[Music] good evening uh welcome to the township of how planning board meeting for Thursday June 6 2024 I opening statement please I 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 manner first on January 5th 2024 a copy of said notice was emailed to the Asbury par 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 Route 9 Howell Township New Jersey in ordance with the fire prevention code and your safety please be advised that this facility is designed with two emergency exits which are on 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 broadcast on Howell Township TV 77 thank you thank you um we have a new member of the planning board Mr Matthew wither that needs to be sworn in properly sure Mr Withers you just stand raise your right hand and repeat after me I state your name I Matthew Withers you solemly swear or affirm you solemnly swear or affirm that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform all of the duties of the office of class four member of the planning board all the duties of the office of class for member of the planning board the best of my ability to the best of my ability and that I will support the Constitution of the United States and that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Saint and that I will bear trueth faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States to the government established in the United States and under this and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people congratulations congratulations welcome aboard Matt okay uh Eileen roll call please Mr Cristiano present Mr Greenfield's been excused Mr leio present Mr Mercer here Mr tanhouse I have not heard from Mr Withers president Mr Rebel here councilwoman fiser here miss Pike has been excused Mr Carbonic I have not heard from and chairman huster here you have a quorum thank you uh would everybody please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence for our men and women serving both here and abroad to the flag of the United States of America and to the for stands naice thank you I do we have any minutes I have no minutes this evening any correspondence I have no correspondence this evening all right right in resolutions first one is area in need of Redevelopment um eligible voters Mr legio Mr Mercer uh councilwoman fiser uh and myself do I have a motion I'll make a motion Mr Mercer second Mr legio Mr leio yes Mr Mercer yes councilwoman fer yes and chairman huster yes motion carries second is for case number sp114 Lowe's companies Inc eligible voters Mr legio Mr Mercer councilwoman fiser and myself do I have a motion motion Mr legio no second Mr Mercer Mr leio yes Mr Mercer yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman huster yes motion carries resolutions memorialized next is case number SP 112232 soued Avenue LLC eligible voters Mr legio Mr Mercer councilwoman Fischer and myself do I have a motion motion Mr legio I'll second Mr Mercer Mr leio yes Mr Mercer yes councilwoman fer yes and chairman huster yes motion carries resolutions memorialized next is case number sp123 SMC Properties LLC eligible voters Mr legio Mr Mercer councilwoman fiser and myself do I have a motion I'll make a motion Mr Mercer second I'll give that to councilwoman fiser Mr leio yes Mr Mercer yes councilwoman Fisher yes and chairman hust yes motion carries resolution memorialized okay next is case number sp114 96 Industrial Court LLC eligible voters Mr legio Mr Mercer councilwoman Fischer and myself Mr chairman yes I received an email and I had a subsequent telephone conference with the applicants attorney on 96 industrial regarding one of the conditions associated with the uh truck travel route um he requested some revision and he has sent me the uh the transcript that he wants me to take a look at so he's requested that this resolution be carried to the next meeting while I review the transcript sure okay not a problem so we'll skip that one uh that would put us to case number sp120 Carmine Caruso eligible voters Mr legio Mr Mercer councilwoman Fischer and myself do I have a motion I'll make a motion Mr Mercer second Mr legio Mr leio yes Mr Mercer yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman huster yes motion carries resolution memorialized next is case number SP 1051 Cornerstone calvalry Chapel eligible voters Mr Mercer and myself make a motion and I will second Mr Mercer yes and chairman huster yes motion carries resolutions memorialized next is case number number SD 2997 a larby realy LLC eligible voters Mr legio and Mr Mercer motion Mr Mr Mercer Mr leio yes Mr Mercer yes motion carries resolutions memorialized okay next is SD 2991 a mark chikano eligible voters Mr Cristiano Mr Mercer Mr Rebel councilwoman fiser and myself do I have a motion I make motion Mr Cristiano second Mr Rebel Mr Cristiano yes Mr Mercer yes Mr Rebel yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman huster yes motion carries resolutions memorialized okay the next is Farmland preservation plan element of the municipal master plan eligible voters Mr legio Mr Mercer and myself do I have a motion motion Mr legio second Mr Mercer Mr leio yes Mr Mercer yes and chairman huster yes motion carries resolutions memorialized uh we're also going to have to put the following on next agenda case number sd3 0003 CI for Howell Township as there are no eligible voters present you're going to have to do the next two as well because we only have one eligible voter oh that is correct on yeah the amendment to the municipal master plans we'll both go on next agenda and the last is case number SD 3011 Blen yuck Properties LLC eligible voters Mr legio Mr Mercer councilwoman fiser and myself that a motion I'll make a motion Mr Mercer second Mr legio Mr legio yes Mr Mercer yes councilwoman Fisher yes and chairman huster yes motion carries resolution thank you thank you okay we're going to switch some things around um for the sake of ease uh submission waivers we are going to start with case number SP 11116 Jersey Central Power and Light Company for a preliminary and final major site plan Mr chairman I have a conflict of interest on this so I'll be recusing myself you do have a conflict council with you tonight thanks Ron good evening good evening James dairo from beron Pini on behalf of Jersey Central parite did you just spell your last name for me d n r o thank you okay so typically we we turn it over to our professionals to kind of walk us through uh Laura that needs to be sworn in yeah I do uh so Mr chairman members of the board the submission waivers are specifically outlined in item four h I'm sorry on page four item three of our uh May 8th review letter going through these items uh it would appear that checklist item number 11 the Freehold soils Conservation District application should be submitted as they exceed 5,000 ft of disturbance checklist item number 60 which is the uh Overland and underground drainage conveyance Within 2,000 ft Downstream as I know that's an item this board typically does not wave and in addition checklist item number 85 Woodlands management plan we have some comments in our review letter about tree removal when it occurred in permits and I'd like to have that information in advance of a public hearing so I take no exception to the granting of the balance of the items for the purposes of deeming the application complete however I would recommend that item 11 60 and 85 be provided acceptable yes okay easy enough any questions from the board okay seeing none I will entertain a motion motion Mr legio Mr Mercer Mr Cristiano yes Mr leio yes Mr Mercer yes Mr Withers say yes yes Mr Rebel yes yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman huster yes motion carries thank you very much thank you we get Ron back have a good night sorry thanks all right Ron's back all right the second submission waiver is case number SD 3014 Neil and Monica Slattery for a minor subdivision with ancillary variance relief counselor good evening David Le owned carton Law Firm on behalf of the applicants all right want to S me in you swear or affirm the testimony about to provide this boards the truth the hold TR nothing but the truth I do uh Mr chairman uh members of the board similarly the submission waivers are specifically outlined in item three uh of our April 12th 2024 review letter uh this is a minor subdivision um and so for those reasons I take no exception to the granting of these waivers for the purpose purposes of deeming the application complete um it's will ultimately yield two lots one of which is already developed so I take no issue any questions seeing none I will entertain a motion I'll make motion for approval Mr Cristiano second councilwoman fiser Mr Cristiano yes Mr leio yes Mr Mercer yes Mr Withers yes Mr Rebel yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman huster yes motion carries thank you very much thank you thank you you too uh the last we are going to hold off for case number SP 11126 4461 Route 9 realy uh because the attorney cannot be here until 8:00 so that being said we'll get back to that one so we will move into applications first this evening case number sp115 ja Howell LLC this is for a preliminary and final major site plan with ancillary variants and design waiver relief good evening Mr chairman good evening my name is Michael Butler from the law firm of eer SE here on behalf of the applicant uh J A Howell LLC um just a question um I know Council woman Fisher and board member uh Withers they're they're new to the board I guess new to this application I should say are they voting tonight councilwoman fer has certified so she's good perfect great um so once again my name is Michael Butler um this is a continued hearing for uh our application for the development of the property located at 402 Cranberry Road it's designated as block 182 Lot 4 on the Howell Township tax maps um we were here before this board back in February I was going to say a couple weeks ago but it's a couple months ago time time lies um and what we originally came to this board for was we were asking for preliminary and final site plan approval for two phases of this uh this application it's a trade contractor's uh business um and while we were presenting our application the board asked some really good questions some pointed questions and what we decided to do was to make sure that the board's comfortable and so we modified our application and made it for preliminary and final for phase one and just final for phase two meaning that if we ever want to develop phase two we have to come back to this board um and ask for an additional approval to make sure that you're comfortable with what's happening on phase two so tonight's application what we'll talk what we're talking about is just for preliminary and final for phase one which is the building in the front um and then preliminary for phase two um at the last app at the last hearing we went we did go through some testimony I had my uh the applicant my client Andrew Walsh who's back behind me um testify about the the nature of his business and how the property is going to be used um we also had John Ray our traffic expert come and he provided testimony about the traffic from the site and that there's going to be a little little impact to no impact from from the traffic he was qualified and accepted as from this board as a traffic engineer he's before this board all the time um at the end of his testimony the board asked questions the professionals ask questions the public asked questions um and we closed out his test testimony also we had testimony from our our architect Amanda luno um she was also qualified as an expert in architecture from this board um she gave a presentation on the architecture that is proposed for the site I think Miss Bell said that she liked the architecture um and uh she also had was questioned by the board by board's professionals and by the public and her testimony was closed uh we also presented a testimony of of Mr Ward Pat Ward is next to me um he started going into the engineering um but we didn't let he's also going to be our planner but we stopped at the at the engineering at one point because we knew we were going to change the plan a little bit uh so we thought that we would stop that stop that that that night let you guys go home and we'll come back so what have we been doing in the intervening months is Mr Ward and my my client have a meeting with the board professionals out the site me talking to the township and kind of reworking some of the storm water and some of the landscape ing in some of the aspects of the of the site plan to make it more palatable to to to the board and to the the board professionals um so what I would like to do tonight is I was going to have Mr Ward who was already sworn in and accepted as an expert in engineering um I'd like to have him go through what the site plan looks like currently um and kind of talk a little bit about some of the changes that were made so that we could meet the the questions and the concerns of the board's professionals I just remind you that you remain under Earth y perfect to it Ron all right Mr Ward um I gave a quick I gave a quick update but could you just maybe run the board through um the site plan as it's currently stands um and some changes that we made in in conjunction with our discussions and meetings with the board's professionals right so to Echo what you said we left here last with uh kind of a a punch list of things to do and the punch was meet with and discuss some of the outstanding items with the board professionals and also the township engineering office and and we've done that so we have consulted with the board engineer the township engineer and actually had a site meeting with Miss SPO the board tree expert just to discuss these outstanding items and I'll kind of summarize what was outstanding or what needed to be clarified or changed and then what we actually ended up with so first and foremost U maybe the more technical of the three that I'm going to talk about is Storm waterer management there was a a comment in the the last CME review letter about the discharge location if you recall we had a uh the outlet for the front Basin was directed towards uh Cranberry Road and right towards the street so the township uh engineering office and the board engineer had issue with that which we don't disagree with and the applicant um considered some options and we went through a couple iterations with the township and what we landed on was a sewer extens a storm sewer extension so what we're going to have is a very similar situation with storm water management onsite a series of basins um collecting their own drainage areas the front Basin will have your conventional Outlet structure it'll be connected to a new uh storm sewer that'll be directed West underground to a series of inlets that are on the west end of Cranberry Road so there is no discharge to the surface to potentially impact any of the neighbors around particularly to the West um we keep that water off the surface and eventually it makes it to a creek which ultimately all this water is going to the same Watershed and Creek now we're just sending it through the a new extension of the municipal system and to existing Municipal piping so um and if I could just stop here real quick Ju Just for identification the board's all looking at an exhibit I believe that that exhibit's been marked um but as exhibit a is this phase one 26 26 82686 and that that is an exhibit that that you prepared um your office prepared and it it shows the the new rendering for phase one of the project that's correct and and what this shows this doesn't show the physical extension because our our renderings typically just show what the property is's going to look like from the sky but there's a big blue arrow on there with a call out that explains that we are ascending the water West underground the site plan set that was submitted for the board and reviewed by the board engineer um shows that you know the size of the pipe the slope of the pipe and the location of that pipe and there's there's some points of clarification in the CMB review letter regarding storm water management we we take no objection the applicant takes no objection to meeting those um or addressing those comments I should say uh as a condition of approval with CME if the board so grants that approval um generally the grading and and you know the the collection systems on site really didn't change it was really more focused on the outlet the geometry of the front Basin changed slightly there's other reasons for that which I'm going to get into right now and that's our uh meeting that our office had with Miss speo on site and the applicant walk through the property to in an attempt to try to save some of these mature trees where we can and um we actually you know at Miss spo's recommendation we we as a group here and really mostly her identified a a handful of spe of of trees not a handful more than a handful of mature trees that we can keep and if you'd be so kind of start at the front I think that's where really the the storm water basin geometry really changed because we're keeping a couple of really large coniferous trees at the front um and also a couple of deciduous trees and we're going to work around them so the Basin is kind of pulled off of that a little bit we are going to supplement in between those trees with new new trees and um as you make your way further back we're going to provide the buffer on the west side with the berm and the new plantings but then about halfway to the rear of the site there's several trees that are that we're going to keep and we're going to again work around those to continue to provide that buffer there's a bit of a uh existing canopy area that's that green Mass that's right there and then at the very back corner get back to the our new bur and new plantings um again to provide that buffer on that West Side so what's the net of that a couple things one we get to maintain these mature trees so on day one of this site operationally those trees are mature and doing what is know the ordinance intends for mature plantings along that buffer um it also reduces the deficit uh as a whole for the replacement and really what we are requesting the board to grant us in terms of that tree contribution fund um significally reduces that um we are also if we wouldn't mind going to the front of the property again we've supplemented the front at the at the requests of the the board engineering office and the board tree expert to provide a Shrubbery at the entrance driveway on either side which is typical of new developments in town and we also have uh in between some of the existing trees that we're keeping along the street we're proposing more so the goal here is to provide Western buffer we also want to visually screen across the front which is one of the design waivers that was previously on the table uh about screening that front parking based on the uh the board professional review letters it appears that we have eliminated that request for that design waiver by doing this um there are also comments in that the latest CME review memo regarding Landscaping some species swaps and what's more appropriate for certain areas as is typical with you know dealing with the township and this board we will be happy to work with Miss SPO to refine and adjust as needed to get this you know in terms of species and even some location comments she had to pin down and get this to a point where she's satisfied um so in our opinion the the meeting and the subsequent plan changes here are positive from what we you saw previously and result in a better product here the last change uh significant change is lighting so uh we did hear the board's comments and feelings about the lighting and you know I want to say not misinformation but a lack of information shown on the last site plan we submitted a lighting plan uh that has shows the lighting for phase one and an analysis uh that analysis broke out the gravel area in the back away from the pavement on the front which is a request of CME also showed the final lighting plan for phase two which the board had uh seen previously so the big difference and you can see it right there in the middle of that yard there's a a new light pole that has a two- head fixture there that is uh intended to fill in the Gap that had existed at the last time you guys saw the lighting PL so at now as a result we meet the minimum foot candle that is required in the ordinance in this gravel yard area so now we don't have a big gap like we had previously because of the width of the yard um future phase two that light P fixture is removed the building goes in its place that building has wall pack fixtures around its perimeter like it always did previously really the the main issue was what happens in phase one phase one's there forever there's not enough light well I think I think we've satisfied that I feel like we we have met that at least the minimum so those are the summary of the changes I want to just briefly go through the design waivers that were summarized in the board professionals review letters um versus lighting the light intensity the minimum of3 foot candle anywhere we've met that uh the average of a maximum of half a foot candle across the entire area we have 1.0 foot candles so we now meet the minimum which I stated before so we kind of crossed off half of the design waiver here and our average is slightly higher than what the ordinance stipulates we're trying to do here is balance the total number of fixtures and poles versus providing the minimum foot candle throughout meeting the minimum and adding that extra fixture took the highest priority with this revision which we met and the result here is a slightly elevated average maximum previously we talked about the driveway widths exceeding 24 ft that we only have one driveway it's the main driveway in due to the nature of the vehicles that and this use we feel this is an appropriate waiver request for this type of use um loading areas uh and well I'm sorry excuse me no let me start over this is a one of the standards is section 188-191 it's about pavement um this is in particular pointed to the gravel in the rear yard the gravel here we feel is appropriate for this type of use we have the vehicle material storage in the rear and the permeable pavement has more aggregate base aggregate than typical pavement sections to summarize we'd be happy to work with the board engineering office as a a condition of approval to ensure that all final pavement sections and details are acceptable to their office and if need any other support or justification of what we're proposing we' be happy to provide it um section 188 106g all areas between the building and parking and building shall be landscaped we don't have any Landscaping in phase two for Building B and I know we're only here now seeking preliminary approval it's kind of due to the nature of what that rear area is intended for in the in the future um we did provide plantings around building a except where there's entrances for vehicles and people as was noted in the review letter um section 18816 I2 loading spaces shall abut the building being served in this case and again it's a kind of a function of this type of use we're not expecting frequent deliveries for material that's going to go inside it's really there may be some material delivery outside we showed on our plans a separate detached loading area basically a representative area off to the side on the right side of the yard in the rear that can support the largest truck that we may see here um again we don't expect frequent uh deliveries and and and that type of loading and unloading I think we testified to that last time but we did show that uh the location for it where previously we did not and Pat just just just for just for clarification both of those two waivers that you spoke about really are that's really for phase two of the project um not not so much for phase one of the project so uh we would be coming back before this board um at that time um when we were asking for an additional approval um so I didn't want to have any confusion about where where the waivers are are where those last two waivers are are are talking about no and that's that's a really good point that's correct so those waivers will be back on the table for a final approval for phase two if that day comes uh section one excuse me once I just want to make note that Mr tanin house has arrived and he's here so the record can reflect it thank you thank you um section 18 88- 195a this is about replacement trees um if you notice from the prior CME review letter to what's current the deficit the tree replacement deficit number was reduced by almost half or or just about half because of the it's kind of crazy saving those several trees the mature trees really reduced that that deficit which we feel is a positive here positive change um section 188-223 g which was uh loading and screening um we've eliminated that that was in the prior review letter that's no longer in the review letter as a design waiver section 18822 G1 is uh requirement of a public sidewalk across the frontage I believe we hit upon this before there's there is no public sidewalk in the vicinity of the project and not an appropriate location for it applicant's happy to provide the township uh sidewalk fund contribution and then finally another one that was eliminated was section 180 8- 226e and that's about parking lots being exposed to public View and and screening of those Vehicles again this is a little bit unique we have this the parking pretty far off the street but with the changes saving the large trees up front and then supplementing in between uh we have screened those parking spaces from view from the street so we've eliminated that request that's the direct engineering um testimony I could pause before I go into the professional planning if the board would be okay with that I'll do I'll do whatever GE does the board have any questions engineering questions Laura anything no Mr chairman I do not I I do the uh the temporary gravel storage in the back we we we are calling that storage correct yes is there any type of curving or what what is what is proposed around the perimeter there's curving around the entire perimeter and the plans do indicate that yes Timber tie curve Timber tie curve the the lonely fixture in the center since we don't have typically in a parking lot we would have some type of protection of some sort that's where I'm going with this sure so for the one in the center what kind of protection do we have for things that may be stored or things that may be driving back there for that fixture is is there Ballers proposed to be around that fixture is the is the base tall enough that it can provide crash barrier provide some testimony that base is uh a I'll call it a raised base three foot high off the ground as shown on the plans um this is a this was discussed last time this will be a single user which is um good for control of certain things and where things are stored we feel that that's enough um you answer you answered my question okay that's great thank you okay anything else did I okay okay perfect um I don't know if we actually had him qualified had qualified as uh planning I don't believe so okay so could you provide your qualifications to the board as a professional planner in state New Jersey sure I've been a licensed professional planner in state of New Jersey for over eight years I have testified in front of this board and the Zoning Board of adjustment in town uh in both capacities although the zoning board not so much recently because I don't carry an aicp but um yeah I've been in front of this board and other boards as professional planner throughout Mammoth County and elsewhere in the state accept your credentials thank you sir if you like I just jump right into it first I want to start and just reiterate the conditional use requirements here this is trade contractor use it's conditional use in the S1 we said it on the onset I'm not going to go through each Bel labor each point but we do in our opinion meet all of the requirements and that's why this board takes jurisdiction so first and foremost we meet all those requirements including the buffering and in terms of other bulk requirements we meet the building setback requirements we meet the coverage uh requirements so um we feel that's a that's a positive here we are seeking a bulk variance for the location of the Basin as noted in the avakian review memo um in accordance with Section 18811 B no accessory structure with a series of exceptions that doesn't include a storm waterer management Basin can be erected in any front yard where we have we're proposing that storm water management Basin in the front Township does consider this a structure and therefore variance is needed it's important to note that this Basin that we're proposing is at or below grade um it's not your typical vertical structure which may have a visual impact in my opinion this could be analyzed as both a C1 and a flexible C2 variants uh at the last meeting explaining storm water management how we got to the layout we got to uh I explained that it's common engineering practice to site a basin generally at the lower side or lower areas of the site in our case the property generally has a high point in the northeast corner which is the rear and its lowest point along Cranberry Road so therefore natural location would be towards Cranberry Road at the front further as I explained at the last hearing soils investigations on site yielded a variety of results when it came to stor Water Management design parameters so the depth of groundwater and infiltration rate to put it simply our more favorable results were at the front of the property and they progressively got worse or more restrictive as you got to the rear again furthering our argument for putting this in the front we are required to comply with the township storm water management ordinance as we all know there's no variance potential there and while at the same time we have to balance the township zoning ordinance so as a result of the topographic conditions and the soil constraints of the property which limit the extent to which we can propose this accessory structure in a compliant location the Basin is forced in the front yard and therefore we can analyze that as the hardship alternatively we can look at this in the flexible C2 criteria I think the main positive of having the Basin in the front yard is that it forces the improvements in the day-to-day operations of a site like this further back in the property away from the public we have more green space and open space up front than what is normally seen in commercial and light industrial uses take a look around our immediate neighborhood here and you can see that there's a lot of business end of things up in the front we are also seeking a variance for the planning review for chaining fence that crosses the buffer and encloses our property it was noted in the avakian memo the goal here for the applicant is to enclose that rear yard area for security purposes and also to allow for the operator the owner operator of the property to maintain this offer area directly from his property whether it's any trimming or or likewise we do not we do feel this is a reasonable request where we do have the proposed fence and that can also be analyzed as a flexible seat too in my opinion this application furthers the following purposes of planning purpose a this is an appropriate use permitted conditional use in the S1 and an appropriate location of the Basin considering limitations of the site in my opinion the Basin location works well with the proposed improvements and allows for proper storm water management which promotes the general safety and Welfare purpose C the Basin in front provides more light air and open space in the front yard area which is not the norm for commercial industrial development in areas light air and open space is maintained in the front where operations and The Business of the day-to-day on site is focused at the rear with the rest of the Hardscape improvements in my opinion the fence has no impact whatsoever on the light air and open space purpose ey the Basin is a green space as you can see now surrounded by existing and proposed trees this softens the street gate considerably allowing for a more desirable visual environment from the street this is a big positive considering the type of use being proposed the fence is for the rear yard only as I said it's for the rear yard uh the the storage yard it doesn't take away from our desirable visual environment from the street so when we look at the negative criteria we must focus on any impacts resulting from the property to the neighbors and public specifically as it may relate to the Basin and the front yard we take a step back the site is designed as you can see to push the improvements that have the most impact to the rear kind of like what the ordinance wants it also provides the required buffer on the west side of the site to mitigate impacts to the Westerly neighbor which is residential when looking at the Basin the system is at or below grade it has some structural components like the outlet control structure but again those are also at or below grade generally this isn't your typical accessory structure extending above grade or creating additional coverage or visual impacts therefore we feel this Basin here in this location as proposed at the front has no impact on the public or any neighbors the fences for the rear out only again in my opinion the fence chaining fence crossing the buffer and continuing around the rear around the rear has no impact it won't be visible from the street and we feel it'll ultimately be consumed by the combination of the buffer plantings and existing plantings and trees on the neighbors property to the West in our opinion it has no impact looking at the property and a project and the project as a whole the applicant has made effort here here to try to comply with the ordinance as best as possible I think that's evident with the changes we're bringing to you tonight um we also further evident by compliance with all the conditional use requirements the building setbacks the coverages ETC this compliance in my opinion leads to no impacts and in my opinion have we have a nice new project here on deck for Howell Township the proposed development would not cause substantial detriment to the public good nor substantially impair the intent and purpose of the Zone plan and on balance is my opinion that the benefits of the application substantially outweigh its detriments giving the board the ability to approve the application with confidence that closes my dir okay does the board have any planning questions Fortin anything no I take no issue with I agree I think the location I'm not sure anybody from oh sorry I always forget here um I take no issue with his planning testimony um I agree the location of the Basin is the most appropriate place for it great all right I will open it up to the public if anybody has any questions regarding this application seeing none I will close the public portion Mike any closing remarks uh no as as you know as you heard us testify we we really did uh the applicant and and Mr Ward and myself who really tried to work hard with the professionals over the last couple months and really come and change the plan to to to make it a better product um and we meet all the statutory criteria we need the criteria for the conditional use in the zone and we ask that you look favor favorably upon the application thank you okay at this time um I will entertain a motion for did he open it to the public yeah before you do that how how close did I come from the start and their if you missed any you're not eligible I'm okay thank you um just so I have this clear we are doing a preliminary and Final on phase one and a preliminary on phase two only with ancillary variance and design waiver relief correct okay so I will entertain a motion motion councilwoman fiser I'll second Mr christio Mr Cristiano yes Mr leio yes Mr Mercer yes Mr Withers yes Mr reel yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman huster yes motion carries great perfect thank you very much thanks hopefully uh hopefully it doesn't start raining again don't your cars Mr chairman I did see Mr P here so if you wanted to go back yeah Jared welcome um so we're going to go back and finish up the submission waivers uh it's case number SP 1126 4461 Route 9 realy LLC this is a preliminary and final major site plan with ancillary variance and design waiver relief Mr P hi good evening uh Mr chair Jared pee on behalf of the applicant 4461 Route 9 realy LLC uh this is a submission waiver hearing we did receive um Miss Newman's May 16 2024 report we'll turn it over to Laura or it's a misn we ever affirm the testimony about to give this board is the truth the whole truth or nothing but the truth I do so Mr chairman members of the board the applicant has since provided uh I'm sorry the waivers are specifically outlined in item three of our May 16th report items a through C have been provided the waivers are limited to items D through F and uh given the nature of this application I take no exception to the granting of those for the purposes of deeming the application complete great any questions seeing none I will entertain a motion I'll make a motion Mr Mercer do I have a second yep I'll second it Mr tanhouse Mr Cristiano yes Mr leio yes Mr Mercer yes Mr tanhouse yes Mr Withers yes Mr Rell yes councilwoman fer yes and chairman huster yes motion carries thank you very much thank you for for modifying the agenda appreciate thank you moving right along to our final application case number SD 3011 I apologize in advance Blen yuck Properties LLC this is for a minor subdivision with ancillary variance and design waiver relief counselor thank you good evening Mr chairman Bo for the record John Jackson on behalf of the applicant uh death in the family he's attending to death so he asked me to go forward in his absence so I apologize for I'm not saying so hopefully we'll be okay so I have Miss laurite taon uh she is the engineer and the Planner on our application she's filling in for Mr s Mr Rob SV hold hold on one second till I get okay hold give me one second to get [Applause] that well that's being look for can I hand out the hard copy of my PowerPoint with your permission thank you going to take a minute to load up which exhibitor we up to grabing those yeah sure A1 because they sent me one earlier that's A9 okay all right so this will be marked as A10 thank you and with your permission you've marked a 10 uh my PowerPoint consisting of five pages it's basically file information and a couple of uh area photographs um I forgot my movie screen tonight but Mrs Baner was kind enough to let me email to her and accommodate me put it no the mic is on but you might want to bring it closer to you this one yeah this one there go I'll sit sit thank you did I give you a an exhibit list you did okay because A9 is something that was emailed to me earlier today and then this one's A10 just so you have it B9 is the uh A9 you said was the aerial that was sent the aerial yes and I have copies of that as well but since it's uh with your permission if I can hand this out as well here I'll take it for you [Applause] so while that's being handed out if I may by way of brief overview uh this is a a lot on hul's Corner Road that consists of 30,000 square ft and it is um 100t wide I'm sorry and uh we we proposed to make make two lots that would be 15,000 ft each um the lot currently has an older house we were just looking at aial photos we figure was probably built in 1963 that house is going around 1963 uh that house is going to stay there and uh we'll be building a new house where the garage is located um one of the uh items that your planner and your engineer and your attorney brought up to us during our uh our review was that that garage would have to go at some point um we would like to keep it until the subdivision is perfected and at that point um hopefully we'll have a new house going in and then that could be the garage for the new house but in the me but we would have to make arrangements for it to go after very specified uh after a specified time period uh probably coinciding with the uh Perfection of the subdivision which generally takes six months um the reason is to have a freestanding Garage on its own lot requires a use variance with that this board cannot allow that would be a non-conforming use as Mr cachero has uh advised us so that that's my little overview uh with your permission I'd like to have Miss laurelai Totten uh sworn and and qualified as an expert in engineering and planning then she'll go through the merits of the applications you swear or affirm the testimony about to provide this boards the truth the hold truth and nothing but the truth I do please State and spell your name for the record laurelai ton l o r AI tton T is and Tom o tteen Crest engineering ass Associates L 100 Reich Drive Millstone Township New Jersey okay and I have uh you can do you want me to do my planning I mean my credentials yeah but you can sit so we catch you on the mic okay thank you thank you um I have a um engineering license from 1983 a planning license from 1986 both are in good dead I graduated from Lehigh University in 1977 so I think that makes something like 47 years working and I've been with crest for 30 years as of uh May 24th and I've been before this board back in the 1995 1995 time frame and many times since that time we will accept your credentials thank you very much thank you thank you uh Miss Totton uh with the board's permission can you give the uh board an overview of the application uh what is the size of the lot uh what we're seeking to do in a general sense uh what dimensional variances are that we need um and then we'll go into specifics yes the U property which is 30,000 square feet is located on the south side of Hall's Corner Road not too far from Route One it's uh one lot away from Hall Road on the same side of the road as it is located uh currently as was stated there's a single family home on the property with a deck um a detached garage behind it and some other amenities including a driveway uh and it's mostly situated to when you're looking at it from the road to the right of the property on the left portion of the property there is an existing garage and an 18t wide driveway and that garage is probably 3/4 of the way back on the lot uh there are existing utilities serving servicing the existing home now there are no uh mapped flood PL nor are there any verified Wetlands on the site it is located in the R3 Zone which is a 15,000 square foot uh lot area zone um there is one existing variance uh the sidey yard on the right side of the home is the existing home is 7.6 feet where 10 ft is required The Proposal is to divide it into two 15,000 ft Lots um and that would result in because the frontage of the full lot is 150 ft with 75 ft wide uh Lots as opposed to the required 100 ft and we would talk about that variance um after we go through I think the engineering would that be correct yes okay um so the the home there is a plan that shows a uh potential home on the property to give you an idea that a home with a 12T driveway will fit very nicely on this property within the setbacks the 10 10t wide side yards the front yard set back and the rear yard setb maintaining all the bulk requirements with the exception of the front yard setback um let's see there is a PA walkway that connects the existing home and the detach garage on the proposed new lot and we would we agree that that would be removed um as part of resolution compliance if you deem it appropriate to Grant approval to this uh particular project uh let's see so with regard to the drainage on the site as was uh noted by Mr Jackson the house has been there for a very long time it uh most of the uh site improvements precede the 2004 changes in storm water management and so I really I don't see that there's a need for any storm water associated with the existing structures however with the proposed home um as was requested by your engineer we would certainly provide dry Wells size to uh collect the roof runoff and have all the roof leaders uh directed to that and do the appropriate testing uh and and that sort of thing um that's really the simp oh and there would be sewer and water extended to both houses the proposed and the existing because I couldn't tell if there was actually sewer to the existing house or not in my filling capacity for Mr s and I think that's the uh the short overview of The Proposal all right thank you so um one of the exhibits that you uh passed out that's uh been marked as A9 the aerial yes in that aerial does that show the predominance of the surrounding lots and their size as yes it does it's a A9 is that a that's not yeah I I think that's A9 that's what we handed out no the aerial is A9 that thank you very much so I don't know if we're GNA shoot anyone in the eye with this but on uh the on the right side of this exhibit is a a near map aerial from March of this year um and the proposed lot is highlighted as well as the proposed subdivision line on the left side of this is tax sheet uh 7.15 and a portion of 7.16 to show the surrounding lots and we put the aerial adjacent to it so you could see which lots have homes on them and which don't um because without that the tax map doesn't tell you where there's homes so across the street from the proposed project there are every single lot that fronts on how's Corner Road between within that block block across the street the the width of the lot is around 50 ft and the diagonal Frontage is about 55 feet and there are other Lots in the vicinity as well one adjacent the lot between the property and Hall is that Avenue uh I thought it was Hall Road Hall Avenue is also an undersized lot in the zone as well as some of the others so what I'm uh trying to point out here is that having a 75 ft WI a lot is definitely not out of character in this neighborhood and that that the uh home can be constructed on it as is Illustrated in the um proposed or conceptual grading plan uh shows that you can you can build a house on this lot and still have adequate light air uh meeting the the uh the goal that is light I think that's C light air and space around the property because you're maintaining the proper setbacks from the side yard the rear yard and the front yard so so that goes to the negative criteria F the rest of the neighborhood um to take we're a zone that allows 15,000 sare fet and take one oversized lot and make it into two uh conforming in area anyway does that provide appropriate population densities to provide sufficient housing opportunities to meet the needs of all New Jersey citizens yes which is uh goal G from the land use law so under C2 we we you've identified two appropriate goals also um uh would you say there's a hardship in having an oversized lot in an area in terms of area um that we can't fully utilize it uh yes I would say that there's a hardship in not utilizing the property to its best and EXA use I can understand your C2 argument I'm having great difficulty understanding the C1 argument having a large yard is a hardship yeah I I've Advanced that in in many cases where if you have an oversized lot you're underutilizing it by having one older house in a detached garage on it so well but isn't that the applicant's choice on how to use it maybe they could plant a garden maybe they could put in you know other impr I would agree with uh the board's attorney that I think um you can certainly uh you know use the C2 criteria but I don't think that having a lot larger than what's permitted in the zone is a hard okay well that's that's what our argument is and if the board attorney and your planner reject that as a reason we'll rely on C2 um because I think you're in accord that we can uh follow C2 so I'll move on to that um so uh we we make the arguments under C2 now when you do the the uh having the benefits of getting the appropriate use in the appropriate area that fit the uh neighborhood do you think that uh fulfills the balancing test under C2 I do think so and it's uh unique to this lot uh that you can fit to U properly sized Lots on the property and uh large enough to meet all the setback requirements except for the existing house which has uh a slightly undersized lot but from the public good point of view that lot has been like that for very long so the public is not going to see any difference on that side of the property so uh it meets the General Welfare of the public requirement so let's take a look at some of the review letters um I'm sorry this is the order that I opened it might be out a slight slight uh different order let's take a look at the uh uh comments of the um Mammoth County Health and services um it talks about water and sewer service lines should the existing sethnic system or well malfunction will be connected to Municipal uh lines on Hol Corner Road we think they're already hooked up to that right but we correct but we would agree with the comments either way we'd agree with that the next uh thing I have in in my order is the shade tree commission reviewed February 22nd 2004 no comments um I I have the uh environmental commission they asked for a 2000 foot Downstream report um now we we were given waivers from and our review from the board attorney how would we address the uh request that the Shater commission get that environmental commission get that 2000 foot Downstream report so I don't know is that that uh is that um checklist item 60 yes okay so a waiver was granted by the board during the waiver section I believe the waiver applied to you didn't have to submit it to be declared complete not that the information was irrelevant so maybe an explanation as to why you don't think that that information would necessarily be useful to the board's decision-making process absolutely I would be happy to do that I was n sure what the waiver was exactly for so I appreciate that so this as I explained during uh the opening remarks there's already um an existing home existing driveways and an existing garage as well as the uh larger garage which we uh would like to retain and a an 18t wide driveway that goes down the middle of the property that 18t driveway would be removed and a home would be put there with a driveway around it so in actuality the increase in impervious cover is likely to be small we won't know the exact amount until a plot plan should you approve this W is developed for this property but also as we as I testified to and was requested by your engineer uh dry Wells would be provided to collect the roof runoff would would which would amarate the uh increase in impervious from the roof so if we're doing that for the house and we're putting in a new driveway that's less wide than the driveway we're taking out the I feel that the impacts from a storm water management point of view on 2,000 foot Downstream property will be negligible will be nothing as a matter of fact so we would request that you wave the actual study as well and Laurel I just to clarify this is not a major storm order development correct true a major stormw development as you well know is the increase in a quarter acre of impervious cover which is 10,000 square F feet and I we'd have to pay both Lots I think to reach 10,000 square fet plus uh the other part of it is uh disturbing an acre or more and since we're at 3/4 of an acre with a lot size that's also not possible so there isn't any way this project could meet the requirements for a major uh storm water management project requiring the standard reductions water quality and groundwater infiltration the next item is the former's advisory committee no comment so we won't before we carry on M do do you do you agree with that testimony I do okay thank you I'm sorry may I proceed Mr chairman yes thank you the the the next matter is the former's advisory committee plat review number one there's no comment so I think that's all we have to say about that uh and then uh we have the board engineers and the uh planners report so we'll start uh I guess we could start with the planners report have you had an opportunity to uh review the planers report I have and uh can you just comment on the highlights on that uh we agree with the comments in the planning report uh with regard to um I uh of the facts and the recommendations with regard to putting a time limit for the removal of that Garage on this single family the proposed lot if no house is built within a specific period of time um I testified with regard to whether or not the existing pavers crossing the proposed lot line would be removed and they would be so I think we're pretty much in accord with the uh planner's letter I think the just uh just clarify um I believe Mr Jackson said in his opening um it would be six months correct um and then you would demo the garage or a year Well if we we can there's 180 days to perfect the minor subdivision um and uh I I think the professionals indicated in our review that it would either have to be bonded or removed at the time of perfection okay so um you know we would like to post a bond if we could ask for a two-year period that would be great if it has to be a condition that it has to come down uh as a condition of the Perfection of the subdivision we can do that as well but like I said it's a good garage it seems like wasteful ideally you'd be able to find a uh you know get the house going and then make the garage part of that we did not have to waste it so I don't know what the board's preferences that Mr what your preference I don't have a preference as long as it's defined one way or the other I would defer to the other professionals I I take no issue with um posting a demolition Bond and having a two-year time limit thank you that be very generous so if the board's inclined to accept that we'll we'll move on and thank you Mr chairman so um just going to the planner letter there's also the the zoning table and I think you address the variances with the sidey setback to 75ft Frontage um as for waiver for sidewalks um and that's another thing we'll abide by the board's instruction from the aals it looks like there's sidewalks on the other side of the street not on this side I don't know if it would be appropriate in this neighborhood to pay into the fund or to require us to construct them I will say uh J beam would be very disappointed in me if I did not say someone has to be the first person to put in sidewalks um so that is typically the planning recommendation um we would encourage the sidewalk But ultimately it's up to the board it's generally less expensive for my clients to put them in themselves and to pay the uh I would recommend in this area just because there is a high residential use in that area um I don't know how the board feels you got to start she's the plan's got it right so Mr chairman though if I could um in consultation with the uh Municipal engineering department um they note that we have a requirement for sidewalk they would ask that if they're going to put in sidewalk that then the board then also require curbing um and then any necessary resurfacing along the frontage absolutely we will abide by that there's a little Wrinkle in that and one of the items in the engineering review letter is whether we should do a dedication uh for the public roadway or an easement I think Miss totton's office has checked with the uh minicipal engineer and um the uh easement is is an acceptable alternative so we'll work that out uh and abide by the instructions of the municipal engineer so just on on that Mr chairman certainly if that's what the town wants to do that's ultimately a decision from the Town Council um if that's what happens that's fine but if there's an approval based upon the easement and the Town Council ultimately decides it wants a right away dedication which would change the size of the lot then they'd have to come back for an amended approval that's a risk you know the applicant is willing to take I just want to make sure it's on the record okay yes we'll abide by that so then Mr chairman most of my letter has been touched upon directly I I just have a couple of questions sure um Laur you agree that this subdivision if approved would be filed by plat yes we do and there was a driveway encroachment onto a joining lot 30 will that be uh relocated to the subject property yes it will be and laureli we had a couple minor technical comments in item seven do you agree to comply with those yes we do so Mr chairman that wraps up the engineering review excellent that's our case Mr chairman um it I don't think so there's two driveways cor there there are um there's one that goes to the garage and then there's all those Meandering are these sidewalks like what are they okay and and we indicated uh as uh I I think it was uh Miss Newman's recommendation maybe it was uh Miss beam that the sidewalks be removed going to the house next door that be not the sidewalks of pavage and we C and indicated we would do that okay anything else that's it Mr chairman thank you any questions from the board uh quick question uh no 10 on the conceptual grading plan if a basement is proposed for the new dwelling is there a basement proposed and if so can you confirm it would not be utilized for additional bedrooms in the home we can definitely say it would not be used for additional bedrooms and and I don't know if one would be proposed if we did propose if the Builder wanted or homeowner future homeowner wanted one we would obviously have to do the appropriate soils test pit to determine the water table and make sure that uh it's still appropriate and we can get the don't exceed the height variance as well so at this point in the process it doesn't need to be determined as the plan says okay I just wanted to clarify all right thank you anything else seeing none I will open it up to the public seeing none I will close the public any closing remarks uh none Mr chairman I'll submit bed upon our testimony and presentation thank you thank you all right I guess at this time I will entertain a motion I'll make a motion to approve the application Mr tanous do I have a second I'll second Mr reel Mr Cristiano yes Mr leio yes Mr Mercer yes Mr tanon housee yes Mr Withers yes Mr Rebel yes councilwoman fiser yes and chairman huster yes motion carries thank you very much and uh when Miss Newman took over uh her letter I knew that brev would be my friend so thank you very much thank you Mr chair Mr chairman yes we uh skipped over a few resolutions due to eligible members we now have an eligible member so we can come back to those resolutions um resolution l and m okay l and m we can get done that caused all kinds of trouble be yeah thanks Brian sorry all right this is an amendment to the land use element report of the municipal master plan eligible voters Mr Cristiano and Mr tannin house I'll make a motion to approve the amendment to the land use element uh you're the only eligible voter the ml permits that so it would just be vote to approve I thought Mr crano was oh I got it oh I'm sorry okay go ahead that's so so because we have two I I have you make the motion okay then I made the motion I'll second Mr Cristiano yes and Mr tanous yes motion carries and the second is the amendment to the circulation element of the municipal master plan eligible voters Mr Cristiano and Mr tannin house yeah I'll I'll make a motion to approve the amendment to the circulation element to of the municipal master plan I'll second okay Mr Cristiano yes Mr Tenon yes motion carries resolutions memorialized thank you thank you uh anything on the master plan no master plan updates no Master Plan update can I cancel this month's meeting then since we uh yeah or should I wait till our next meeting just to make sure when is it scheduled for not until June 27th oh I will miss fer is there anything the council's proposing for master plan that requires master plan meetings no I thought Jen said last time there was nothing coming up yeah I would I would still wait till the second meeting I mean it's it's it's the end of the month uh Ron is there any reason to go into executive session no Mr chairman okay I will entertain a motion to adjourn I'll make a motion Mr tanas I have a second second Mr Cristiano thank you good night everyone thanks everybody