that are here and then there are some other larger parking spaces uh at this location I'd also want to make a note that based on the house of granite operation Granite deliveries are anywhere from 2 to three a week and they're generally by flatbed trucks that have a boom on them similar to sheetrock type of delivery vehicles smaller vehicle yeah wouldn't be tractor trailers it would be but but but it with the furniture store they would have tractor trailers correct and this site has been designed to accommodate tractor trailers so no trucks can get in that that first other one it's not intended for them to use that uh yeah so you're going to the second stop them because you can't make that turn in there right not the first one well no and then again it's it's going to be that's something has to be coordinated with the owners of the businesses that the the deliveries are made at the Northerly driveway and signage I was going to say is there signage you can put up I think that yeah the reason that that driveway system is around the building is is fire chief Pro now who wanted to make certain he could get around the building so we made certain that he could so so if you're coming in with understand that I just want to make sure nobody goes in that entrance the truck we'll we'll work with NJ do and add the proper signage as well as your professional team fresh removal Vehicles can they circulate and get to the the dumpsters yes and a vehicle to come and pick up the container with the stone remnants could circulate that yes they can with this extensive expansive paved area in the back there's plenty of room for them to maneuver and access the the containers so a summary of your professional opinion is more than adequate parking adequate more than adequate on-site circulation for the anticipated Vehicles including an articulated tractor trailer and the U property accommodates the turn turning movements associated with loading and unloading yes they do I don't think I have any more questions for you Mr kennall Mr chair and members of the board Mr kennel is now available to you and your staff no I think just going back to that comment I know you know the car parking is not an issue it's the you know it's the higher you know the tractor trailer issue they're going to that second one passing the front entrance um so there's signage is going to be critical so I don't have any other questions we'll agree to work with your staff to come up with the appropriate sign Jen anybody yeah so I have nothing I have nothing so just had a quick question on the spaces in the rear the 16 spaces will those be designated entirely for employees employees will be directed that that's where they must Park but there won't be a restriction on anyone else parking there if they want to employees will be directed to the rear parking spaces and the light is going to be another discussion Mr Mr zner testifies that the lighting will be amended to remove the offensive fixtures replace them with LED downward lighting fixtur all okay any other questions open to the public you're not coming okay I saw her standing up sorry no no I'm on okay you're next gotcha okay all right close to the public thank you thank you yep thank you and our fourth and final professional witness is Christine Kone this existing site this existing building comes with a set of smoke variances almost all of which are pre-existing and we've asked that Miss Kone address those if we could begin with having Miss Gone swore yeah any a testimony you're about to provide do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes all right proceed if you would miss cfone share with us your education and professional background yes good evening uh chair and members of the M my name is Christine cfone I'm a licensed professional planner I've been testifying as such for 28 years in the state of New Jersey and I have a master's degree in city and Regional planning my licenses are current and valid I testified here in Howell and about 450 other planning zoning boards throughout the state I teach Planning and Zoning courses and I'm a court appointed a Mr chair she's before us like every single meeting good to go a lot we're good thank you if you could identify your responsibility to the board if you could identify the BK variance relief that we're requesting and take us to the proofs that this Board needs to hear to justify granting that relief certainly so uh the the uses is proposed is permitted in the HD1 zone so we are asking for some relief that results almost exclusively to existing conditions on the property the southernmost corner of the building is set at about 41.6 ft where it needs to be 60 the northern WI a little closer to a little further back it's at 50 where it needs to be 60 those are existing conditions on the property not impacted by this application similarly we have improvements closer than 50 ft as well as the buffer that is also existing conditions the less than 50ft buffer on the property uh predominantly those exists uh on on the front side Southern and Northern portions of the property we are also asking a waiver for the number of parking spaces as Mr kennel just provided so statutorily the board can grant the relief under either the C1 section of the statute which relates to a hardship or lawful pre-existing structures on the property or the C2 section of the statute where you advance one or more purposes of the land use law because the stat the structures on the property are lawful pre-existing structures I think the board could invoke the C1 section of the statute but in the absence of that C1 criteria if you don't feel that a hardship is met I believe you can grant the relief under the C2 section of the statute under criteria G of the municipal land use law which talks about sufficient space and appropriate locations for a variety abuses I think that this is a a great use for this site and I think it aligns perfectly with the stated purpose of the HD1 section at 18877 of the haml township L ordinance that section of the ordinance reads the purpose of the HD1 is to provide for a highway oriented development in the route N9 Corridor on Lots larger than permitted in the HC Zone also important to the route n Corridor is that when you last reexamined your master plan in 2019 you Incorporated all of your goals from the 2017 plan but you did introduce one new one which was to encourage new businesses and industries to locate along the Township's Highway corridors which will grow the economy of Howell and provide new services and potential employment and opportunities for residents so I think that given the fact that the the Township in their Master planning documents has encouraged growth and development here you can look at this as G sufficient space and appropriate locations I also think it's an efficient use of the land which is criteria M of the land use law statutorily we would only have to invoke one to meet our C2 Pro proofs but I think we are so certainly solid with criteria G and M um no variance whether it's C1 or C2 should be granted if the board doesn't find that the negative criteria is also satisfied the negative criteria really has two prongs to it the impact on the public good on the and the Zone plan here you heard testimony earlier from our witnesses that we intend to modify and enhance the Landscaping to add sidewalks along Route 9 and into the site to introduce new storm water management facilities and to upgrade the facade of the building all of those things lead me to believe that the variance relief required in conjunction with this application can be granted with no substantial detriment because that's the test right it's not that you have to hold us to the that there's no detriment just that the benefits of the grant outweigh any detriment so I think we do certainly meet our statutory burden of proof with respect to both the positive and the negative criteria for the grant of all of the relief and waivers associated with this application thank you for that efficient and th no three minutes professionals I take make no exception to the testimony provided C1 C1 C2 I think this is a positive it's an existing site they're cleaning it up they're making improvements they're adding storm water management the facade is much improved I think this is a very welcome addition to the rout n quarter I have nothing to say after that right K orgue came up with the master plan so that concludes the direct presentation of the applicant to this board questions no questions open to the public I see nobody raising themselves so we will move on thank you Mr chair I'm going to adopt the comments of Jennifer beam as my closing statement okay send you I'll bring your ice cream nothing else respectfully ask that the board consider favorably the preliminary final site plan with the limited bulk variance and wer relief has presented with condition of adding the sidewalk as recommended and I don't know if we need to adopt the C1 C2 I so that's I agree that it probably would qualify under the C1 but missone gave us the C2 criteria so I think they're covered either way either way so it doesn't matter okay the condition we'll meet with Sher and we'll meet with your engineer okay and they're going to work with me on the architure so I think we're ready to make a motion make a motion I'll make a motion to approve it I'll second yeah Mr Greenfield yes Mr Withers yes Mr Rebel yes councilwoman f yes and chairman Mercer yes motion carries Mr chairman members of the board thank you all good night okay next we [Music] have case number SD 3014 Neil and Monica Slattery minor subdivision with ancillary variance and design waiver relief Mr chairman just before uh we get started I just want to make a point on the record that there was a uh minor issue with the notice on this application the applicant relied on the uh tax assessor list that was provided but there was a typo on that list the uh there was uh basically the the state was wrong it said New Jersey the correct State should have been West Virginia the um the owner of the property lot six which is immediate adjacent had contacted me she's the uh one in West Virginia and she said she understands the application she's received effective notice and that uh she has no objection to this application so we can we've uh resolved notice and via email confirm that she uh waves her 10day notice uh in order to uh be heard tonight okay so we can hear it okay good thank you uh good evening chairman uh councilwoman members of the board David Leon carton law fir on behalf of the applicants um I was going to ask uh Mr Mueller for the um for uh confirmation that the notice was acceptable particularly to uh Miss um Miss Ricker or Miss cheesy and um it's already been explained so yes U Council uh the planning board has jurisdiction correct perspective yes thank you very much um this is a minor subdivision uh that seeks some variance relief um it's I'm hopeful that I'm going to be uh a little more brief than my learning colleague just before me um in presenting this application um it is a 16,000 I'm sorry it's a 31,6 24t lot in the R3 Zone uh proposed subdivision into a 15,000 foot lot and a 16,6 24q foot lot um both are going to be uh residential uses um I would like to call uh as my first witness with permission of the board uh Neil slatter the owner of the property Mr Leon you could sit and that is a mic on that table there oh thank you just make sure you speak into it okay thank you all right yeah would you stand stand to me SW and the testimony you're about to provide do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes all right you proceed so Neil you own the property um that that's the subject of this application uh that's correct I own it with my wife Monica okay and what are you presently doing with that property uh we currently live there okay and uh what's your intention to do with the uh subdivision and having a second lot we're looking to split the lot to uh give the second lot to our daughter our son-in-law and our granddaughter okay and what are they going to do with it as far as you know um they they currently live in Beachwood they are as soon as this clears up and they are the official owners they'll be working on putting up uh their own resid house and living there okay there are certain uh code issues that have been addressed uh by Miss beam the um the planner uh in particular there's one that has to do with a shed that would be in the newly created lot um you cannot have a shed as the primary uh the primary building on on a lot would you have any problem with moving that shed uh to your lot during the pendency of the uh the building of of your daughter's home no not at all it's current now obviously the whole property is our property it and that's just what the lot is as soon as it splits I'm I'll take the shed and put it on on our side okay because the board's concerned that the shed would be sitting there for a long time can you give the board an idea of what time frame you're thinking about uh building this home for your daughter um well I would assume that within a year tops it would be you know taken care of and completed okay um so Mr chair I would just recommend and I I don't mean to cut you off but this is I know you have like a whole ly of people here and I appreciate your preparedness but I I feel like I could probably cut through it for you if you don't mind I would greatly appreciate Mr chair put them on on the spot so this is a piece of property on Belmar Boulevard and it's a through lot right so it goes from bmar Boulevard to the street immediately behind um there's an existing house on it they're looking to cut it in half for apparently uh Mr slatter's daughter like a front back property the shed exists it is would be on that second lot I would recommend that within 120 days of perfection of the subdivision either the shed has to go or it has to be moved I don't think it needs to be done right away because it takes a while to get through resolution compliance to get the subdivision filed because they can't even file a building permit until all of that's done so I don't want to put onus on this resident obviously we're looking to be you know res friendly here so I would say within 120 days it's a fair 120 days of the Perfection of the subdivision to either move the shed or remove it can you do that done so I would also say the lot is more than double the required and Brian I don't mean to steal your thunder either um the lot is more than double the size of what's required in the zone it's a 15,000 ft Zone it's over 31,000 Square ft both Lots will be oversized there's you know and you know me I do not I'm not an advocate of creating undersized Lots it will meet the dimensional requirements the frontage the width the depth everything both Lots the issue is is the location of the existing home um which um will require a front yard setback variants but I think that's existing right CU it's there now and potentially the rear the the new lot could potentially have a rear yard setback variant however given the fact that this um applicant is looking to have his daughter live in the house I'm not thinking that they're going to have a problem with having a less than you know less than normal rear yard setback they're minor variances it's a minor subdivision I see there's a whole lot of boards over there with architectural but it's a it's a minor sub it's a minor subdivision they don't even really have to show us any Improvement they would have to go to the township for plot plan review and get your approvals um but they are seeking that setback variants for the second lot in the event that the whatever design that they put forward would require it so they don't have to then come back here for that um I take no exception to what they're asking for it's a minor subdivision it's a through lot actually it's creating a better situation because now you don't have two fronts um and they are not asking for the lot to be under sized if they were asking to cut a 15,000 ft lot in half I would have a very different opinion of it but because he has a double the size I don't take any exception to what they're asking for so I don't know if you guys need to hear any additional testimony but from my perspective this is a very minor application I don't want to waste everybody's time just curious about the the drive going in it's going to be one drive and then split off for each dwelling current current currently it's a gravel road gravel driveway coming from Belmar cutting through to it'll just split off to each wherever the dwelling is we splitting with a fence right I mean in theory you could legitimately have a driveway off both roadways correct going to each house correct you will right so they'll have their right so front okay got it okay um in terms of the testimony from Mr Slattery that's all I have if there's anything further that needs to be heard with regard to the variances I do have uh Mr Murphy here who's professional planner professional engineer can address any of those issues if it's necessary I mean I don't take exception to what they're asking for I think it's very minor nature so I mean listen I love Brian and I've known him for years and he's more than welcome to to do what he has to do but I don't feel it's necessary if you guys are okay I think they're good okay yeah any questions no no no questions I'm kind of jealous set up I would like the best just trying to be efficient guys yeah like if it was problematic I would let you know and you know that I don't tolerate like Ridiculousness or any thing but in this particular situation this is a a very modest ask and I don't think what they're asking for is problematic in any way okay so make a motion for minor subdivision with an variance before we do we just have to open it to public just in oh yeah okay yeah I see nobody standing we can move on I'll I'll make a motion okay I'll second for minor subdivision with ancillary conance got it a motion in second Mr Greenfield yes Mr Withers yes Mr reel yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman Mercer yes motion carries thank you thank you very much good luck thank you going executive session we don't need Executive there's no Master Plan update like we did the master plan last year we're we're good to go I think there's supposed to be a meeting on I mean the housing plan just so you know the housing plan is going to come around but that's not until next year but we are gearing up for the next round of affordable housing but other than that there's no like elements that we need to address there's no master plan meeting schedule for the month of July that's I'll T about tournaments thank you guys so much we really appreciate it thank you and while we're here there's nothing scheduled right now for August 1 and it's too late to notice so the August 1 meeting will be canell that's my birth that's my birthday good our next meeting will be August 15th when August 15th okay and by the way my birthday is the next day ating R balls and I'm I'm not going to mention who I'm directing that and then also singing well I'm not singing so I don't I don't mind you not singing but you know what you I know rum balls exactly so motion to close the meeting motion hi hi we're good thank you very much everyone so I didn't fumble too much you did fine h