the Piscataway Township planning board meeting will please come to order adequate notice of this meeting was provided in the following ways notice published in The Courier News notice posted on the bulletin board of the municipal building notice made available to the Township Clerk notice sent to The Courier News and the Star Ledger um Mr Barlo would you please read the open public meeting notice certainly Madam chair this meeting is being done in Conformity with the div Department of Community Affair guidelines on Virtual meetings and it's appropriate to go forward in this fashion thank you roll call Mayor Waller presid councilwoman kahill she's here she must have gab you're muted she's here miss Corran here Reverend Kenny here Mr Atkins here Mr Foster is not here Mr ahamed not yet and Madam chair here could everybody who see the flag over my right shoulder please let us pledge allegiance to the flag in unison please I pledge allegiance to the flag flag of the United States of America of America and to the Republic for which it stands one under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all for all thank you um we have professionals to be sworn in Chris DNE if uh could just swear you in you swear the testimony you give before this board this evening will be the whole truth to you got yes I do okay thank you Mr B are there any changes to tonight's agenda yes Madam chair items uh number 10 11 and 12 are postponed until the June 13th 2024 meeting number 10 is a I believe it's the 12th I think Wednesday's on the 12th if we'll check our calendars yes it's the 12th my apologies all right is Wednesday June 12th uh so item 10 which is deals with block 3702 Lot 2 uh whether or not it meets the Cor criteria for an area in need of Redevelopment is being moved to the June 12th 2024 meeting item 11 which is the addendum to the Redevelopment plan for Block 1701 lot 2.03 4100 New Brunswick Avenue is being postponed until the June 13 2024 meeting and item 12 which is a discussion to authorize foresight to amend the Redevelopment plan for Block 9201 Lots 4620 is also being postponed until the June 13 2024 meeting any of those matters that have been noticed there will be no further notice the matters will be heard at that time thank you madam chair thank you um item number 13 uh ds525 Washington LLC preliminary and final site plan meeting I mean site plan Madam chair I think we have to pay the bills and the minutes oh I'm sorry I meant to do that too can we get an announce a motion to play the DU duy audited bills Madame chair Reverend Kenny I make a motion that we pay the bills do I have a second cor I'll second thank you Rollo mayor Waller yes councilwoman kill yes Miss corkran yes Reverend Kenny yes Mr ahamed nope and Madam chair yes item number eight adoption of resolution to memorialize action taken on April the 10th 2024 have it there's none tonight no okay now item number nine adoption of the minutes from the regular meeting of April 10th 2024 mam chair I make motion that we adopt the minutes for April 10th 2024 thank you do I have a second cor I'll second thank you roll call Mayor Waller yes councilwoman kill yes M corkran yes Reverend Kenny yes Mr Atkins yes and Madam chair yes and now we get to um item number 13 which is 23 PB 1112 Vis and Victor ds525 Washington LLC for preliminary and final site plan um good evening Madam chair sorry it's David pad from Bob Smith's office okay thank you so good evening Madame chair and members of the board my name is David purad licensed attorney in the state of New Jersey here tonight representing ds525 Washington LLC uh seeking preliminary and final site plan with bulk variances uh the property is located at 1525 South Washington Avenue block 531 lot 1501 in the li5 zone um the property is uh 143,00 Square F feet it's a regularly shaped lot and it has Frontage along South Washington Avenue in the amount of 17980 Ft currently there is a 28,45 ft Warehouse and the rear yard is an unstriped dirt and gravel area that's in the rear uh the applicant tonight is seeking preliminary and final site plan approval with bulk variances to install uh parking or asphalt in the rear yard and striping for trailer storage spaces and they're also proposing 24 parking Spa passenger vehicle parking spaces throughout the site uh the applicants also seeking a retaining wall with a fence above it on the south side of the property and proposing an elevated loading Pier on the south side of the building there are a few variances that we are seeking bulk variances that we are seeking tonight a few of them are existing the existing variances are for minimum lot area where 215,000 square feet is required in the zone and 43,800 squ F feet is existing uh we're also seeking minimum lot width where 300 feet is required and 70 179.1 ft is existing and minimum lot Frontage where 300 ft is required and 179.1 ft is also existing there is an existing uh sidey yard setback variance on the north side of the property where 50 feet is required and 35.5 feet is existing and we are proposing a change to the sidey yard setback on the south side of the property where 50 feet is required and 20.3 feet is proposed due to the Loading area that we're uh proposing on the south side of the building the new variances that we are seeking is um for a wall a retaining wall and fence that's located behind the front yard setback and it exceeds 8 feet in height the total height is 9 feet because it is a 5 foot retaining wall with a 4ot fence above on top of it uh we are seeing a variance for parking in the front yard where it is required to be 25 ft away from the parking line and we are proposing 24.5 ft from the property line and we're also seeking a variance for a freestanding sign where it's supposed to be 50 ft from the property line we're proposing 25.4 feet from the property line uh there's also an existing sign there that is the new sign it will replace the existing sign uh we have three Witnesses tonight we have the applicant Levi Drew who's uh here to represent the uh DS 1525 Washington LLC we have our professional engineer Mr Thomas Mueller from dynamic engineering and we have a traffic engineer uh Craig Parago from Dynamic traffic we also will be addressing four staff reports that we uh receiv received from the town we have the DNR engineering report dated February 27th 2024 we have a planning report from CME dated February 26 2024 we have the township of pasaway uh report from Mr hinterstein dated February 29th 2024 and finally the traffic report from Dolan and Dean dated February 5th 2024 if the board has no questions for me I would like to introduce our first witness and have him sworn in for your first witness Miss um Madam chair just before we do that I've been told that Miss Dolan the the board's traffic expert is on the call I'm just trying to oh there she is here I am I'm here I'm just go uh Miss do I'm just going to swear you in so if you have to comment on any of the applications going forward I don't have to keep doing it okay sure you swear the testimony to give before the board tonight will be the whole truth up you got yes I do perfect um and I'm sorry your first witness sir uh for the first witness I'd like to call uh Mr Levi Drew who's here to represent the uh applicant okay just G trying to find them yes am I coming through you are uh orally not visually that oh there you are I change it you change I okay sir if you could state your name spell your last name for the record and give us your professional address sure Levi Drew it's lvi last name is Drew DW my address address what do you want the business business address that's fine sure it's 1421 38 Street Brooklyn New York it's 11218 you might proceed Mr I'm sorry you zip again sir the zip sir 11218 okay you raise your right hand you swear the test give before this board will be the whole truth yes you're a witness sir thank you U Mr Drew uh if you can please tell the board your position at the company and your role with this project yes I'm partner in this property in in the 1525 Washington um I have um LLC uh we invested in this uh this building and the property and we're trying to upgrade it according to you know the the zones and make it safe and and uh and the into the uh and we bought it it was the the original owner that put up the building he was the you know the first owner of this and had it for 40 years we took it over and you it was never upgraded to the to the newest uh you know rules and regulations so we're trying to bring it up to up to date and you know because we're going to be putting in all the money and everything we need to do to bring it to that we want to make sure that it's going to be rentable and uh feasible for any any tenant that could use it for good use so we're trying to you know make it make it uh you know the best we can we can rent it and the best best possible scenario it should be you know safe and and usable for for for that area and for that for that usage for for this property and this building okay thank you um so for the proposal tonight uh you are providing or you are proposing 39 trailer storage spaces is that correct yeah for the back of the building and also 11 off Street vehicle passenger or passenger vehicle spaces is that correct correct uh you're also going to be providing 10 passenger vehicle parking spaces in the front of the property is that correct correct and there's additional striping happening for three uh parking spaces on the south side of the building is that correct right so a total of 24 passenger vehicle spaces will be provided as part of this uh proposal is that correct correct and also there's a retaining wall and a fence above that retaining wall on the south side of the property is that correct yes and you're also providing a loading Pier on the south side of the building is that correct yes okay and the proposed use for this property is going to continue as a warehouse is that still true yes yes I'm still aware uh can you describe for me the current sorry excuse me the current use of the the site right now yeah now it's vacant it's all cleaned out there's nothing there now okay and as you mentioned you're seeking these improvements uh to optimize the space for a potential tenant to come in and rent the building is that true okay and you don't have at this very moment a particular tenant in mind is that correct no no nothing with we may use it you know we're we're expanding our businesses but it's if we don't use it then we would look to to extend you know to get tent we also have a business in Brooklyn we're thinking of moving it over to this cway but if that doesn't work we look for a t high class business but uh if that doesn't work out we look for that okay thank you I have no more questions for this witness if the has any questions members of the board do you have any questions of this witness Mr Levi hearing no questions uh can we uh open it up to the public Miss Buckley anyone in the public uh wishing to ask any questions of this witness would you signify by flashing your hand signal no I'm Madam chair Miss I would not that Mr Ahad is now on um we note that Mr rmad has joined the meeting hi B close to the public you can call your next witness Mr P thank you madam chair uh my next witness will be our professional engineer Mr Thomas Muller from Dynamic engineering I'd ask that the board swear him in please okay uh Mr mher if you could state your name spell your last name and give us your professional address sir it's Thomas meller Dynamic engineering Consultants 1904 Main Street Lake Como New Jersey 07719 m u l l e r yes you raise your right hand you swear the testimony to give before this board will be the whole truth yes I do you're a witness Sir Mr Mueller if you can provide your qualifications to the board please absolutely I'm a licensed professional engineer in the state of New Jersey in good standing I'm also a licensed professional planner in good standing in the state of New Jersey I have my Bachelor's of Science and MERS of science uh in civil engineering from Ruckers University uh I have over 13 years of experience in the civil engineering field uh currently employed as a senior principal with Dynamic engineering Consultants I've been with the firm for over 11 years I've designed many similar projects to this I personally visited the site and were uh I was personally uh involved and directly overseeing the the design of this project um I have presented in front of many planning zoning boards throughout the new throughout New Jersey thank you you than Mr thank you madam chair great uh Mr Muller if you can please go through the site plan a description of the property and the proposed improvements and then we can address the staff reports received by the township professionals absolutely I have two very simple exhibits um that I'll share my screen okay can you uh see the aerial map exhibit here all right so this is just an aerial map Mr mu we're just going to Mark any exhibits that you put up as A1 the next one A2 Etc and you know so this is A1 and if you could just briefly describe what it is thank you yep uh EX A1 is an aerial map exhibit prepared by my office dated May 8th 2024 it's simply a colorized aerial image showing the existing additions on the site and the surrounding properties within generally 200 feet of the site just going to quickly use this exhibit to describe the existing site and surrounding areas uh David did a great job of explaining the existing site so I'm not going to spend too much time on this but uh it's existing block 5301 lot 15.01 it's identified as 1525 South Wasington Avenue which is also identified as County Route 665 we're in the township of piscatway uh we have about 180 linear feet of Frontage on South Washington avue that is our only public RightWay Frontage uh South Washington is three lane roadway Northbound two-lane roadway southbound with a center eyes uh dual left turn lane uh South Washington also chokes down a two two lanes in each Direction immediately south of our site sites generally rectang uh it is a very narrow lot it's about 3.3 acres in size uh as I previously mentioned the site's been historically developed as a warehouse uh since the early 1980s uh over time it's become very dilapidated and the proposal here is to clean up the site and formally convert this building to a warehouse with trailer storage in the back uh we are in the li5 light industrial Zone which does permit warehousing and trailer storage the existing site has one very narrow full movement driveway to South Washington Avenue uh surrounding uses to the north we have the li5 zone as well as the uh GB General business Zone there's a number of commercial uses and Industrial uses to the north uh we have a welder rental shop we have uh the Popeyes and 7-Eleven development to north of that and then immediately to north of that is Stelton Avenue to the east we also have the li5 Zone we have a number of um self- storage users and Industrial users to the east to the South again li5 Zone commercial industrial uses then to the West we have South Washington Avenue uh self storage and then some large warehouses uh to the West um like I mentioned existing site is is dilapitated it's not it's not well defined in terms of development um there's an existing building there uh which we are converting that I'll touch on a minute uh there is a small parking area along the front along the western portion of the building all of which is being reconstructed then uh jumping right into the proposed site here this will be exhibit uh A2 uh exhibit A2 is a site plan rendering prepared by my office dated May 8th 201 24 this is a colorized version of the site plan design uh identical to what the board has received simply just shows the the landscaping around the site different hatches for the different covers of land that we have the Grays are asphalt the uh the tan colors the the existing building and it shows the striping and and everything throughout the site um so we are here seeking preliminary final major site plan approval as David mentioned we did receive a series of professional review letters uh all of which we are in full agreement with there are a few items that we were requested to clarify which I'll touch on quickly throughout my testimony uh but we did review those those review letters in great detail and we have no issue addressing those comments um we also had the benefit of attending a technical review committee meeting where we went through the review letters and uh I believe we're on the same page as the board professionals so just a high level summary of the development again this is a simple Warehouse conversion the existing building will remain the only addition to that building is a small 300 squ foot uh loading dock Pier at the southern portion of the building which will serve tractor trailers which I'll touch on in a minute the existing building is broken up into a front office portion which is on the west side of the building and then the rest of the rectangular portion of the back is uh warehousing so the front portion of the office is about 5,600 40 square ft and the rear Warehouse component is approximately 22765 Square ft uh we're proposing a total of 24 parking spaces which includes ADA Compliant parking spaces as well as electric vehicles parking spaces uh we're proposing two loal two total loading spaces one of which is here at the the loading dock pier and then the second of which is in the rear of the building with an existing uh loading dock door along the back of the building then we're also proposing 39 total trailer storage stalls in the rear of the site as you could see on the uh East Side the right side of the exhibit uh just to give you a general idea of of our site plan design thought process um like I mentioned the existing site has a very narrow driveway that serves the site it's technically a full movement driveway under existing conditions but we recognize the fact that uh Washington Avenue is essentially a six lane roadway in this area and through coordination with the design team with the township professionals and as well as the county professionals we've designed this project to eliminate any lefts out or lefts into the site uh so this is a simple right in write out project where Vehicles will be required to travel from the south into the site and then they'll be required to exit the site and go north back onto Washington Avenue uh so we have a very narrow set as I mentioned so we are proposing a an Ingress in driveway at the northern portion of the site and an egress only driveway on the southern portion of the site um so as Vehicles enter the site they could either Exit or they could maneuver to the rear of the site or they could maneuver to the front of the site in the front we have passenger vehicle parking uh so tractor trailers will be prohibited from this front area along the western portion of the building uh but then our tractor trailer deliveries will be routed to the back of the site where they could utilize the trailer storage area or they could utilize the loading areas for the uh existing building then as Vehicles leave obviously they just exit out the driveway back onto South Washington Avenue in terms of zoning um we did review the CME review letter in great detail we we agree with the outlined variances and design waivers that they clearly outlined in their letter uh I'm just going to touch quickly on on a few of these items but there are a number of bulk standards that this project complies with minimum lot depth 300 feet feet is required we have 726 feet of depth so we are compliant the ordinance also requires an 80 foot front yard setback this this building is currently 81.2 feet from the front yard so it is compliant then the rear yard setback is required to be 50 ft and we are well over 50 ft to the rear of the site the building height uh maximum is 50 feet where the existing building is well under 50 feet in height maximum building coverage is 50% and we're only at approximately 19.8% so we're more than less than half of what's allowed and then um minimum floor area required is 20,000 square feet but we're at 28,000 sare ft uh so we meet that requirement a few existing non-conformity as David mentioned lot area 215,000 Square ft is required we're proposing under existing conditions uh 143,00 Square F feet so that's an existing condition that will remain minimum lot width is 300 foot required we have 172 feet existing that's not being exacerbated as part of this project lot Frontage 300 ft is required we have 179.99 backs to the northern portion of the building ordinance requires a 50ft setback the existing building is 35.5 feet from that side property line so that that is an existing nonconformity and then to the southern portion of the building again ordinance requires a 50ft setback the existing building is 35.2 feet uh but when we add this elevated loading dock we're at 20.3 feet apologize um for parking as I mentioned we're proposing a total of 24 parking spaces um the board traffic engineer did confirm that they agree with our calculation but I believe the the board landscape architect um and CME uh requested some additional information on that uh our original thought process was to use the warehouse parking calculation which is one parking space per 2,000 square ft for warehouse uses uh but it was requested that we break out the office for this component so once we break out the 22765 Ft of warehouse and the 5,640 Ft of office the parking requirement per the ordinance would be uh 40 total parking spaces required and like I mentioned we have 24 total parking spaces uh for a use like this we look at industry standard we look at it we look at uh the instit Transportation engineer standards what we see is that uh 37 parking spaces are required for each 1,000 square ft of Warehouse uses which includes the the office component uh so using that ratio per it standards we would only require 11 parking stalls and like I mentioned we're proposing 24 parking stalls which is in our opinion is a a suitable number of parking stalls for use of this nature so in the event the board does decide we do need a variant is our opinion that this project is more than sufficient in terms of parking that this the site will certainly operate efficiently with the 24 parking spaces that are proposed all the parking spaces are 9 by8 in size there was a mention in the planner's letter that obviously our Ada stall is 8 feet wide uh that does require design waiver technically uh because it's not 9 feet wide but once you include the the hatched area for that ADA stall the parking stall itself is is actually 16 ft wide which is more than what the ordinance requires uh we also have a number of uh Drive aisles throughout the build throughout the site um there were comments from the board professionals to consider making the Southern Drive aisle one way uh considering the the narrow nature of that drive AIS the applicant um and my office have no problem complying with that so this driveway to the south of the building will become a one-way driveway uh that will not that will not negatively impact the the site operations uh SES being designed for ADA compliance we are proposing a sidewalk along the frontage there are existing sidewalks throughout the site in front of the building to allow the parking areas to access the building there is a design waiver required because there is no sidewalk provided for the 11 stalls along the north and then the three stalls along the south of the building but again it's a very small site um those parking stalls are easily accessible into the building and throughout the site so in our opinion the additional impervious coverage and and components associated with requiring a sidewalker are not necessary so we think the design waiver is suitable and uh reasonable um board professionals also did ask us to provide additional striping assignment throughout the site which we have no problem with it was also requested that the refu enclosure in the rear of the site be solid fencing which we we also have no problem doing um the loading complies with the ordinance in terms of the number of stalls we are required to provide two and we are providing two there was a request for clarification on the clearance for these loading docks uh 14 FTS required in the ordinance which uh these are open Air Loading areas so we do provide more than 14 foot clearance and then the the size of these loading areas uh 12x 50 is required by the ordinance the proposed loading dock Pier provides much more than 12x 50 in size and then the loading dock in the rear um shares the drive a in the rear of the site so there's more than 12x 50 ft easily available for for tractor trailers to temporarily store uh in this area but because there is basically an overlap between the drive a and that loading area technically a design waiver is required um as I mentioned the driveways are being reconstructed for right in right out uh this is being reviewed by the county uh we have gone back and forth with them on their technical comments we are expecting their approval very shortly they are they are uh accepting our driveway design at this point we're just finalizing some few Minor Details there was a request for us to clarify the the angle of these driveways the ordinance requires a maximum of a 60° angle the northern driveways at 75° and the southern driveways at 110° so we uh we are complying with the ordinance there we do need a a design waiver for the setback for these driveways 10 feets required but we have less than 10 feet this is just a simply a function of the the narrowness of the site and the the driveway design that's required for the site um the driveways have been designed to accommodate WB 67 tractor trailers uh without conflict and I believe your your board Traffic Engineers in agreement with the truck circulation that was presented uh quickly just touching on grading and Stor order this project is a major development divined by the state and local codes we are completely compliant with the state and local codes with current regulations that were established as recently of as uh July of last year so we are providing green mtds uh green infrastructure throughout the site which includes pervious pavement uh green filtration devices and then underground storage uh compartments um as David mentioned in terms of uh the grading on the site we do have a small section of retaining walls along the southern portion of the building that's just simply to accommodate the gray change between our site and the adjacent property we do need to provide a 4 foot high fence on top of that wall just for uh safety for fall protection so that does that those components equal about 9 feet in height the ordinance allows a maximum of eight feet so there is a variance required for that wall and fence combination we did review the board uh Engineers review letter there was a number of stone water comments which we have have no problem addressing uh directly with the board engineer we're not proposing any improvements to the or modifications to the existing utilities for the building there are fully uh all full utility connections to the existing RightWay so we're not proposing any modifications to that in terms of landscaping uh just quickly we're providing a substantial Evergreen buffer around around the rear of the site to to buffer the existing site from the neighbors right now there are there is essentially no Landscaping whatsoever in the rear it's just gravel and dirt uh so we're providing that substantial landscape buffer around around the side and rear of the site and we're also providing a number of landscape features along the front of the site to help improve the Aesthetics of the site we're providing shade trees and evergreen shrubs along the front of the building there are a number of comments from the landscape architect which we have uh no problem addressing we'll provide additional Landscaping in the front and we'll provide uh landscaping around the proposed Monument sign along the front of the building uh in terms of lighting we're providing all new LED light fixtures in the rear of the site uh they'll all be they'll all be shielded uh rear rear Shields to help prevent uh lighting spillage to the maximum extent practical to off-site properties the lights are all downward facing they're at a fixed position they're not flood lights they cannot be adjusted so they will be for focused downward and the light the light is not visible it's a full cut off light uh in the rear of the site we are providing the minimum light required for safe and efficient maneuvers and and operations in the back of the site um the board professionals requested some additional lighting and and Analysis in front of the site so we we are more than happy to provide that to them uh hopefully as a condition of approval should we get approval tonight signage is completely compliant with the ordinance it was requested that we reduce the freestanding sign height from 15 feet in height to a 10ft monument sign height uh considering the use of this property and the neighboring signage packages uh we agree with with that recommendation so we have no problem doing that the only variance associated with the signage is simply the the setback to the right of way um I believe a 50 foot SE X required we have 25.4 feet that's simply because we're removing the existing sign and replacing with a new sign and as you could see based on the nature of this design it just would not be possible to provide us assigned with a compliant setback and lastly uh just outside agencies as I mentioned we're in the process of pursuing County planning board approvals we're also working with the township planning department to obtain any necessary so erosion permits and then we will be required to get a uh 5G 3 permit from the njd once we do get so erosion approval from from the township uh that's really it from you know high level of everything I'd be happy to dive into the review letters more or go through anything else in more detail if you'd like thank you Mr Muller uh Madam chair I don't have any questions for uh Mr meller if the board has any questions for him um members of the board of you've heard the testimony of this witness do you have any questions of him at this time Madam chair I I actually have one question pertaining to the sidewalks uh is the applicant going to put striping as if the sidewalks going across the Ingress egress on South Washington Avenue uh yes there will be strip crosswalks not on this exhibit but we we have agreed to do that yep and then also have uh towards the other southernly portion of the property line uh right there to site because the folks are actually walking on the grass right now um so at some point your next door neighbor is going to have to have installed sidewalks so it'll con connect out understood thank you okay that's all Madam chair any other board members have questions of this witness uh Madam chair Reverend Kenny in regards to the trailer uh parking spaces are those going to be loaded trailers empty trailers or it depends on who's going to uh rent a warehouse uh exactly correct it depends on who rents the warehouse they could be empty they could be loaded okay um but it's it's it's open to the tenant's discretion okay and what what what type of material are you trying to seek for this Warehouse it's no manua no manufacturing right uh yeah according to the applicant's testimony it's just a standard distribution warehouse to my knowledge there will be no manufacturing on site but there is no tenant identified at this point until uh we get further along with these land use approvals okay okay thank you um I'm going to open it up to the public now Madam CH I just had questions go ahead mam CH I just had a Mr prad with regards to the other items that Mr Mueller didn't specifically address in the hinterstein report of February 29 2024 the applicant's going to agree to has agreed to comply with them correct I do believe he will uh he will agree and comply with all the other comments unless uh Mr Muller has any other information on those comments any other members of the board have questions of this witness Madam chair D qurin it's not it's not a question but it's just um in item 20 of the staff report um it indicates there's two spare 4 inch electrical conduits that should be fiber optic conduits I just wanted to make the applicant aware of that yep understood I don't see any issue with that thank you any other questions of this witness okay Miss Buckley I'm going to open it to members of the public members of the public you have an opportunity to question this question this witness if you have any questions please indicate by waving your hand can you please unshare your screen Mr Muller yep thank you there we go can see uh no one is raising their hand Madam chair okay close to the public Mr Poo do you have another witness yes we have one more witness it is our traffic engineer Mr Craig Parago from Dynamic traffic at exit the board Saran right sir if you could state your name spell your last name for the record and give us your professional address sure my name is Craig perago p r g y business address is 245 Main Street in Chester New Jersey uh home address is here in Piscataway okay you raise your right hand you swear the testimony to give before the board I'll be the whole truth I do your witness thank you Mr Barlo Mr perago can you please give the board the benefits of your qualification please sure uh I have a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech I'm a licensed professional engineer in New Jersey I've been working as a traffic engineer for 24 years now I've testified hundreds of times pretty much on a nightly basis throughout uh the state as an expert in traffic engineering you may proceed as a expert in traffic you thank you madam chair uh Mr Pargo if you can please describe the site circulation the movements in gr egress and if you can address the traffic report um by Miss Betsy Dolan sure uh I'll keep it brief and I got a big uh couple applications behind us um really nothing but good things to say about this in terms of traffic impact and and cleaning this up um you saw that the driveway configuration that Mr Muller pointed out is is greatly improved from what there is today and part of the goal of that and this was in consultation with the county was to make it so trucks can enter and exit the site from the rightmost lane rather than what they have to do today and swing out across multiple Lanes of traffic to get in or out so that's that's what's behind that design which is a big Improvement uh as far as actual traff traffic generation you heard it's the the building staying the same it's a warehouse today and it's going to be a warehouse tomorrow so the way we typically do traffic generation projections is based on the building square footage and the use which is the same so really the trip generation potential or traffic generation potential of the site stays the same the only difference is sort of formalizing that trailer storage in the back rather than just having it on dirt it's you know formalized trailer storage so just to sort of quantify how much traffic that generates if it were it's Standalone uh I took a look at some research counts that we did the it considers trailer parking as part of the warehouse and some have it and some don't uh but we took a look at sites uh three sites in New Jersey that actually are just strictly trailer storage and did some research counts for them we're trying to actually get New Jersey DOT to adopt these rates uh and based on those research counts for a trailer storage of this size it would generate at most during a during a peak hour nine trips a trip is a vehic either entering or exiting typically you're looking at uh a significant increase in traffic being a 100 or more trips that's what uh New Jersey DOT says is a significant increase so we're less than 10% of that so to the extent that there would be any additional traffic generation Beyond what's already could potentially occur would the building be occupied it's very insignificant and I think the improved access and just cleaning up the site far outweighs uh you know that that minimal increase in traffic generation and uh that's really it like I said I I drive by the site pretty much every day I live here in town so glad to see it getting cleaned up oh thank you um members of the board do you have any questions of this witness Miss oh go ahead sorry I was just gonna say does Miss Dolan have any comments with regards to the traffic testimony Miss Dolan is she I'm here can you hear me now yeah I'm fine with all of the testimony from both the engineer and the uh traffic engineer I concur with the findings and I'm satisfied that they have addressed our comments okay thank you uh I'm going to open it to the public hearing no questions now from the members of the board uh Miss Buckley um members of the public I'm opening up the questioning of this traffic engineer in this matter if you have any questions would you indicate your willingness to an ask a question by waving the hand no Madam chair thank you uh close to the public Mr P would you like to sum up or have anything else I have no comments for uh my professionals and their uh their testimony that they provided tonight I think they did a good job uh addressing all the staff reports and uh addressing any concerns of the board professionals and answering the questions of the boards uh board members excuse me um um I have no further questions for them and I would I would ask the board look favor upon this application members of the board you've heard the testimonies and this application was is your pleasure with reference to a motion Madame chair uh Dawn Corran I'd like to make a motion we approve the application subject to the board professional reports um sub also subject to the additional striping I was was brought up at the um where the um there's a discontinuance of side uh sidewalk Bo um and I believe that is it okay do I have a second uh Reverend Kenny Madam chair I'll second that motion thank you roll call please mayor Waller yes councilwoman K yes Miss corkran yes Reverend canny yes Mr Atkins yes Mr ahamed yes and Madame chair yes thank you everyone thank you members of the board and Madam chair I hope you guys have a great night thank you thank you thank you good night um item number 14 24 pb01 kashiv biosciences LLC for a preliminary and final site plan just give me one second Madam charer okay pack up and unpack I didn't send you that much stuff Tom Mr Christopher ER is that is me I'll let you know when you're ready to when everybody's all set and ready to go okay all good you may proceed Mr ER okay good evening everyone um chair said uh my name is Christopher ER I'm an attorney at Norris mlin in uh in Bridgewater New Jersey and I'm representing the applicant here kashiv V biosciences LLC and this is an application for preliminary and final site plan approval for uh some uh relatively minor um additions to their existing operation uh which is currently located um on New England Avenue um 20 New England Avenue it's block 4601 lot 5 approximately a lot that's approximately 5 acres in area they've been in operation for a while uh they're a biof pharmaceutical company as their name would suggest um the the the gist of the application is uh in what I would call the rear of the building so the opposite side from the England Avenue they want to put on a roughly 6,000 foot on story Edition and approximately 77 uh Square 7,700 foot twostory Edition plus an emergency backup generator um in the rear of the building they also have some uh minor improvements and changes to the landscaping and uh parking um and also um as uh we um discussed at the workshop meeting they're going to install a sidewalk along the frontage of New England Avenue which is currently not there um there really are no variances here that um are new there's one U that's existing previously approved for freestanding sign on New England Avenue that was approved previously the the problem with that sign or the variance that was granted was because it's within six feet of the right of way and the setback is supposed to be 50 feet so um that variance has already been granted previously um so we're not really in the need for applying for it again but we just draw to your attention as your professionals did in your reports um there are a couple of minor waivers uh that we'll get to with regard to um parking and Landscaping um mostly having to do with u the configuration of the lot and how uh those things can be can be best dealt with of course the applicant would uh work with the professionals to fine-tune things but those are relatively minor and they're pointed out in uh the board's reports um and just before we head head uh into testimony um I do have a few reports here just want to make sure that um we're all on the same page here I have report from the fire department um that was uh dated uh January 30th uh 2024 there's a memo from the division of engineering and planning dated March 12th 2024 um oh and by the way I'm not going through the superseded reports so some of these coming up um are superseding reports so the next one is May 1st 2024 from Dolan and Dean then after that is from Delaware R and Engineering dated May 3rd 2024 and the last one is from CME dated May 6th 2024 so um we are not planning on going through every single item in all the reports I'm sure nobody here wants to go through them line by line generally speaking there's going to be u a will comply to every item um which um it's very helpful having Workshop meetings I wish every town would have those um uh as you know as you probably know um a lot of towns don't um but that helps work through a lot of those issues ahead of time so there maybe a couple of things that we need to just generally discuss but they're they're almost entirely going to be um will comply with just some minor discussion on a couple of the items just for clarification purposes so I'm sorry Madame chair if I may I just want to I apologize this is D Corin yeah go ahead um the staff did Issue a a revised report um dated April 22nd 2024 based on the revised site plan drawings um April 22nd you said correct there's nothing new in the report if anything um several of the items were addressed and removed from that original March 12th report so there there is nothing new um within this report oh I yeah I do not have that that's okay strange so the when you say the staff that would be the engineering department myself the landscape architect and our supervisor of engineering okay so that was dated what April 22nd April 22nd 2024 and again it was just based on the revised s plan drawings that were submitted to our office um I think there's there's 17 items within the report number 18 is just a requirement for Middle sex County um h i I apologize I don't I don't have a copy of that one I know sometimes those things happen um when when we is when we get to I usually do them M chronological order when we get to that one is it possible for for I just resent it Mr what sorry that again I just resent it oh okay thanks thanks Laura first I I think essentially what Dawn is saying is if you look at the March 12th 2024 report of divisions of engineering Planning and Development where there were 26 items your new site plans addressed it sounds like eight of the items so they took them out okay and left with 18 that were probably things like the sidewalk and the conduit line and the items that still would be conditions of approval or okay you know so they didn't anything they just there's eight less things you had to worry about I go you and they're all I'm looking at it right now and thank you for sending that to me um it looks like they're all going to be comply um but since literally this is the first time I'm seeing it and the other professionals who are on here haven't seen it at all which is what I'm going to do next is send it to them um if you don't mind just give me one second if you bear with me so I can do that the wonders of Technology fabulous or the curse right or the curse exactally yeah see if we were there in person we would just pass it around right just there's a there's a bunch of people have to copy and paste all their email addresses so I'm sorry just bear with me and just for those of you who are on here uh that are on my team the the ray Lon just says staff when it comes through almost there sent okay so now everybody has it just let me go to my printer so I can get a copy of it thanks that's one of the reasons why I like to go through at the beginning the Litany of reports because sometimes that happens okay so our with that being said the first witness that I have is going to be unless anyone unless the board has any other questions or or anything else for me um I I'll like to move on I believe we're ready for the witnesses sure okay so the the first witness is going to be from kashiv um to just give a little bit of background on their company and why they are proposing what they're proposing so that person um should be mahul Sharma mahul yes you there yeah good evening to all member of the board thank you good evening can you turn on your camera sir I don't see your video hold on oh okay you're coming up right now it's just still a gray screen yeah yeah hold on oh and also while we're waiting for that if I recall from the the vote on the last one there were seven eligible votes voting members yes there's seven members currently gearing this application Chris thanks a lot I don't think it'll be an issue but I just always like to know we just let us know when you're ready we're waiting for your video hello GRE can you see me nope still your video is not on N there you are better yes sorry yes okay so Mah if you could uh you know introduce yourself spell your name you're going to have to be sworn in and then you can describe who you are with the company and and then what what we're here for sir if you could state your name spell your last name and give us your professional address sure so my name is mul Sharma from kasu bioscience 20 New England Avenue piscatway New Jersey uh I did my bachelor in I got to swear you in first hold on raise your right hand swear the testimony get before this board the whole truth yes I'll do all right you're a witness Christopher thanks okay so Mah you were about to get rolling on what uh what your company does and why you're here so just take it slow so everybody can follow along Rush all right so just but you don't have to go into tremendous detail about all your different products just in general sure sure so again uh good evening to all member of the boards my name is mul Sharma business address is 20 New England Avenue kasu bioscience New Jersey uh professionally I did my bachelor in mechanical engineering and I did my uh Masters in Business administrations uh I hold uh position of Vice President Global Engineering and facility for kashu bioscience uh kasu bioscience is a fully integrated uh biopharmaceutical company uh with capabilities in both development and CG GMP manufacturing of large and complex small molecules and provide next Generations of drug delivery Technologies and biosimilar vaccines and Specialty bioproducts uh to support our future products and the business demands uh our existing facility which is somewhere around 46,000 Square ft we are expanding up to 58,000 square ft the existing structure shall have a selective building uh demolitions and interior Renovations so this future expansion will includes a propose around 7700 Square ft of two story GMP additions to the south side of the building as well as around 4,000 square ft of warehouse and approximately 2,000 square ft of utility areas so the expansion Will C uh our existing current manufacturing facility is 500 lit bioreactor capacity this new expansion will support us up to scale up up to 2,000 lit bioreactor capacity which will forecast and which will uh catter our all future uh requirements in terms of product manufacturing okay thank you for that summary um does anybody have any any questions about what Kushi does or why they're here um who could answer those now obviously he's already so we can come back and fill in blanks later but if you have any questions now please ask I'd like to know myself how these bioscientific products are uh going to be manufactured is it by chemical interaction or or how this is a manufacturing plant right yes correct could you give us some idea as to what that process is and just keep in mind that they've already been operating and this is just an addition so it's is okay but I we need to get some idea of exactly what goes on there understood yeah so this is a biological facility so we develop the cell uh in a small scale bioreactor from 1 lit to 5 lit to 20 L to 500 lit and that cell has been Harvest it grows in millions and then with a different purification process we Harvest that cell and extract the protein from the cell and that final product will be our drug substance product which will be eventually transferred to the drug product facility which will be our PFS and and and V where we can fill the final drug substance into the into the PFS uh uh prefill cinge and when it no chemical there is no chemical reactions there is no chemical used in this product no is it in a bio or is it in a can or is it in a plastic when it's reached it the end of the process when you're finished with it it's in what kind of container or form it will be in PFS pre-fill syringe could you explain that a little more to me please H PFS prefill syringe pre-filled syringes PR okay okay pre-filled syringes okay yes they'll be packaged in some way then correct okay in our Chicago facility okay yeah so take place here in piscat way no so piscat facility will be drug substance manufacturing facility and we have our another commercial approved FDA approved facility in Chicago where we have fi finish capabilities so the drug substance will be manufactured here in piscatway and that drug substance will be transferred to our P Chicago facility for field finish okay thank you any questions from any other members of the board hearing none um I'd like to open it up to members of the public anyone in the public wishing to ask any questions of this witness please signify by raising your hand Miss Buckley do you see anyone no one Madam chair thank you close to the public okay Mr ER you can call your next okay um our next witness would be our um civil engineer who is uh Rudy satat uh Rudy you out there oh give me one moment he came in as an attendee he didn't use the link so hold on oh sorry about that he was the late ad oh it's fine more technology that's okay all he has to do is accept all right he should thank you I didn't see his name on the attendees list I got a little concerned oh he's here he should be I'm here I'm here I just you're right this is too much technology for me we got you it's okay all so complicated yeah when the engineers start saying there's too much technology we have a problem right here I'm I'm right here I see myself here okay so we're going to have Rudy testify but to the extent we have um drawings to show um I don't believe we have any new exhibits there's just documents that have been pres that have already been filed and that's why Tyler Fox is showing up here because he's going to be the one in control of the exhibits that Rudy may may discuss um just to avoid confusion on why they're both on um so um you want to get him sworn in first and then that's exactly that was my next so it might be a good idea to S both of them in just in case there's some explanation that that Ty needs to give too that's fine um sir uh Rudy if you could state your name and please spell your last name and give us your professional address my name is Rudolph middle initial S last name is shitara s h a t a r a h and your professional address sir 6500 Jericho Turnpike sweet 1w saset New York 11791 okay raise your right hand you swear the testimony give before this board will be the whole truth I do okay thank you and did you want to swear Tyler in just in case and since he's going to be showing the exhibits is is he going to be testifying and answering any questions or is he just putting up the picture he might be because he was also involved in preparing the plans along with Rudy he's going to be showing them it's probably a good idea to swear them in so we don't have to worry about later okay uh Mr Fox if you could state your name spell your last name give us your professional address my name is Tyler Fox last name is fox fox and my professional address is 2410 North Ocean Avenue in Farmingville New York 11738 thank you raise your right hand SAR the testimony give before this board will be the whole truth I do okay your witness is uh okay um Rudy if you could please briefly describe your professional qualifications as a professional engineer uh that would be appreciated I am I'm a professional engineer uh I have approximately 43 years of uh experience between civil structural and um most mostly civil and structural both and um I've been on my own as a business for 32 years I believe yeah 32 years been uh on my own uh the uh projects that uh we have been accomplished uh we're working on uh a new BMW dealership we've done like nine or 10 other dealerships uh we've done uh several projects and I'm doing actually a very exciting project right now start the belt which is a Sur Park out in Shirley Long Island okay well thank you and you uh were actively involved in preparing the plans and have reviewed them and are prepared to test testified tonight about the plans for this application yes I work very closely with Tyler yeah so thank you so I'd offer um Rudy it's just easier to say his first name I apologize no no Rudy's good as as a professional engineer uh expert yeah I'm I'm sure he has all the educational degrees to go be that 43 years of experience thank you okay so um now this kind of be a team effort between Rudy and Ty if you could Rudy go through uh what is planned at the site and sort of give the board the benefit of the layout and and dimensions and what exactly is planned at this site so Tyler is sharing his screen to show the plans that were previously submitted um Mr Baro I I don't think these need to be remarked but that's up to you um because they're already been submitted as long as there's been no change es alterations coloring or anything else to them no um if they've been Al in anyway that these are exactly the same as what was submitted that's is correct these are the same plans as submitted okay if then if someone could just you know describe what it is and and the the date they were prepared as they're using utilizing them okay so Rudy can you go ahead and uh do that you might need to zoom in a little bit Tyler it's a little hard say yeah I would that to Tyler let them go ahead and I'll make any comments along the way and Rudy if you could turn your volume up that might be helpful you're pretty it's a secret or or closer to the microphone I'm not sure okay is that better that's better yes thank you okay uh that's the secret of the trade you know 43 years you you learn a lot about these things uh so I I would like to defer to Tyler to let uh describe it and I will chime in as needed well what are Tyler's qualifications then okay well Tyler can you can you set set forth your qualifications then yes absolutely so my name is Tyler Fox professional architect I am a licensed architect and I'm a junior partner at jm2 architecture and we are the Design Consultants um hired directly with Rudy Shara um for the design of the site and the construction documents for the building okay so I'd like to offer Tyler as a a professional architect expert as well to help Rudy with his testimony here he also Tyler you were involved in preparing these plans as well that's correct Tyler can I give some of your little educational background please absolutely I have a bachelor's of Science in architecture from Alfred State College in New York state and how long have you been practicing uh I've been a licensed architect for over two years um and and I'm good standing okay thank you thank you okay so Tyler um since these plans are actually on your uh title block um you can help Rudy to describe the date and what each sheet generally shows and then he can go through the engineering aspects yeah gladly so these PL were prepared last dated April 1st 2024 submitted to the township of Piscataway on April 5th um the set is comprised of 11 sheets um of site plans and proposed building plans and elevations for the project um our first sheet here includes a dimensioned site plan showing the proposed uh nature of the development we have on this site just this is this sheet is just so when you go through the different Sheets if you could say the name of the sheet for the record this is c100 sheet c100 absolutely as Mr Sharma had stated the scope of the work here is a proposed 7,700 sqare foot manufacturing addition to the south of of this building and to confirm when I say South it's to the right of the page um and also a warehouse addition of about 4,000 square ft to the East and a utility and Equipment room addition also to the east the site improvements shown here just very generally speaking is uh is very minor um the the major site improvements here would include repaving and restriping of the parking lot which is indicated on the sheet um proposed a uh proposed um retaining wall and proposed 5- foot sidewalk along New England Avenue as well as um some proposed increased lighting which is included in this plan as well which was submitted to the township as well um she c101 defines the demolition areas of the site which you can see as well is relatively minor what we're proposing here along the perimeter of the building on the South Side there's currently some sidewalk and curb that will be removed in um for construction of the addition to the South and on the east side we have demolition of an existing partial curb for an equipment pad which will house um Compressed Air Gases which are used for their processes as well as a dashed red line along the east which is their existing limit of their edge of asphalt which will be replaced for New Belgium Block curbs um all along the South the South and the East End and then the Eastern Corner the northeastern corner is where we're proposing a backup generator so there's some small demolition area on the site in that corner she c200 is mostly an existing and proposed grading and drainage site plan um Rudy can can speak a little more to this as well but considering the nature of the application um most impervious and perious surfaces are being maintained to what's existing what is changing of course is the actual roof area of the additions that will be replacing of course some of the grass areas and sidewalk areas um existing um drainage inlets are all in good working condition uh we propose to protect them during construction um just a note about the retaining wall I did provide a detail um within the ride of way of New England Avenue it was suggested based on the existing grading of New England in the front yard that we propose a retaining wall which is only 20 inches high and that's a uh split face block um you know kind of like a versa lock style uh retaining wall of about 20 inches high and the purpose of that retaining wall was to accommodate the sidewalk cuz originally the plan didn't call for a sidewalk you didn't need the retaining wall but now with the sidewalk you need the retaining wall is that correct that's exactly right correct Mr Fox or Mr yes I I really don't think the Board needs you to go through all 11 sheets of the plans I mean if you just wanna kind of either hit the highlights as to the scope of the work or okay yeah you know I I don't think you need to they can look at the plans and if the board members have any specific questions you know I I think if the architect wants to talk about what it's going to look like in terms of the the the renderings of it or something that might be appropriate and if and if Rudy's going to offer actually any engineering testimony uh you know that's fine but sure I don't think it serves the board's time this evening to just go through the plans that's fine and he's really already hit all the highlights um I don't think that really needs to go into much more detail unless the the board has specific questions about um this you know I'm I'm assuming that everyone has reviewed the plans and if they have questions that haven't already been answered we can do that um but if not we could go through uh the reports just to confirm that we're going to be complying with everything if that's uh uh the Bo's pleasure we'll we'll move ahead W with that aspect and the only other witness that we would have is our traffic engineer which we do have on the line uh there's not really any traffic issues to discuss but he's here just to introduce himself and be available for if there's any questions after this testimony Spinners well I mean for instance can Rudy agree to comply with any of the on behalf of the applicant the DNR RIT and Engineering May 3rd 2024 report yes if you can you can just say yes we'll comply with everything unless unless there's a specific item you'd like to address yes we we will comply with everything okay and if they're going is the applicant willing to comply with the items set forth in the division of engineering and planning and development report I realize you have one of March 12th there's a subsequent one in April but again didn't add anything yep that's a will comply with th with those items as well again I don't mean to short circular your application but I know we have another one after this and this this doesn't have any variances associated with it exactly um the the only question I have is the um you're not proposing any changes or moving of the sign that has already been granted a variance correct that that is correct but Tyler and and Rudy can you confirm that yes you're not enlarging the the nonconformity in any way it's staying exactly the same correct yes okay Madam chair I didn't mean to to jump in there but I just thought we could maybe uh no I I appreciate that's fine and I can I can just whip through the other reports Too Perfect the fire department report was really it was already approved and that was the one from January 30th so that one's taken care of um you already hit on the March 12th revised April 22nd one that we're going to comply with there's another report from the supervisor of engineering with one item on it from April 29th we will comply with with that um there's uh the traffic engineer uh Doan and Dean's report from May 1 there's really nothing to comply with it was it was all um comments um and the the DNR report from May 3rd we've already talked about and will comply and then there's the last one was the May 6 2024 um that will comply um there's a couple of items that they'll have to work with the uh Township professionals with regard to Landscaping primarily because of uh the burm in the front and just to make sure and that that's a a will comply just uh you know with uh consultation with the board's professionals da do you have any issue if the applicant works with the board's professional staff to resolve any Landscaping issues not at all okay so that being said I don't have any other further questions for either Tyler or Rudy if the board uh me no none of the board members have any questions we can open it up to the public please board members you heard the testimony I mean um members of the public you heard the testimony of these two witnesses does anyone in the public have questions of these Witnesses would you indicate so by waving your hand no one Madam chair thank you close to the public okay thank you madam chair if I may just interject Miss Dolan do you have any concerns or issues with regards to traffic as to this matter no our comments were uh generally in concurrence with this submission we're fine thank you thank you so much thank you so I think that one heads off the need for our our traffic engineer unless the board does have its own questions for a traffic engineer then I will not um even uh introduce him for Testimony if that's the board's pleasure Miss Dolan is that all right with you yes thank you well members of the board you've heard this application Mr um er if you don't have a summary um members of the board what's your pleasure Madame chair Don Corrin I'll make a motion we approve the application subject to the board professional reports do I have a second Madam shair Reverend Kenny I'll second that providing he makes uh he in compliance with all the professional reports thank you roll call please mayor Waller yes councilwoman K yes Miss corkran yes Reverend Kenny yes Mr Atkins yes Mr Ahmed yes and Madam chair yes thank you well thank you very much and thank you for moving along so quickly I'm sure that the applicant behind us will appreciate it as well have a good night everyone night thank you thank you so much to all the members of the board from kashu bioscience you're welcome enjoy your evening thank you thank you item number 15 23 pb23 24v is in Victor spark Car Wash LLC preliminary and final cycl and bul Varian good evening Madam chair board members even board professionals my name is Jeff Chang from law fir Fox Rothchild out of Princeton I have the pleasure of representing spark car watch this evening I just want to confirm with um Council Barlo that notice was proper and acceptable to the board it's acceptable okay perfect um so I'll just introduce the application identify the variances and some the and the most recent reports so that we're all on the same page I know we want to uh provide a robust record for obvious reasons so uh with that being said I'll go to my direct um spark Car Wash is a LEC for Block 541 lot 8.0 8.01 in the township of padway property is located at 1038 stellon Road badway New Jersey uh the property is 2.1 7 Acres in size and located the GB General business Zone the property is currently improved with a vacant Bank building uh with three ATM drive-through Lanes uh the applicant is seeking preliminary final site plan this evening with bulk variances uh to construct a 4,841 square foot automated car wash structure with 26 parking spaces uh it will be comprised of 21 vacuum spaces and five employee spaces uh and related signage um there's a number of variances that we've compiled based on uh Township reports both from CME and Don Corker Gardella so the eight I believe that I counted for the following so section 21-1 1202 location maximum number of facade signs one on front facade is permitted where four fronts of four facade signs are proposed section 21-1 22.2 maximum percent of front wall area where 10% is permitted uh and 16.3% is proposed section 21-1 1202.3 maximum size of freestanding sign 32 square feet is permitted where 5010 square feet is proposed section 21-1 1202.3 minimum distance of freestanding sign from Street 25 feet required or 10 feet is proposed section 21-1 1207 minimum setback for signs under 10 square ft 10 ft from property line required or directional sign of zert from side yard property line is proposed section 24- 74.2 Point B3 minimum width of parking Islands 6 feet is required with 5.29 feet is proposed section 21- 501 proposed 39 foot and 57 Front Yard setback from accessory structure uh these are the two vacuums where 60 ft is required and the last variance I believe is section 21-1 1207 0 5.1 proposed directional sign is located zero feet from the property line and all signs under 10 square feet must be set back a minimum of 10 feet from the property line so just to clarify those are the variances um that are being requested this evening in addition to obviously site plan um and just to make sure that uh we're on the same page the reports that we last received uh were the DNR report dated March 7th 2024 uh report from Joe Herrera dated March 5th 2024 uh CME planners report dat May 6 2024 and then uh Dawn corran's uh planning um memo March 5th 2024 and Henry H's uh memo of March 8th 2024 those are the ones that we'll be commenting on uh through my professionals this evening did did you also you may have said it I missed it the Dolan and Dean report from the traffic expert dated January 22nd 2024 uh that yes um my my traffic yeah thank you Mr Carlo y that's also identified so with that being said I have number of professionals this evening um I'm going to start with um Matt Canali who's uh the real estate director for spark Car Wash he's GNA walk us through the operations you know history of spark Car Wash why they want to invest in this town and build this what we think is very uh nice beautiful and G to be something that's piscat will be proud of uh I'll have Paul mut from Stonefield engineering uh who's the design engineer who's going to walk through the site plan the variances show the existing what is being proposed um and then Oliver young out of uh gka as the architect who's going to show you uh the design and materials um and the signage on the property uh and then Andrew viso uh who's also an engineer traffic engineer at of Stonefield who will be discussing the uh traffic justifications uh parking circulation and then we'll wrap up with John mcdna uh the professional planner who will go through the C2 variances uh positive negative criteria uh with that being said if I could I'd like to have my first witness uh Madam chair Mr Chang before you do that I and and Jeff I'm I'm just doing this by way of an abundance of caution yes sir and just on the record just so the board's aware there was an issue with regards to jurisdiction when this application was originally filed there was an objector who filed an application uh prerogative writ complaint in Superior Court New Brunswick um challenging whether or not the planning board had jurisdiction or if this matter should go to the zone zoning board um at judge bua in New Brunswick referred the matter back to the zoning board as they have the right to interpret whether or not um a z a use variance would be triggered while that application was pending the objector Mr Liston ultimately chose to withdraw that application and dismiss the pending prerogative RIT complaint uh um and as far as I'm concerned and I believe Mr Chang will agree consenting or agreeing that the planning board had jurisdiction um that a use variance was not needed so that's how just from a little procedural history if someone reviews this later on um you know I don't want it to be said that we did this in a vacuum I believe the um planning board is the appropriate venue for this matter as I do believe a use variance is not required thereby giving the planning board a jurisdiction over this matter there had there was an objector who was represented by Mr Lon um who I don't see on this if if he does appear or or another attorney on his behalf appears he will have the right to um cross-examine any of Mr Chang's Witnesses and all for any of his own witnesses as of this juncture I don't see him but if if he does pop in or another attorney on behalf of the objector just so the board's aware he will have his opportunity to cross examine and then present if he so chooses so with that being said Mr Chang we turn it back over to you and you can call your first witness absolutely unless you have anything you'd like to add yeah no that's it um and the one thing that Mr Liston sent to us the case that he was relying on was the Dash versus Town Spar zoning board matter um and Diamond chip realy LLC I'm looking at the case in front of me uh and that's what uh he gave up his jurisdictional Challenge and that's why we're here this evening uh before the planning board so with that being said um I'd like to have Matt Canal a spark Car Wash be sworn in and give his qualifications thanks Jeff hi everyone I don't know you your video Matt I uh I don't appear to have a video option I don't know if there's a something that needs to take place on need to be added with panelists maybe no because I think we're all panelists okay well um on your bottom left on your computer it should say stop video or start video click on that it'll give you your video I don't have that tap your screen I'm sorry are you on a phone or computer I'm on the computer yeah um okay let's see here i' I've been on for a while now and I I think there may just be some something wrong with my display I um perhaps I could try on my phone to see if I can get video that way one second oh I got to join you'd have to call it back in again yeah there you go I'm in business appreciate that very sir if you could state your name spell your last name and give us your professional address please absolutely Matt Canali M A TT h e w um c n l e and we're located at 30 Maple Street Summit New Jersey all right raise your right hand you swear the testimony you give before this boort to be the whole truth yes I do Mr Chang your witness sure um so Matt I'll give you you can testify in the narrative but I want you to introduce to the board you know what is spark Car Wash you know why are you targeting this site uh why do you believe that this Market uh is perfect for your company to expand I want you to if you could give the board some Market data um emphasize you know you're investing significant amount of dollars to the company here so we want it to work and flourish uh we also want to Dem uh highlight modor operations environmentally defending you know in terms of recycling the water um and then just to describe that this site makes sense for us in design we have no variances actually about the um the intensity of the use it's actually a lot of signs related so uh if you walk the board through a narrative and hit those points I'd be greatly appreciated yeah absolutely happy to thank you Jeff um first and foremost thank you all for your time this evening uh we're very excited to be presenting here before you all um so as as already introduced I'm the director of real estate at spark um as director of real estate one of my primary responsibilities is to identify locations that would put us as a business in a position to thrive um over the long term so you know we're making a very significant investment in these Redevelopment projects uh the car washes are quite expensive so we do spend quite a bit of time diving deep into the analysis of a market understanding its strengths how the trade area actually works and functions ultimately to make a decision to to move forward so um when I was first introduced to the site on Stelton Road what you know was obvious and stood out was just the the strength of the retail Corridor um you know at this location as you all know you're surrounded by a multitude of national and local retailers uh fast food grocery stores including the brand new shop right on the other side of the street um Superstores like Walmart and Target gyms sit down restaurants you name it um and the reason for that um as we understood with our analysis is that the trade area here really extends far beyond the actual Township of Piscataway um this is largely due to the accessibility that is provided on 287 so the piscatway Stelton Road trade area is very easily accessible via 287 and that provides accessibility to a multitude of other markets as far west as Bridgewater as far east of matachin and additionally Route 18 provides easy access um from the south which is a a very dense residential population to the South um down as far south as North brunck so all all of these things and it's exactly why you have all the other retailers and a multitude of those retailers um in this market is because it it provides you one location that gives you access to various other markets via 287 so um for those same reasons we uh actually uh selected scato as one of our uh top Target markets to be in and selton Road being the primary qu within that market so um as we uh approached this Market this site stood out due to the fact that it was um really flanked by two large retail Trade Centers one is anchored by Target the other uh we we found that up at the shop right going across the street and then Walmart's down on the other side so you're really kind of right in the middle of that trade area providing for um accessibility to a lot of the different customers that you know ultimately come and Shop here and scataway so for all those reasons it was um it made a lot of sense this actual location and the size of the property too the size of the property works perfectly um for our operation um it actually uh is almost exactly as we designed our prototype um the the three pay stations um and the 21 vacuums are what we target um on our prototypes it allows for efficiency of processing cars and also allows for um a high likelihood of customers that utilize the operations to have the ability to utilize the vacuums um and Facilities with less vacuums um we could run into an issue where uh you know they were all occupied at the same time providing for a less optimal customer experience so again the size of this property worked really well um all of these things came together to make us feel very confident um in ultimately the decision that this would be u a location that would uh put us in a position to be successful and be really immerse ourselves in the community here over the long term um so as as far as spark um as a business and operation what we're proposing here is a a modern Express Car Wash facility uh we are open to the public but we do focus on a membership based business model the public can anybody can come off Stelton utilize the facilities and pay per wash along with that wash comes the free use of vacuums or the use of the Vacuums at no additional cost however we do promote our U membership model um which enables customers to utilize the facilities as often as they like um on a monthly basis for a very uh fair price um based upon the the the amount of use that you would potentially get out of it um we combine a state-of-the-art technology within our facilities with a very uh we think a very beautifully designed building and overall landscape including the landscaping and we have a highly trained staff of three to four employees who um have various jobs to do while on site including engage with the customer to make sure they understand how to use the vacuum equipment to understand how they to use the pay stations to make sure they understand what wash they're getting and so forth um ultimately to provide a pleasant experience for everybody who visits the facility and that all those pieces coming together it'll enable us to create an experience for these customers which helps with um the the business model of memberships um so further uh we are eco-friendly uh we we have three 2,000g reclaim tanks that are uh state-of-the-art equipment used to filtrate the water we use in order so we can reuse it on site so it recycles between 70 and 80% of the water that we do use um in additionally in addition to that we use kitchen grade cleaning um agents uh that are nonhazardous to the environment so um those uh those pieces are important as we kind of expand through these various territories as well um hours of operation on site maybe best to to kind of walk you through if everybody could see this um the plan that's on the screen here so and let's Mr Barlo we could we'll mark this as A1 this is a rendering um prepared by gk& Associates um too small for me to see the the date I don't know if Paul or Matt you oh there we go uh 10323 A1 so easiest to uh oh last revised uh May 7th 2024 sorry yeah so easiest to kind of talk through the the the operations and the circulation of the site by by way of looking at the the rendering l in here so as you know a customer would enter the site they would be guided by directional signage into the stacking Lanes the stacking Lanes wrap the vacuum Park and so every customer that comes in um through the site would be guided to the stacking Lanes the vacuum Park um excuse me the uh the stacking Lanes lead to the pay stations the pay stations um there will be three different pay stations um one is for members only the other two will be for Pay Per wash or um the public or off- the street customers the um off- the street customer kiosk will be attended by a um customer service attendant will help facilitate a transaction for the customer help make sure they understand um how to use the kiosk and what was to select and so forth It's really um there to engage with the customer and also just ensure an efficient transaction the third will be um a uh membership only lane which would be designated by um signage and um those lanes are equipped with a license plate reading technology similar to Easy Pass to enable the member to process through the kiosk and enter the car wash facility uh very quickly very seamlessly and so forth um we we will at probably some point modify you know two paper stations to um go from two P paper wash stations to two member stations depending on you know where we are in that buildup process of membership but usually when we open it's two payer wash one member um after you pay after you uh exit the kiosk pay station area The Next Step would be to enter the tunnel the tunnel of the car wash which is on the far side of the building of the rendering you're looking at that's where you'll encounter the second customer service associate on site they are there to help guide the vehicle onto the conveyor and help load it once loaded the car is put into neutral once the car is put to neutral the conveying system will take control of the car and pull the car through the car wash facility um that will enable it to receive the wash from the various Mechanicals and machines that we have throughout the uh the tunnel upon exiting the tunnel the tunnel itself is 135 feet long um so at any given time on a busy day there could be four maybe even five cars within that tunnel it's a very efficient processing of cars built for you know uh uh processing cars on a busy de um but as you as you approach the exit of the tunnel there are state-of-the-art blowers and blowing equipment that are designed to completely dry the car so there's no manual dryers or manual uh laborers um needed at the exit of the tunnel to uh further drive the car the the equipment is designed to fully drive the car upon exiting that tunnel you will regain control of your vehicle and then the customer will have an opportunity to either a access the vacuum Park and utilize the vacuum equipment or be exit to sa um the the Third customer service associate would be monitoring the vacuum Park area at all times they're there to engage with the customer make sure they know how to use the equipment and make sure the area is clean um it's Car Wash after all so there's a lot of um trash from the cars that are emptied out each of the uh vacuum St are equipped with their individual trash receptacle one of the car the car wash employee who does U occupy the vacuum Park responsibility is to empty those receptacles out um during the day as needed and put them into the the dumpster the trash pickup is once a week um or earlier as needed and it is done usually right before opening around 7 o' in the morning um but it can be scheduled um it can be scheduled earlier or later uh depending on preference the deliveries we get to the site so we only have uh we only have deliveries once every two weeks typically um and those deliveries come via Sprinter van um there's no large trucks needed to be moving around on site those come via Sprinter band and they come on off hours when employees are on site so either um before we open in the morning when employees have arrived the wash is not yet open or after hours um once the wash is closed and the employees are cleaning up the facility um hours of operation are 8: am to 8:00 pm employees generally arrive on site um about an hour before we open around 7 o'clock and they will stay on site um approximately an hour um after we close so 900m um so I think that addresses most of the operational items that I had on my checkl list here I'm certainly happy to address any questions that there may be in regards to operation business or or anything else or Jeff if there's anything on on yourist as well no I think you covered everything I wanted you to introduce to the board um Madame chair uh board members I open Mr Canal up to you for any questions that or or clarifications you may want any questions from the board of this witness I I actually have one Madam chair just out of a curiosity Mr Canali was saying that you know piscat marketing conditions for piscat but you know is it an unusual have four car washes within two miles of each other uh I mean I I don't know I mean you got one up by Freedom Avenue on ston road you have another one in cely Avenue you have one further down on you know Stelton Road whatever I just having born and raised in this community I find it very perplexing business-wise and I've seen a lot of applications coming for this board over the last 30 years where it's this this is not like a fast like a restaurant industry here this is for car washes so I'm I'm just out of curiosity how your thought processes in your company on this and why another Car Wash business would financially make it in theory yeah no it's it's a great question and in looking at competition is one of the first things that we do um when assessing a market and you know what we uh what we know is that there is a a very um true distinction between um the modern Express Car Wash that we are proposing here and um a fulla a full serve or older Express only um you know the the market largely uh I believe I believe there's only one other uh full uh modern Express like ours and um so I think I think there truly is a distinction between the two um having studied you know this business and seeing other markets throughout um New Jersey and the country where currently um this product can coexist with the others as well um there are there are a lot there is a lot of data sh showing that um what is needed in a market for her Express Car Wash is about 20,000 people in a thre mile radius um so in piscato we at this location in a three mile radius you have a 100,000 people um so that tells us that gives us comfort that there's more than enough Demand with the right product and when I say product I mean the actual ual experience that we're providing as a business um with the right location um which we believe strongly this is the right location and the right Market where you're really just exposing yourself to enough people um so I certainly understand um you know the perspective um that you have and I feel most probably have a similar perspective but what we what we know having you know been building this product out throughout New Jersey and really stuttered stud other markets around the country is that the drivers are population density the retail trade area and um as long as you aren't saturated from a uh a Express Car Wash standpoint um that the two can coexist it is truly two separate customers between the Express Car Wash customer and the full service c um Madam chair this councilwoman kahill unless the mayor has any other questions no I don't Madam chair um so um I do have a a question here because you're differentiating yourself um from some other car washes but um um would you say that a car wash like like this or the location would be um even more valuable closer to to let's say The Interchange at of 287 uh it's hard to say I think there's like a lot of variables within the the question but um you know I think I think they're theoretically is a lot of good real estate within um scataway most of which is currently you know occupied with you know various existing uses um but yeah I mean theoretically there could be you know other other locations that could also work I think just lack of availability is is a u is a tends to be a uh a theme in some of these stronger markets right and and um I I started to say you differentiate yourself because in fact we have a car wash that is this very same model um on cely which is right next to 287 which is not busy um I don't know if it's a bigger facility in this when when it was approved I think the Stalls like uh where the vacuum stalls are I think they may have more um I'm not sure this that sort of in that General vicinity you have um a small business that obviously cannot serve the amount of cars that your car wash can but is an um I don't know if they now have a membership now but they you know it is vacuums outside Etc um they do have people who though uh do drive the car um outside which I mean I'm a labor person so the more people you hire the better um it's not a selling point for me not having extra people there to wipe the car down that set aside that's just my opinion I also am inclined to feel as though um I mean with the facility right off of 287 where you have um next to a Walmart uh pretty high traffic there is pretty slow and they closed at six o'clock on the weekdays so I'm not so sure and they may have started when they initially opened up with with bigger you know longer hours you know we have um I think a couple of hotels right on the other side of uh 287 people come in and out I I'm just really concerned like you know what is uh the sale volume that you need to have in order to keep this facility open knowing that the facility that's in a very high trafficked area is getting very little traffic in there and is the identical model it's a membership it's a payer um I mean it's the same setup as I look at at your plan quite frankly I I I'm very familiar with the um the location you're speaking about um I can't you know I can't speak to their operations or how they run business obviously but I can speak to um from a location standpoint um that location in my in our opinion um you know is more of a destination I think it's uh it's more of a destination because it's it's tucked off Stelton and yes you know that the Walmart does quite well and and all that but what's what we know being experts you know in the industry is that uh more than 50% of the customers that we engage with are impulse not destination so most of them are impulse and being front and center easy accessibility to um the largest amount of high quality traffic is Paramount so I don't think while yes it is next to Walmart and it does it is next to 287 it's only a destination um or very it's very much a destination location and um from from our uh you know point of view that's that's a major factor as to why I think um you know it could be slower than you would expect also Mr Canali I mean isn't it true that that that site is probably two to three times the size of yours your proposed model if I if I recall the vacuum stalls are well over 50 stalls if I recall that accurate yes that's correct they have uh more than 50 vacuum stalls I believe they have more than one tunnel as well um it's it's I believe the facility is built to be a destination because of uh how they build them um but again just you my opinion is that um our location puts us in a much better position um to have a very strong performing store um being right on stalon within um that Corridor being able to capture impulse customers any other question from the board yeah well Madam chair might I just my last comment is that okay um it is just very close to that car wash and a similar model it I mean it just I don't know I I I I I for one I just I don't see how the how they both well like I said you're trying to point out that the one site is very big this one's not as big I'm trying to point out that the one site is not busy and in a very tra High highly trafficked area so those are all my comments Madam chair thank you any other members from the board wish to comment or ask questions uh Madam chair Reverend Kenny you was talking about the picking up the trash in off hours when they're not busy working where is that trash dumpster going to be out of located in the back or where is it going to be located it's it's located if if you look at the uh the site plan rendering it's a little bit blocked by the the tree in the front um but if you can see the uh the cursor um it's it's it's right as you make the right hand turn into the Q Lane can you buildings Kenny right yeah I I'm I'm looking at it that's unusual being in a front of a building okay I'm I'm seeing it Reverend we'll have the engineer testify and explain the re yeah I understand that Mr Chang but most of the time it's always in the rear of a building or offs side of a building to be in the front you know off the main dy I don't know okay I got it uh one other thing I'll add just uh before we move off here just uh regarding the the research we did on like the actual trade area itself so um there's a platform that we utilize um it's called place or AI it's a location intelligence platform that enables us to really dive in and understand the true strength of a trade area and what it what it tells us is that um directly on Stelton Road that trade area alone draws more than 12 million customer visits um on an annual basis which is very very strong and I think you know it's evidenced by you know the retail activity you have you know in the area as well so again just um the positioning of this site amongst the strong trade area um puts us in a position to to know that you know we'll ultimately have a very successful business here well I'd just like to add another footnote uh since I do live in the area that all four of those Car Washers are in proximity to the Stelton Road area uh two three of one is here it's a singular small car wash down here by the school Street area then the proposed one that you're talking about and then as we go then the one that we're talking about this near Walmart and on the other side of uh the 287 Corridor is another one on the left hand side and I don't think I've ever seen them crowded um three have been quite a lot in this area and it's just a note just a note from a resident that um I hope your demographics are correct but I've never seen them crowded no I I I very much so appreciate the the comment um as well and um again I do think that what what our experience um tells us for certain is that the product offering matters it matters a lot um the experience that we provide matters a lot you know you can wash your car and your driveway right like you anybody could wash their car on the driveway they come to us because of convenience because of the experience they receive um on the facility because we have a beautifully designed building because we're a convenient location we have engaging customers all these things um very much so matter I would agree completely that if we were just recreating an existing product um you know in a not so good location that I probably wouldn't do well I think I think from our view this is this is um quite different um if there's no other questions from the um board members I'd like to open it to the public members of the public if you like to ask a question of this witness under his testimony would you please um indicate by raising your hand Miss Buckley do you see anybody I they need to unshare the screen I can't see Madam chair okay would you please um thank you anyone in the public have any comments or questions no Madam chair thank you do you have any other Witnesses yeah so my next witness is Paul mut uh professional engineer from Stonefield uh engineering um if I could have him uh sworn in and qualified uh he's obvious he's designed number of car washes I work on him with him on number of projects um throughout the state he's been he's testified as an expert engineer in multiple municipalities I'm not sure Paul if you've ever been to Piscataway though I don't think so okay well well he can he can give us the benefit of that um sir if you could state your name spell your last name and give us your professional address yeah certainly Paul M em and Mary Utch from Stonefield engineering located at 15 Spring Street in Princeton New Jersey so Paul if you could raise your right hand certainly swear testimony give before this boort will be the whole truth I do you're a witness Mr CH can you provide your qualifications education your licensing to confirm everything is still in uh good order certainly I'm a licensed professional engineer in the state of New Jersey and my license is in good standing I graduated from rone University with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering I have 11 years of experience on applications similar to the one you're hearing this evening and I've been accepted by more than a hundred land use boards in the state of New Jersey as an expert witness so ask if Madam chair we accept him as a yes yeah thank you uh Mr MH can you walk us first Mark the exhibit your plans uh your civil design drawings um we can start with with the aerial exhibit exactly and then walk us you know so so I'll just let you go but um in the narrative you know Mark your exhibits uh discuss existing conditions uh proposed layout uh walk the board through how all of this is supposed to function um and discuss any uh variances uh the variances that were're asked about this evening yeah certainly we'll get into that um this is the Redevelopment of what is a defunct bank site with the associated improvements you'd expect parking areas drive-thru Lanes as well as lighting I think it's important to note and it's highlighted by this aerial that half of the site is currently undeveloped and that will continue in the proposed condition and that's really a condition that will go unchanged for the future of this property if there are any development here because there are wetlands that are located to the West basically all of the wooded portion there's a little bit in the back that is not encumbered and then Dodd's Brook is located um along the south side of the plan the bottom of your page and the repairing zones and Associated buffers there would prevent any expansion of the existing footprint that you're seeing on the screen um and seeing associated with that bank use so that is what our development will be and you'll see in the proposed condition we're essentially reusing the existing footprint and obviously making some significant upgrades that you saw on that 3D rendering and you'll certainly see as we move through the application um we have Frontage on Stelton Road which is a County Road 529 we also have frontages and they're not labeled on this plan but they will be in the site plan rendering um on two paper streets which is Walker Lane which is on the west side of the street and then Howard Grand Boulevard um which is located on the southern side of the street I think I might add that backwards but there are two paper streets that encumber on the the two the Western most and the southern side of of this property um those again likely could never be developed because of the presence of wetlands and does Brook runs through where that paper street is to the South so really what you're looking at is what you get from the site from of development yield and we're going to be working within that um as we as we sort of discussed a little bit the uses in this area are consistent along the corridor commercial uses in the GB zone so this fits in well with the character of that neighborhood um as well and with that I'll get into my next next exhibit in the well this is a right Mr M yeah I labeled the aerial exhibit which is prepared by my office and dated um May 8 20124 labeled that A2 perfect thank you do is we'll make we'll move to A3 which is a site plan rendering exhibit prepared by my office prepared on May 3rd 2024 and this is simply a colorized version of the submitted site plan that's included as your package we've taken the liberty of adding color landscaping and other features just a highlight for the board the 2D sends at the very least um what the intention of the application is um and you'll see some more 3D renderings as we move through our architect this evening so the subject tonight is this state-of-the-art car wash it is 4,841 square feet it comes with 21 vacuum spaces and six employee spaces one of those employee spaces will be labeled in EV space um and the parking proposed is compliant per code what comes along along with these state-of-the-art car wash uses as we get through the use and operations is the state-of-the-art Reclamation system so these are this a car wash that reclaims water a substantial amount of water to limit the burden on the public utilities um but also Serv it its own building we've actually started to introduce some roof leaders into the system because the you know the ReUse is a very important piece of um not only washing cars there's about 10 gallons of new water that goes into each wash but it's also used for the very ious internal components of the of the car wash it's treated it's disinfected with UV lights there's reverse osmosis filtering as well so that water is used throughout the building um and and certainly reduces the load substantially on the public utility system as far as water and sanitary usage for this site um access is proposed for this site along Stelton Road in similar location to what is existing it is a right in right out driveway as it is a med and divided roadway on the county roadway we have an active County application currently for this site um we've addressed all of their comments the remaining conditions is post bonds and and pull a a Road opening permit so we have um we have essentially a full approval from the county at this point which is which is very positive for the application you've heard some of the circulation but I'll just cover it again for this customers enter the site and are encouraged to go um into the pay stations there's always the option to enter the vacuum stations as well for those for those member you users but generally the operations is you enter the Q area which is located on the Northern side of the site that Q capacity from from the building all the way back um is more than 30 Vehicles which you'll hear from our traffic consultant this evening but 30 Vehicles is is far more than you would expect for this kind of very very efficient use um in this fully automated um Car Wash use as you've heard is that trash enclosure located at the front of the site it's pulled out of the accessory setback but we located it front to the site um to allow for easy operations that trash truck can pull in back up and then leave the site very simply if there's a strong preference of the board to move it further into the site we're happy to explore that and kind of shift around those um six employee spaces that are located to the West um those employee spaces are low turnover you know one shift per day so the interaction of the employees and the drive-through Lane certainly won't be anything significant here um and we this is a this is a standard type situation for this type of use and spk car wash as far as their prototype goes um as you move through that queue um you enter into the pay station area these are fully automated and high-tech pay stations that are meant to efficiently process vehicles and get them through the tunnel as you've heard there is a members only lane license plate reading technology um that allows for members that will be in upwards of 60 to 70% of the customer base to move quickly and efficiently through without having to actually um perform a transaction so that allows this car wash to really process vehicles and then the interior two lanes at the at the onset um are pay per wash um there'll be an employee stationed in this area to assist with those transactions I can say from experience as far Car Wash kiosks are extremely easy to use large buttons not a lot of options or confusion there so pretty simple operations that the pay stations allow for very quick transactions but there's always you know there's always questions in things that that pay station attendent is there to make sure that the safe and efficient operation of that pce station area generally um continues throughout um there's also in addition to that 31 30 plus car que that we're providing for this pay station um to there's there's other levels of redundancy that we've Incorporated here and specifically that is call a bailout lane or an escape valve that's located just as you come out of the pay stations that Gore striped area you see that leads to the vacuum area that's allows for if there is a situation where the tunnel or or something occurs at the pay station where the person does not want to get a car wash for whatever reason an emergency situation where we need to move people out because the tunnel is down those very rare scenarios um we're able to get vehicles out without having to back them through the pce station that escape valve is just an added level of redundancy um to ensure that this site operates efficiently even in those rare emergency moments um you know just to make sure that we we have all of our bases covered here um as you move through the pay station you you enter into the tunnel that is 135 foot tunnel you can fit about five Pars in there so again very efficient processing you can speed up that conveyor belt if it is a busy day you need to process cars but really the transaction time moving from pay station through the tunnel is less than two minutes um so overall this automated state-of-the-art car wash is extremely efficient it's meant to provide convenience and an experience for the customers and specifically the members and that's where you kind of come out of the tunnel and that's where some of those features come into play you hear a little bit more from our architect on some of the building mounted features but as you exit the car wash really The Experience we're trying to provide here is the Aesthetics which you can see in in our architecture as well as the Landscaping but also just the usability of the vacuum park each one of those vac arms have multiple nozzles there's spray bottles provided on site so you can clean your mat there's automatic mat cleaners and other features here that allow um for the members to get that experience that we're talking about and and make them come back and be returned customers here we also provide radiant heating at the building mounted um situation for washing your mats as well as the egressive tunnel to ensure that even during the winter months if we're open the same hours the same amount of time there's not there's not that condition where maybe a couple of drips of water freeze things off you know we're we're we're making an investment in this site and we're looking to make sure it operates efficiently and safely um in all conditions so you know the experience is what we're looking for for our customers and we're trying to convert everybody to a members their return customers the experience the friendly employees it's all part of the spark Car Wash model which you've heard from that this evening it it sets spark apart in the industry and that's why I think they'll be successful at this site Mr Mr MCH if I could just I don't I hate to interrupt anyone when they're on a roll but uh Mr Chang I just want to let you know the board doesn't hear any Witnesses after 10:30 okay so if you're attempting to try and get everything in this evening um I would probably hit the highlights and any questions the board has and also you know obviously address the professional reports sure if you if you um you know if you I want Mr bar I want to at a time we're not voting on this application tonight okay because uh let the counselor finish his application as best he can but we're not voting on this tonight okay understood all right so we're making methodical record as well for obvious reasons so I and I perfectly understand that Mr Chang I just like I said I I didn't want to Blindside yet 1026 no I understood I appreciate it thank you Paul continue absolutely so U moving into the Zoning for the site we are generally a bulk compliance site the only real variance is from a dimensional standpoint that we're asking for this evening and you'll hear from our planner and you'll hear as we move through the application on the variances um are there are two vacuum arms one located here and one located here at the entrances that are located within the 60t um accessory structure setback we have had some discussions with your professionals and and and we've identified those variants as part of this those vacuum arms you'll see in the renderings as we moveed through our architect but we are requesting relief for the locations of those and they just happen to be inside that certainly outside the the principal setback of 25 ft and within the site but within that accessory structure setback so just something I wanted to highlight as we move through the application we are reducing the inferious coverage in a modest way but certainly as you can see in the colorized rendering we're up creating the Landscaping trying to bring kind of a more open and green look to the site as compared to the existing and then obviously the rear portion of the site that really it's it's a it's a full acre of wooded area that will be remain undisturbed um due to the Wetland impacts of this site we do have both a wetland Loi um that that confirms the extense of the wetlands and also we have confirmed that our development does not extend into the wetlands or transition areas so no Wetland permit is required as part of this application there's also repairi and buffers as well as flood Hazard areas associated with does Brook those have been confirmed the extens of those have been confirmed via a verification with the D and we're currently submitted to the D for an individual permit um for the flood Hazard area that does clip the building in a in a in a slight way everything designed here is is in conformance with theep regulations and that permit will be provided as we move through the applications but again no expansion of the existing pavement No Ex expansion of the um the existing development footprint just fitting within the D regulations and certainly those new flood regulations that increase the flood elevations in flu theal flood zones throughout New Jersey so looking to comply there this layout will comply um and we will provide those permits as we move through um one other item I'd like to identify as far as variances as far as site plan is that we do have a proposed freestanding sign in the original application it was a more of a pylon sign we've moved to a monument sign which is reduced in area 50.1 square feet where 32 square feet is is proposed and you can our architect will show that on the renderings and you saw a little bit of it on exhibit A1 this evening um we are asking for a variance for the setback from the property line we're proposing 10 ft or 25 ft is required but it's important to note the uniqueness of this site there is kind of this triangular jog in the property line where um you know we are roughly 35 36 feet from the from the physical Street line but we're only 10 feet from the property line this sign is actually set back two feet further than the existing Bank sign will be a little bit larger as it extends further into the site but we have a couple of extra feet of setback here and if you look up and down the corridor we're generally consistent with the setback from the curb line I'm not sure what the other sites is how they property line sets up but that 30 to 40 foot range of setbacks of signs um is kind of um borne out in this Corridor and I don't want to step on my planner codes as he'll go through that but it's consistent and it's one it'll be one of the smaller signs in this Corridor as well there's a lot of multi-tenant pylon signs for the north and south of the sites so I'll let our planner get it more into that but I wanted to highlight the location and the speci specificity of that sign even if you look at a 25 foot setback off that profit line there's not a lot of room to locate that sign in an area that would identify the customers where the driveway is but also comply with that 25 foot setback but we're happy to discuss that positioning with the board as we move through the application um Landscaping investment and plantings here is a core value of the spark model they look to accentuate their architecture with the Landscaping so as you can see here we're providing a a robust Landscaping plan and what this plan does is it kind of brings the some of the landscap aping to the front of the site where the Bank building is front um currently we're trying to open that up provide a more open and Airy and green feel to the site in the proposed condition um bringing all season interest with multiple perennials and grasses and shrubs provided we have 31 trees more than 200 shrubs and more than 300 um perennials and grasses provided for this site in addition to the green areas that you see as far as grass areas located along the frontage and and and we um EX ior of the site storm water management is relatively simple for this site we are modestly reducing the impervious coverage which allows us to naturally comply with the various D and local storm water regulations but we we will be installing all new conveyance system but discharging at the same point there's a there's a manhole and a head wall that heads off into Do's Brook that this site will um will also discharge to so the DP is getting a look at that storm water your professionals we intend to comply with their comments but naturally meeting the regulations by increasing um impervious coverage in landscaping plantings overall lighting for the site is provided via state-of-the-art LED lights those lights are all back shielded as far as the area lights and focused around the vacuum Park as well as the key features the entrance the circulation the paay stations in the tunnel there's near zero um light spill at all sides of this site um and that doesn't not take into account any of the buffering plantings um so we we really focused it on this site and limited light spill off the site there were some comments in your professionals review letters about dimming lights overnight and turning off the vacuum um the vacuum arms um those are acceptable conditions as part of this application and I should just mention each one of those vacuum arms has an LED strip on it that really is meant to illuminate inside your car door after hours in those kind of winter months when uh when it gets darker a little bit early and then we'll dim the lights overnight we're happy to comply um with with those conditions that were outlined finally utilities for this site are all relatively simple as well there's Public Utilities provided along Stelton Road we're going to look to reuse the water and gas connections as we can for the bank we have to confirm the viability and the sizing of that but there's existing valves and existing lines that we'll try to reuse we'll establish a new sanitary connection to the main along Stelton Road we did receive comments when Sewer Department we intend to comply with all of those a new underground electrical service will be provided to the bank or provided to the car wash um from the from Stelton Road as well so all all relatively simple utility makeup here um and with that I'll turn it over Jeff if you have anything else you'd like me to cover but that I think that covers the highlights of the site yeah I think you covered the highlights and I just want to be you know for the sake of the record um your your testimon is based on the obviously exhibits that you've just shown but also the plans that were entitled preliminary final major site plan for spark Car Wash proposed Car Wash uh block 54 401 lot 8.01 1038 St Road Township of piscato M County New Jersey consis of 18 sheets uh prepared by snowfield engineering dated August 11th 2023 revised through December one 2023 and then last Revis March 1 2024 does that sound accurate yes that's correct good uh with that being said Madam chair uh board members I I open Mr MH up to you for any questions or clarifications you may require I require members of the board do you have any questions of this wit U Madam chair uh this is Mayor Waller um real quickly uh during Hurricane Ida um that area was substantially impacted um matter of fact so much that we actually somebody uh unfortunately was deceased right there uh because of the Raging uh Waters uh of the doie brook and the impact that came on uh the property and question it right there um what what is the D's comment on that did they mention anything that there was a fatal right there and uh matter of fact there was two people that were sucked under there right right right there on that site one was deceased and one person miraculously lived uh right on that site because it became a raging river right there over your the property in question right now yeah and certainly and the D did not mention the fatality there but the newly introduced flood Hazard rules associated with all fluvial waterways which DOD Brook is increased the flood elevation that we have to design to by two feet um so basically it it took the DAT the DP took the data that they got from the Ida storm and revamped their entire interior flood Hazard areas in New Jersey so the proposed development that we have is elevated above that twoot increase in the flood Hazard area and that'll all be reflected in the D permits but we are confidently outside of that flood Hazard area in the proposed condition as far as our improvements and and incomplete conformance with d regulations as far as flood storage so understood that that during a an Emergency storm like that Do's Brook is is going to be um sub a substantial flow of water but we've designed our site in accordance with all D regulations and we'll have a permit reflecting the same for that TW foot increase that was basically a direct response to the conditions that they observed in in Ida no other questions U Madam chair thank you any other members before I open it to the public okay we'll open it to the public now anyone in the public wishing to can you remove screen share U Paul yes could you take that uh yeah always forget you can't St there you go thank you just makes my life easier thank you yeah that's all I'm trying to do Laura that's it appreciate it uh anyone in toner feet have anybody anybody in the public have any questions or comments no one Madam chair thank you close to the public well I if you have any more witnesses I guess we will save them for the next time or you have you think you can get them through tonight we lost Jeff for a second there I don't know who he's calling as his next witness huh I think he got disconnected Madam chair let's give him a moment what the oh he's coming back on now I see okay um we said we said the stop was at 10:30 correct correct you have another witness okay he's coming on now Mr CH yeah we do have a couple others I'm just um okay just wondering if it makes sense to oh there he is apologies I I got booted off my iPad for some reason I'm sorry that happens so I I was like that was a little weird um so we I'm sorry where do we leave off um I know Paul's taking off screenshot to make sure the public was heard was there any public comment NOP you were asked who your next witness was sure yeah you know knowing there's a cut off at 10:30 I would ask if we could do the architect I I think we can accomplish that in 30 minutes if that's okay with the board certainly go ahead with that said so Oliver young at gka architecture uh is my next witness um if I could have him sworn in and um qualified as a professional architect in state of New Jersey certainly uh Mr Young if you could state your name spell your last name and give us your professional address for the record yes good evening every everyone my name is Oliver young last name spelled y u n I'm a principal at GK Anda Architects our business address is 36 Ames Avenue on Rutherford New Jersey okay if you raise your right hand swear the testimony give before this board will be the whole truth yes I do you're witness Mr Chang sure uh Oliver could you give your U professional qualifications at education uh and confirmed your licenses are all in good standing sure good evening everyone I hold a bachelor's degree in architecture from renair poly Technic Institute located in Troy New York I have practiced in the field of architecture for over 25 years I've been a licensed architect in the state of New Jersey for over 18 years and my license is current and my qualifications have been accepted at over 60 planning and zoning boards throughout the state of New Jersey including the Zoning Board in piscatway not the planning board I would ask uh madam chair if we could accept Mr young as a professional accepted as a yes thank you um so Oliver if you could walk us through first I'd like to just confirm the architecture plans that you submitted and you're relying on are entitled proposed Car Smart Car Wash block 541 lot 8.01 1030 sell Road Township esway consisting of four sheets prepared by GK Architects PC dated September 29th 2023 revised through March 1 2024 is that accurate that is accurate Jeff okay all right and if you could walk I know you have some exhibits this evening to share as well if you could just walk uh in the board through in narrative um the design building um materials colors finish elevation uh compliance um floor plan and signage gladly we'll do I'm going to share my screen right now and these drawings here are an electronic copy of the drawings Jeff just referenced so I'm not sure if I need to Mark those as an exhibit per se um there we go this is the first sheet a104 it's the standard spark building layout floor area Footprints 4,841 I just have your screen not a picture all right let me try again yep there you had it earlier and then you went to your file of just the name of the file for some reason now now it should be working y yep all right just for completeness sake why don't we just call it A4 and we'll just keep going yep now this is the floor plan it is 4,841 square fet in footprint overall dimensions of 36x 139 it's not a true rectangle it's actually two shifted rectangles the T which you see here in plan South which is actually the south side of the site takes up the entire length of that building it's 21 feet wide and the northernmost section of that is all the ancillary or support for that um that's the office the employee bathroom oh employee bathroom break room storage room equipment room and electrical room going from west to east and for reference purposes on the right hand side of the sheet that's the tunnel exit that faces East which is Stelton Road and that's what we consider the front of the building and the building sits perpendicular to Stelton Road and now Jee I'm actually going to introduce the the new exhibit now I think it's the appropriate time we're going to introduce a new architectural plan for spark uh changes that have occurred since we originally designed this site in in summary what we're doing is we're mirroring the entire building and the tunnel instead of facing the outside or the south of the site the tunnel is now going to face the interior of the site the vacuum spaces and the main reason being is there's decent amount of glass in the tunnel right here and we want that glass we want that to face the vacuum spaces so I'm going to share this new exhibit here I'll have to mark this I believe as A5 yes sir this is prepared by GK under my direction it's floor plan and elevation updates dated May 7th 2024 and all we've done is flip the building so now the tunnel is on the north side of the property as opposed to the South Side no other changes to the building in terms of the the offsets that I mentioned it's approximately a four foot offset on the east and west sides between the tunnel and the ancillary supports Dimensions overall footprint no changes whatsoever and I want to keep keep emphasizing that as I introduce the exhibits I'm going to switch now to the elevations and I'm going to pull up the original rendering package we prepared based on the original design first this is actually five sheets I believe I can mark them all as A6 correct I'm not going to show all the sheets I'm going to go to some of the the rendering views and this is what Matt started off Mr Canal started off with his testimony this was R2 this is an existing view of the site and then we have on the next page the proposed view of the site this is the original design that was submitted to the board so it looks slightly different than exhibit R1 which is actually the new design I just want to walk the board show the board the original and the new so you can see that we're literally flipping the building in place in terms of the massing of the building the paret heights vary between 18 and 18' 8 in they step up on the short sides of the building on East and West that 8 in transition there's also a taller section at the rear of the building I'm highlighting it with my cursor right here that steps up to 22 Feet 2 in then at the front of the building we have what was originally designed as a wedge element it's an eye-catcher which also presented an opportunity for signage that wedge element was angled and pitched it topped off at 25' 6 in to the highest point which is on the south side and sloped down if you follow my cursor to a low point of 20t 1 in now I'm going to pull up the same rendering which is what we referenced during Mr Canal's testimony so you can see the differences and I'm going to walk the board through the materials at that time bear with me a second while this opens now this is R1 sorry exhibit A1 which was introduced at the start of the hearing so you can see if I I don't want to confuse the board and flip back and forth the building sits in the same spot we've simply pulled the tunnel to this side to face the vacuum spaces and you can see the glazing along the tunnel the heights of the building have not changed the 22 fo2 inch bump out is now at the South Side facing the other property we have redesigned this wedge element we've removed the slope of it it's now a standard height of 24 sorry 23 feet 4 in so it's actually 2 feet lower than originally designed and what with this new design flipping the tunnel to the side it presented us an opportunity for a more uniform signage package here in regards to colors and materials no changes the colors no changes of the materials with this architectural revision I'm referring to it's a Sleek modern design no matter what way you look at it the finishers are contemporary and we have a tasteful yet eye-catching use of color there's three prevalent materials on the building we have metal panels in both the blue and white finishes this looks a little gray it's just the Shadow from the rendering we also have gray corrugated metal siding and a white exterior porcelain tile you'll also see an orange accent band prevalent along the tunnel side that accent band is also present on the south side of the building and that band turns into a projecting canopy of three feet over the tunnel entrance which you can't see here it's at the rear of the site but we have the same flat three- foot oranged canopy at the tunnel exit over the tunnel itself that orange canopy projects out one foot one foot in regards to glazing the majority of glazing is along the tunnel elevation we also have a small amount of glazing at the office area which is at the back of the property you can't see it here plus one small window at the break room for the employees to have some natural light in regards to building signage we originally proposed four signs for the building I'm going to pivot back to exhibit A6 which was our original rendering package and I'll pull up the first sheet of that which was the colorized building elevations you could see the four signs here in the original design we had one on the East Elevation facing Stelton Road we had another sign and it was a spark logo with the word spark Car Wash below it then on the North elevation which faces the vacuum spaces we have again a spark logo with the words spark Car Wash we also have a smaller sign at an area called the spark Park which I actually wanted to touch upon that's a a mat cleaning area where customers can take the car mats out of their cars walk up to this and get their mats washed that area is called the spark park it has additional cleaning materials and supplies but that's a an identification sign and that's 8.8 Square F feet and then we had one additional sign on the south elevation which was the spark logo so our original signage package had four different signs totaling 144.5 square feet with our updated building design and again I apologize for pivoting back and forth between exhibits I'm pulling up the first page of the revised architectural this was dating this is exhibit A1 this is the first page of it it's updated colorized building elevations again again dated May 7th we're down to three building signs on the East Elevation same exact sign as we originally proposed on the North elevation we have the same type of sign but it's actually larger it matches the it matches the sign on the East elevation in size the original design those two signs on the East and North didn't match the north elevation was slightly smaller however with this new newly designed element we felt it was important to have the signage match we still have the same spark Park signage of the same size however we've eliminated the fourth sign which was that spark logo on the south elevation so we've gone from four signs to three signs however the signage square footage has increased and that's due to this spark Car Wash sign in the north elevation now being the same size as the spark Car Wash sign on the East Elevation so we're proposing three total signs at a total square footage of 16.8 square feet the spark Park sign is only 8.8 square feet then the two other spark and Spark logo signs are 76 square feet each I want to make one important distinction about the size of those two spark signs when we do our calculations we're drawing a rectangle around the outermost extents of those signs so that includes the logo and the word spark Car Wash and we're essentially drawing a rectangle I'm not going to try to draw it here I I'll screw up the program we're drawing a rectangle as big as possible for ordinance what that means is there's a lot of dead space to the right and to the left of this logo that we have to count in our square footage calculations when we take the area of that Dead Space it's actually 24 square feet per sign of not logo and not lettering there's 12 square feet here and 12 square feet here on the right hand side of that you do that times two that's 48 square feet of dead signage area in our opinion which factor in to the total proposed facade signage of 160. if you do some simple math and subtract that 48 squ ft of dead space that actually gives us one 112.8 Square ft of signage and that is important to address because we are allowed a total maximum area of 88.9 square feet of building mounted signage and I'll leave it at that in regards to the signage uh I believe our finer at a future hearing will delve further in to the need for relief for signage um Jeff I've covered everything I wanted to address in my direct is there anything else you wanted me to hit upon no I I think that you you touched upon everything um Madame chair board members I open Mr Young up to you uh for questions and clarifications members of the board do you have any questions uh individually for this witness hearing no answer um I'd like to open it up to the uh public or any questions that they may have um okay you've taken it down um members of the public do you have any questions of the witness that you heard tonight of this witness the architect no one Madam chair thank you close to the public um I believe then this will conclude your testimony Force yeah um exactly Madam chair uh we could be carried to the next hearing date I think it was June 12th June 12 yes so that we could we have space on our our June 12th agenda Mr Barlo yes yeah and and any members of the public that are here um there won't be any further notice the notice you already were served with and we're announcing it here that the meeting will be be carried to the June 12th uh planning board meeting at 73d thank you for your time thank you can I just make uh for the public the zoom information will be different it will be on our website a few days prior to the hearing for you to sign on the meeting all right thank you everyone Mother's Day weekend everybody all right yep happy Mother's day bye bye bye now have a good night Jeff thank you take care just need a motion to adjourn you need a motion to adj um good thing I didn't sign off can I get a motion from to adjourn from the board please Madam chair Reverend Kenny I make a motion at J meeting hey or second second councilwoman kill all in favor I favor have a good night everyone night happy Mother's Day thank you happy Mother's Day for