Heat. Heat. [Music]
[Music] Welcome to the Clark Township Planning Board meeting, Thursday, July 10th. 2025. In compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act, chapter 231 PL1975, adequate notice of this meeting has been
provided by mailing the annual schedule of meetings to the Star Ledger, Union County Local Source, Union County Hawk, and Tap into Clark by posting such annual meeting schedule on the bulletin board and town hall reserved for such announcements, and by the proper filing of said notice with the township clerk.
Formal action may be taken at this meeting. This meeting is a judicial proceeding. Any questions or comments must be limited to issues that are relevant to what the board may legally consider in reaching a decision and decorum appropriate to a judicial hearing must always be maintained. I
will do roll call. Mayor Albanesey's here. Mr. Olrich here. M Councilman Meniti. Mr. Cotch here. Mr. Triola here. Mr. Altman here. Mr. Steinberg here. Mr. Piccado here.
Mr. Aronio here. Mr. Gri here. Mr. Cruz here. Mr. Okconor here. Mr. Ricky here. Okay, let's stand for the pledge of allegiance.
I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands nationy and justice for all. Has everyone had a chance to review the minutes of our June 5th, 2025 meeting?
Any comments, changes, modifications? Hearing none, I make a motion to approve those me minutes. May I have a second? Second. Thank you, Mike. Correspondence. All correspondence is available at town hall for the public purview. As such, I
make a motion to dispense of the reading of the correspondence. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Mike. Site plan application, Disha Management, LLC, 211 Westfield Avenue, Block 77, Lot 10. Counselor.
Um, good evening, Mr. Chair and members of the board. Um, I've had an opportunity to review the legal notice and affidavit of service and find that both are appropriate and that the board has jurisdiction to proceed and hear this application. Uh, with that said,
uh, you can call the applicant. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Trevor Enler on behalf of the applicant dish of management uh from the law firm Jabberbound Warft. Um and I want to just thank you for your time
for we are here for preliminary and final site plan approvals with bulk C variances for the property at 211 uh yeah 211 Westfield Avenue block 77
lot 10. Um the site is inside of the DTV district and the proposed use is a child care center. Um currently there is a 2 and 1/2tory building that used to be a
funeral home. The plan for this application is to demolish the funeral home and to build a new twostory daycare center that includes a fenced and playground and an updated uh parking.
Um, at this time I would like to call my first witness, Cheryl Schwiker, our architect. Good evening. Please state please raise your hand um and repeat after me. I state your name. I, Cheryl Schwiker, do solemnly swear
do solemnly swear that I will tell the truth that I will tell the truth and nothing but the truth and nothing but the truth in this proceeding in this proceeding. Help me God. So help me God. Uh, state your name again, spell it, and your address. Sure. It's Cheryl C H E R Y L Schwiker.
S C H W E I K E R. Business address 42 OER Parkway, Livingston, New Jersey. Um before you start, would you please summarize the uh variances that you are seeking?
21. building. Okay. Um, okay. Same. So, as I was saying, the uh proposed building has frontage on Westfield
Avenue and then the back side of the property is on Plymouth and Plymouth is a residential area. And so because of that, uh, Mr. Richie has indicated that both the rear and front yard count as
front yards according to the ordinance. So that's why the front yard setback on Plymouth, even though when you look at the plans, it'll be a rear yard. Um, because of it being a residential road, it technically counts as a uh front
yard. Um, and then additionally, there is a proposed six-foot fence along Plymouth Road, which is solid, which is not allowed in residential areas. And then there's also uh landscaping
screening uh variances. Thank you. And just to clarify, when you first said the road zoning because you're using that for an
accessory outdoor play area. Um that type of use is not contemplated in the front yard and you require variance relief for that and understood. You be you began by saying that but I don't think you concluded by saying that. Just want to clarify. And you eliminated your variance for the
the LED sign. Correct. Correct. Correct. There is no more there's no longer a proposed LED sign on the property. Okay. Um in regarding the the fence, right, because what we're really talking about there, just to clarify, is that the fence that's out there today ranges
from four to six feet and it's opaque, but you're looking to extend that to six feet continuously. So that's what the uh the delta is to add two feet of opaque fence to the existing fence I believe is the variance. Correct.
Okay. I think we're all in agreement. Okay. Um Mr. Schwiker, if you could please uh just briefly go over your credentials. Sure. I'm going to qualify my credentials as the architect and also childcare operations. Uh so I am a 2001
graduate of NGIT with my bachelor's of architecture license in the state of New Jersey since 2017 and my license is active in good standing. Our firm has designed uh close to 500 child care centers across the nation. So we're very
well verssed in the operations of these types of centers. I make a motion to approve the witness. Motion. Second. Second. All in favor? Hi. Thank you. May continue. Thank you.
If you want to start with the operational information. Sure. So, I'm going to um my testimony will cross between architecture and the operations of the building because they kind of go hand in hand. So, I'll talk about a little bit of the floor plan and then I'll get into the design of the
exterior. So the facility is will be licensed by the state of New Jersey to operate. They cannot um operate without the state coming and inspecting the facility. So I just want to make that clear that um based on building approvals and permits
issued, they also need the approval from the state which will happen after the building is constructed and they obtain a certificate of occupancy. So, uh, in a daily, uh, operation, a parent will park, walk their child into
the center through a secure vestibule, uh, check their child in, walk them to the classroom, leave them, and then, uh, leave the building. The traffic engineer will talk more about turnovers and, uh, length of time about how this works. Um,
but that's the essential part of how the parents operate the facility. There's no curbside drop off. So the cl the building on the first floor is comprised of classrooms for infants and toddlers. They are required to be on the ground floor. Children under the age of two and
a half cannot be on the second floor. So our functions on the first floor are limited to those age groups. And then there are some accessory spaces for the staff, mechanical spaces, uh other admin spaces.
Moving to the You're referring to the floor plan. The floor plan. Yes. D. And just identify what that is. Yes. Essay 1.1. And what is it? Uh the proposed floor plan.
And the floor plans uh the first and second floor mirror each other. Yes, they do stack each other. There is no difference in uh floor area between the two floors. They do stack. Thank you. Go ahead, please. Uh within the facility, there are two
egress stairs and an elevator. All spaces will be designed to be barrierfree compliant. Um so the second floor, we have classrooms for older children above the age of 2 and a half. Uh these facilities we find they are
mostly for children from the age of 6 weeks to six years. Um and it's a typical daycare center operations of those age groups. Um so a little bit about the building itself. It will be sprinklered. There
will be a fire alarm. It will have all the safety criteria that were required by building code. Um currently we're showing an occupancy of 198 children for both floors and
approximately 27 staff members which uh includes administrative. uh on the floor plan or the uh site plan, the civil engineer will show the playground in the back. Talk about the fencing, but there is a a playground in the rear and to the side of the building
which is accessed through a side uh exit door. So each classroom will also have the necessary exits required by building code. The classrooms on the ground floor will have egress exits direct exiting directly to the outside which is a
safety requirement for this institutional use. Uh they will also be doing fire drills and working with your local first responders and coordinating any emergency activities that need to take place as well. Okay. So I'm going to switch to the
elevations which All right. So that I I neglected to identify that a little bit further. That would be A1, the floor plan. This will be A2. Sure. And just identify it again. Yes. This is drawing SA-1.2
proposed elevations. So the building has been designed with some colonial type uh architectural features. We have a mansered roof which will have a recessed well in it where all the mechanical equipment will be housed. So it will be screened from
view. You will not see any of that equipment. We have some traditional materials on the building, siding, brick, stone, uh combination of those materials to help define and excuse me break up the scale of the building uh
between the two floors. Typical uh asphalt shingle roof. We have some decorative gables in there. Uh standard uh vinyl windows. They do not open. They are nonoperable. That's a safety feature uh for the building. And then the
entrance way will be have a a covered canopy. So as parents bring in their children, they're protected from the weather. So I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Um if I could just start. Um you had mentioned the age range of children
inside the child care. Um the per the intention of this child care is to have no children under the age of 18 months. Is that correct? Typically the license is issued starting at 6 weeks. Um but it's up to the uh
operator depending on their demand, what type of enrollments that they see um what the age groups that they'll house, but the license covers all of those age groups. Um and then could you also just briefly uh touch on the signage that we had
mentioned the LED sign was removed, but can you mention what signage will be on the building? Right. So we've um identified an area on the front of the building for signage. uh we anticipate to comply with any local ordinances in terms of the size and lighting of of the sign that's going
to be shown on the front elevation. And then you had also mentioned the playground in the rear rear of the building. Um can you just describe sort of how that is meant to be laid out if you can? Sure. So the the playground will be
surrounded by a 6ft tall fence uh for the privacy and security of the children. There'll be various equipment in that um playground. The state does inspect the equipment that's used and it has to be appropriate for the age of the
child using it. So it will be um uh uh approved by the state to use. And then last question from me. Um, is there a typical oper this may be more suited for the applicant themselves, but
do you have an idea of the hours of operation that this facility will operate on? Sure. So typically we see these operations starting somewhere between 6:30 and 7 and closing around those hours in the evening 600 6:30 um to
allow parents time before or after work to drop off and pick up their children. Thank you. I have no further questions of this witness. Did you evaluate the repurposing or reuse of the existing structure? Uh no, that was not a request of us for
this particular application. Could it have been used? I'm not I without evaluating it, I can't answer that question. Not sure if this is for you, but that's property is in our COA overlay zone. Um it's meant for affordable housing. I
guess you'll be contributing to the fund. Uh I'm not I can't answer that question. Question. That property is in our COA overlay zone. any new construction there. It was intended for affordable housing. I'm
just curious since you're not putting housing in, are you g I guess you'll be contributing to the our fund. Um as a commercial development, you will be paying the nonresidential affordable housing development fee. Yeah. And that's a that will be a condition of
approval if the board is so inclined. Understood. Okay. I have no questions. Anyone else on the board have any questions? to the witness uh the back of the building. Is there any access from the side from the back
street for parents to come in or anybody to uh breach that fence? Is it just a solid fence that cannot be and is there any way for the kids to if they can't get back into the building, can they get out of that property?
Sure. So the playground will have egress gates on it which are required uh per code but they are typically have alarms on them. So if they are opened a teacher is alerted. The children once they enter the facility they don't leave it. So
they enter the playground from inside the building. They don't leave a secure facility once they're there. So parents come in use the front door and they use the side door for access to the playground. Mr. Mr. Chairman, if I can just say one thing. Um, it's it's my understanding
that there is an active gate there today. So maybe the site engineer can address whether that gate will be removed as part of this plan moving forward. Yes, he can answer those questions. Seeing no other questions, I'd like to open up this witness to the public for
any questions regarding her testimony and her testimony only. If you have general comments, that can be heard at the end of this application. I make that motion. Do I have a second? Second. Second. Thank you, Mike. Anyone from the public wishing to come forward? Seeing none, I make a motion to close.
Do you have a second? Second. Thank you, Mike. Thank you. Thank you. At this time, I would like to bring up our engineer, Scott Leverage. Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I state your name.
I, Scott Litch. I do solemnly swear solemnly swear that I will tell the truth that I will tell the truth and nothing but the truth and nothing but the truth in this proceeding in this proceeding. So help me God. Help me God. Thank you. Thank you. Uh if you would state your name again, spell it, and your address.
My name is Scott Loverich. S O T L O V is in Victor. E R I C H. I'm a licensed professional engineer in the state of New Jersey. Um I have a bachelor's of science degree in civil engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Motion to approve. I've been
second. All in favor? I thank you. Um I just move to these. So the plans that I'm going to be referencing here were last revised on May 14th, 2024.
Sorry, 2025. They are the site plan set, preliminary final site plan set. And they're they were prepared by your office. So are you prepared by uh under my direct supervision? Correct. Okay. Uh the the site plan will be uh A3
and if you change pages just let uh the board know what page you're referring to. Of course. Um is there an operator and and perhaps this question is not for you but have you do you have an a designated operator for this facility?
It's not a question for me per se. I might have to Okay, that's fine. Just address that as we go along. Yeah, we'll do. Okay. Thank you. So, I will start with uh just briefly describing the existing conditions of the site. It's um block 77. I'm referring to the cover sheet
here, which shows a key map of the area. Um block 77, lot 10 in the township of Clark. The area of the site is 34,43 square.43 43 square ft or 79 acres. Um
it's located in your uh DVT downtown village district. Um frontage by Westfield Avenue to the north which is county route uh 613 and it has commercial uses beyond. To the south it's bordered by Plymouth Road
with and residential uses with more residential beyond and to the east and west by commercial uses. Um the ex I'm going to switch to the existing conditions and demolition plan
which is sheet 2.0 in this plan set. Briefly the um existing topography of the site generally slopes from the south to the north. Uh the south being Plymouth Road down to the north on this on this orientation of this plan. North
is to the bottom of the page. South is to the top. Um so that generally slopes um from the south to the north towards Westfield Avenue. Uh we're proposing to demolish all the existing site elements and features including the the building existing perimeter fencing and a
drainage on site the on existing lighting um for development of our of our project. But currently that sits on the site is a um unused funeral home with about a 3,980 square footprint on it. Um
There are existing I do just want to touch on the existing drainage patterns. There's existing catch basins on site. Um pipes weren't shown on the on the survey. However, we believe that the
site generally the pattern is generally going to follow the topography which is from the the south of the site or the top of this page down to Westfield Avenue. And then I will move on to sheet 3.0 which is our site plan
which indicates all our proposed features on site. So I'll start with the uh the building which is as you heard a proposed two-story daycare facility. The footprint is about 6,960 square feet. And around the perimeter of
the building is going to be a walkway, a concrete walkway, minimum 5T width, uh, with a playground about 3,000 square foot of area towards the rear. Additionally, we have 37 total on street
parking spaces. sorry, off- streetet parking spaces, of which two are ADA compliant. And included in those are four electric vehicle charging stations, one of which is ADA compliant in accordance with the state statutes.
The site is accessed from proposed two new proposed driveways along Westfield Avenue. both will be one way restricted and egress only towards the um west and ingress sorry ingress
towards the west egressed towards the east um I'm going to reserve more testimony with respect to the access to the site to our traffic engineer my consult uh colleague Mr. in Tindola. And then we also have a trash um enclo
enclosure towards the south of the site. And on our site plan, we performed a vehicle turning template with the SU30 truck, which indicates that this truck can safely enter the site, remove the trash, and exit the site.
As mentioned, we do have new fencing going around the entirety of the site. The existing gate towards Plymouth Road will be removed. There will be no gate access on that southern perimeter. There will be uh gates
interior to our site in the rear um next to the door and one towards the front out of the playground. We are proposing uh off- streetet improvements within the township's right of way to match the streetscape that was
recently installed near the CVS property. So, we will do the um I think it's integrally colored stamped bowmanite um type PA material along with decorative LED lighting all to match the specifications of the township and new curbing to meet the specifications of
the county. As for setbacks of the building itself, the front yard to Westfield Avenue is 95.6 6 feet where 25 ft is required and to the to
the rear what we're calling the front yard to Plymouth Road is a 20 ft where 21 and 1/2 ft are required. The sideyard setback at its most narrow point is 10 ft where 10 is required and that covers the setbacks.
So I'm going to we do also are providing concrete wheel stops along the parking spaces fronting the building to ensure any rollover overhang into the walkways and we have MUTCD compliant
directional striping to further ensure site safety and circulation for vehicles. I will move to sheet 4.00 which is our proposed grading plan.
The finished floor elevation of the building is approximately 80.7 and it will slope along the front of the building down towards Westfield Avenue to the west, but ultimately everything will be
captured via uh proposed catch basins and routed through a basin which I'm going to show on the next sheet. Um, but we do have a small retaining wall along the Southerntherly property line which is going to have a max height of 1 foot
and then sheet sheet 5.00 00 is our drainage plan which indicates the uh proposed catch basins on site that will be collecting storm water runoff generated by the parking area um and the roof leaders that will be picked up um for the building area
and everything will be routed to a proposed um 30in HDP um detention basin that is controlled by an outlet structure that will reduce runoff at a reduced controlled rate to the county system within Westfield
Avenue. Um these this will comply with the township's ordinance um for storm water management. It is not uh technically a major development per NJD regulations. However, we comply with the township's
ordinance in providing uh peak runoff rate reductions and trying to and complying with the D's requirements to the maximum extent practical as your ordinance requires. This is sheet 6.00 which is a utility
plan. Currently the site is serviced fully with sewer, water, gas, electric. Um we are going to propose new connections to the building um to be coordinated with all the respective utility authorities and we are going to
field confirm the size of the sanitary main within Westfield Avenue prior to construction of the sanitary lateral to confirm the uh sizing and then I will switch to
a different sheet. This is a lighting plan with a revision date of June 3rd, 2025. It was submitted to the board um about
that time. So this is the new proposed lighting plan which illustrates uh several polemounted area light LED area lights that are going to have back shielding and dim controlling to reduce and eliminate any off offsite um light
pollution. We have phototrics on this plan and there will also be proposed several wall-mounted area lights to illuminate the perimeter walkway for safety. This plan meets the minimum
foot candle intensity uh in the burough ordinance which is 0.5 foot candles average in the for the parking area. We provide an average of 2.1 foot candles
and again these will be will have back shielding. They will have they will be dimmable and controllable to reduce any uh adverse impacts. it won't they won't have any adverse impacts to adjacent properties.
And then I will go back to the original plan set revised on May 14th to briefly go over the landscaping plan which is proposed where we have several shade trees proposed throughout the site and
arborvitees in each of the southeastern and western corners to provide additional screening to the landscape properties. And we do we did note um the board engineers comment to provide additional low-level landscaping within the curb islands and
along the perimeter of the parking area. We have no problem complying with that comment and providing additional landscaping. [Music] I do want to note um Westfield Avenue is a county road. We will be submitting to the county for approval and complying
with any of their comments and requirements. Um I believe that concludes what I have for now. Uh just a few qu just a few questions. Um question one was um I had noted noted
in some of the reviews the questions about the EV uh charging parking spaces and their location. Can you um just confirm that uh the spots will be located in in the place that is safest
for uh their location and uh in code with the fire requirements. The proposed EV charging locations are along the eastern property line. There's two and then there is two along
the eastern side of the building. Uh one of them has to be ADA compliant and the ADA spaces have to be um the nearest to the building. So that yes, these are the locations. We believe that they're safe.
Um and then just following up, I believe you had already said, but just to confirm, there will be wheel stops uh in front of all of the parking spaces that front the building. Correct. All the parking spaces fronting the building will have concrete wheel stops. Um, and then you do you have any
problems following the recommendations of the review letters we had received from the town? No, we have no issues complying with any of the outstanding comments within any of the professionals letters we received. Uh, I have no further questions this witness.
Just to be clear on that, when you say review letters, the review letters we're discussing is m Mr. Okconor's technical review number two dated May 22, 2025. The uh Clark fire chief fire official
review letter uh April 11, 2025 and the Clark Police Department uh review letter of April 24, 2025. You will be complying with all of those. That's correct. I prepared a letter as well dated April 10th, 2025. I was going to save that for
the uh planner. Are are there any comments or that the uh site engineer needs to address in your letter? It was just really clarification on on on the streetscape. Um the lighting was addressed. I mean, I guess he addressed
the landscaping partially through Mr. Okconor's letter. Um the streetscape, I mean, I was just discussing with with Mr. Okconor. Um, did you feel verify that the CVS is stamped concrete or are there pavers out there?
It appears like stamped from the aerial imagery. I haven't personally walked across that. But the point is you're going to you agree to comply with whatever whether that's pavers or stamped concrete. We're going to comply with the standards and recommendations of the township. Lighting will match.
Correct. Is there a reason that you didn't add any like at least a bench or or some type of public amenity in that area? There is not much right ofway left between the back of the sidewalk and the
property line. However, we could probably fit a bench there if that's the request. What type of bench? Um, it would match. There's bench at CVS, right? Would it's it's the established pattern that the township
has selected. It would be We eliminated the LED. I'm just looking here. Um and and just so you're aware in terms of variance when it's discussed for the landscaping because the landscaping just
to clarify what I discussed was that because a portion of the rear um plate area is in front of the residential property to technically meet the code just so you're aware with the
variance is being considered is that that landscaping is only along a portion of the residential property that it adjoins. Looking at I don't see direction here on the plan as it's zoomed in, but looking at plan view, the upper right portion of the plan, you
have landscaping. Then it stops as it gets closer to the culde-sac. Technically, that's what the variance is if it wasn't clear is for the portion between the culde-sac of the residential property because there is not a continuous screen there. Um, so I just
wanted to clarify that. Um, you said the lighting is is now um you clarified that it's it's back shielded and there will be no impacts to the neighborhood. So, that's addressed.
architecture. That's I think that's it. So, just to repeat, you will be complying with all of uh Mr. Rick's uh comments of April 10th, 2025 except with the comments regarding the L sign. Correct.
Correct. And also a condition of approval would be uh county planning board approval. Yes. Have you submitted for that yet or you're going to submit? We have submitted for county approval. We have not received a response yet, but
we have submitted for county approval. Okay. And uh a a condition of approval is also would be a bench consistent with what is uh um the CVS uh property. Is that acceptable?
Yes. I have no other questions. Mr. Chair, are you addressing traffic or is there a traffic engineer? traffic. We'll have us traffic. Yeah. Expert. Anyone else on the board wishing to ask questions? Quick question. Based on the shape of the lot, what was the determination of
the the layout of the building and the positioning of it? What made you put it where it is, I guess, is what I'm asking. Right. We wanted to fit enough parking spaces on site and provide um
a a you know more rectangular shaped building um and complying with the setbacks sideyard setback variants of the 10 ft um on the one side and still have room for a playground in the rear
with adequate parking. Um, we felt that this layout provided that and the one-way circulation of the main parking area is is safe with the 24 foot drive aisles, etc. So, that's kind of how we determined it. I mean, were there other options that were
looked at positioning wise? We did look go through, I think, about three concepts. Okay. Mr. Chairman, I have a question. You said you were putting in wheel stops or ballards in front of the building because the wheel stops. Okay. Because the police department memo suggested ballards.
Okay, that's we don't have a a problem making that change. Okay. Just want to be clear because any other questions from the board. Seeing none, I make a motion open this witness to the public. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Mike. Anyone from the public
wishing to come forward to ask questions of this witness's testimony and only of his testimony given, please do so. State your name and address. Seeing no one come forward, I make a motion to close this witness to the public. Do I have a second? Second.
Thank you, Mike. I would like to bring up our traffic engineer and planner, uh, Brian Inendola. Please raise your right uh right hand and repeat after me. I state your name. I Brian Andola do solemnly swear solemnly swear
that I will tell the truth. I tell the truth and nothing but the truth and nothing but the truth in this proceeding in this proceeding. So help me God. So help me God. Please spell your name and address. Please. Spelling of my name, Brian with an I. B R I A N. Spelling of my last name.
Inendola. I N T I N D O L A. Mr. Intendola, if you could uh briefly give us your background as both a traffic engineer and as a planner. Sure. As my um career progressed, it started as a basically municipal scale
traffic engineer reviewing plans and traffic reports such as we've submitted as well as doing uh signal design uh uh in Union County and Ess's County and Pay County uh and providing um reviews for
boards such as yours. I've been doing that since about 1999. licensed in the state of New Jersey as a professional engineer attended NGIT where I got my masters and then my group move to accept second all in favor I thank you you may proceed
thank you for that and then with respect to uh planning it just became uh um specific as it ties to traffic uh planning became um a requested uh discipline of our office and so I became a planner by examination and now I serve
as the planner to the burrow of Rutherford uh Lynhurst boards and several um make a motion accept as a planner to have a motion. I appreciate the second. Thank you. All in favor? I thank you. So just to make clear testifying as both
the traffic engineer and separately as the planner. That's correct. I will not inter intermingle the testimony. Thank you. Appreciate that. Okay. So um if I could begin, I would like to talk about traffic. So, um, and
we worked with our office and the client, uh, to provide a site, uh, that helps parents do the drop off. That's what I think that we're here for, that the board's evaluating, has to be done in a safe and efficient manner. Has to
be consistent and easy to understand as a parent. So, as the architect had said, um, you will park your car. You will then uh bring your child into the daycare. You do your drop off and you go back to your car and you will leave. Um
our office has done studies that show that usually done in about 5 and a half minutes. Uh but we did a check and I think I have an exhibit here somewhere. Uh the tabs. Okay. So yes. So I did an exhibit just to to speak from this
evening. Um uh so how do we know that this site will work for you? All right. Please identify the exhibit and then that will be the next numbered exhibit which is uh we have an an exhibit that has in as the main header uh 211 Westfield Avenue daycare.
Uh it is undated and it's an exhibit by my office that illustrates the components of the traffic report and a larger aerial map which would be A4 if I'm Yes. A4 please. And that would be A4. So speaking from the exhibit and generally from the traffic report, we
determined that what would be the trip generation which I'm sure you've heard for the application uh at hand. So we used as the independent variable the uh square footage which is about 13,000 square foot because it's a two-story um
application. And so in the morning uh we would anticipate uh using standard IT or institute of transportation engineers daycare center as a as a land use there would be 81 to enter 72 to exit in a
single peak hour and that would be a total of 152 trips. Uh and then as we work to the afternoon, there would be 73 to enter and to exit would be 82 for 155 total trips. There's some minor trip
generation for Saturday midday peak hour. I don't believe the applicant is uh purporting to or reporting to have any Saturday hours and based on our experience that's for clerical staff to catch up and also um some intensive cleaning as need be. So that would
generate some traffic but not not a lot of traffic. So uh doing that uh we looked at the site we did the traffic counts in the end of May and uh your uh we also got input from your uh reviewing traffic engineer Mr. Troutman I believe and we
looked at the site and I said how does this site operate for a daycare? And we really we we believe that it needs to be a right in and a right out because the way Westfield Avenue is structured to make that left out or the left in during
rush hour that's simultaneously to when daycarees do their drop off or maybe a little bit earlier. Uh we didn't want the site getting bogged down with the lefts in and the lefts out. And if you look at how Westfield Avenue is striped
years and years ago, I think it was uh striped for maybe three lanes of traffic or and then it uh they put the shoulder stripe in, the county did. So, it's a single lane of traffic, which um shows me that the that the um the throughput
has been deemphasized a little bit in terms of safety so that you can judge a line of traffic to make your lefts in and out. Uh so we believe that to do that you don't have to judge it in this instance because we are bringing to the
board that we're going to do a right in right out and that way as a parent you come in you can pre-orient it yourself if you're if you're from another part of town or wherever you come in as a right drop your child off then you know to make a right turn out and then you'll
have sufficient gaps in traffic for the right turn the left turn and you can see even Like when we count the traffic, most of the turns out of the uh Dunkin Donuts across the street, they are all rights out. So you really it's like
we're not giving up anything. We're trying to as a practical matter to write in, right out. And the levels of service work well. And then if we look at the exhibit, we want to see uh you know, we're purporting that the the parking would work, right? So it's a little
zoomed in on the screen. So, we understand uh basically it's five to seven minutes to drop your child off. But we said, what if it what if we got bogged down for some reason, right? In that hour period, that hour period turnover, and what if we took 20 of the
37 spaces to use? And if we turned them over every 15 minutes, those 20 spaces, a slug of 20, we could turn over uh 80 80 drop offs, which is pretty close to what our um peak hour is going to be.
Actually, our peak hour is 81. And then if there was a uh not such a conservative estimate, if we did a 10 minute parking turnover uh and if we allocated 20 spaces, not all of them,
not the whole 37, uh we could then process 140 drop offs. And we feel that that's a comfortable number to allocate because there will be some you know um uh staff not all staff is there during drop off
because we find in our experience that sometimes the office staff comes a little bit later before drop off and works a little bit uh later. So there's a little offshifting of the uh staff we find in daycare uses. So we're very comfortable that we are self-contained
in the drop off by using only half or approximately half of the 37 spaces provided. So that's what we looked at. And then we also looked at the Institute of Transportation Engineers um uh parking demand literature for um the
number of parking spaces that would be uh found on average for a daycare. And it that works well too because it shows that the average parking demand is 32 vehicles for uh a daycare this size. So
to me um it kind of works well and um we believe the right in right out is a is a benefit and it helps the site work efficiently especially with the drop off. So that's the um the overview of of of the um the trip uh the and parking
and um turnover and how the site would work and that is all put together in our report as was uh last revised uh June 30th and that was submitted to the board. Will the driveway a apron be built on so
to discourage these left in left outs? Right now it is not, but I believe that when we bring this to the county, most likely it would be. There would be a slight angling of that to discourage those left turns. Um, as a practical matter, as you all understand, Westfield
Avenue, you really can't make left turns during the peak hour. Stop people. No, I know. I understand that, too. And, uh, uh, Scott and I will revisit that uh, should the board look favorably on the application. and we'll provide um an angle that would discourage that uh left
out or the left in the driveways already split so it's not a stretch to do a slight angling to the site plan that we have to discourage left turns even uh even more so I think if the county doesn't object to it I think that would be a good
yeah decision to I think we're just building upon that that right in and right out theme so it makes sense you said it's anticipated this staff would be staggered. Right now, if it's not staggered, there's only 10 spots available for this turnover of uh drop
off um or pickup. Um your numbers would get skewed. Um yeah, it is. Yeah. Right. So, there's uh 37 spaces on site. Uh just for the exercise, I use 20
spaces uh to turn the spaces over. Even if I use 10 spaces, I would have 70 spaces to turn over in the peak hour. So it's so even in that and that would give more spaces for staff. But our experiences is not all staff is there.
There's the early setup staff to receive children and then there's the actual clerical staff. And then we're having both on this site. I would agree with the staggering and with 10 spots you'd still get, you said 70. Yeah. Right. So if you look at the table, right? So, if I took a 10-minute,
if I took 20 spaces and I did 10, I would have 140 spaces. Divide that by two because I'm killing the supply by half. You still would have 70 spaces to turn over on a 10-minute scenario. 10 minutes is probably generous.
Well, we find that uh you know, like unfortunately, we sit in the field and count drop off and watch a mom take a car. Usually that that data indicates about 5.5 minutes on average for a normal drop off
and sometimes a uh uh caregiver will have to do uh you know like whatever um special instructions that takes a little bit longer. So that's why I'm comfortable with the 10-minute uh turnover on the drop off. I agree. It just it gets better
potentially can be better. Yeah. Anyone else on the board have questions of this witness? leans. Can you can you define drop off? Are the parents actually bringing their children into the building? Absolutely. So So they're also going to be go wandering
upstairs. Are they uh is anyone watching what they're doing? Are they just on their own? We're getting into operations, but I'm sure if Well, you Well, I only brought it up because you mentioned about traffic management, and that's more time that they would be spending in the building.
know that that that 10 minutes would allow for a multi-story uh daycare which is that data incorporates it and the 10 minutes is very conservative and even if we use that uh it would capture maybe a longer walking path to the second floor
if that's the concern is. Okay. Thank you. And did you mention about weekend? There's no nothing. The building is closed on the weekends. Pretty much closed unless you have like sometimes you'll have a daycare that has a deep cleaning. Okay. Okay. And they'll set that for the weekend time. All right. Thank you.
Thank you, Lance. Any other questions to the board? Can you just walk me through here? Car pulls in. I see the arrow on the drawing. There's like a little I not explain it's not it's not that image. Just walk me through the cars coming
through. They pass the parking spots on the right or they park and then they continue out going to the site plan 10.03 three and then come back to me. I'm looking at page four. I'm in
Yeah, that one right there. That work? Yeah. So, right above where you have on the proposed parking lot 38 spaces. That little curvature. Yes. Is that something cars are going to go around or what is that?
So, there's an island. Yeah. That's so because the site is like a trapezoid uh and we're trying to maintain the 24 foot aisles. That's why that's like that. Um it could we could collapse that
in, but we liked how it brings you into the site a little bit before you make a decision uh to drop off. But that is like that mushroom looking that is curbed uh like center island that we're we're keeping in. And that's not too tight to
those spots there. Seems uh No, they're all if you have an if you have an 18 by 24 space, right? It's standard parking. Okay. Who's that? Who's that? Sorry. Just identify yourself. Uh Scott Leidge speaking site engineer.
Um you're referencing what looks like the um I I think what you're referencing is survey text, survey line work that's going to be demolished. It's a little grayer right by the call out that says proposed parking lot 35. Yes, that's that's going to be removed. That's just there
forformational purposes. That's part of the existing. Okay. Be removed. Yes. So that's clear through there. So what So they're going to drive park drive past those spots on the right and then they'll be forced to go back to the left and then and back out. Correct.
And there's a walkway for the parents. That's right. You said on like the the right corner of the building. Yep. So you you would cross the aisle. Okay. You can navigate through the the walkways we have. Now, is there a walkway for them on the
front side of the parking spot along the street side? No, that's just uh lawn lawn. Okay. So, they'll be able to get to their cars, but they'll actually still pretty much be in the line of traffic of cars coming in. Yeah. It's it's a dead end. So there's
only um you know there's less traffic to to navigate, right? Um okay. Anyone from the board have any additional questions, comments? Seeing none, I'd make a motion. I I do have one question. I want to
understand this offer that you made about the left in and left out to revisit. Could you explain that a little bit more? Well, there there is it's a right in right out. I'm sorry. Yes, but you said that the that would be revisited somehow. No, what we what one of the board
members suggested is that when we bring this to the county and for if we're fortunate enough for resolution compliance from this board, we would see if we can angle or discouraged by angling the one way in because we have a
bifurcated driveway. split and it seems doesn't seem to be a a huge engineering feat to angle them a little bit to encourage the right in and to encourage the right out. So what is it that you're asking of the board on that particular issue?
Uh no, I don't have an ask. It's a recommendation of one of the board members. What are you agreeing to? Excuse me. What are you agreeing to? I'm agreeing to the we're proposing we're unilatering proposing before this board a right in right out because we knew that was a non-starter. That's all we're offering.
Okay. Thank you. I just have one comment on that. Are we going to have that cleared with the fire department because they have to be mountable curbs? Yeah. Whatever whatever we propose, we would have it uh vetted by all your agencies as as as needed.
Okay. Seeing no additional questions, I'd like I'll make a motion to open this witness to the public. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you. All in favor? I. Anyone from the public wishing to come forward and ask questions of this
witness's testimony regarding traffic, please do so. State your name and address. Seeing no one come forward, I make a motion to close this to the public. Second. Okay. Motion second. Thank you, Mike. can make. Thank you. Thank you. Ju just one additional thing. You've
reviewed Mr. Troutman's report. You you uh you alluded to that in your testimony. Are you meeting all of his comments? Yes. All of them were very constructive and that's what concluded that we really should provide this as a right in right
out. Thank you. Well, if if Who's your next witness? So hopefully somebody that will have an operational background. So we can move to the operational or I can have Mr. Intend. I think you want to have the operational foundation and
then I would like to bring up Carrie Devoke uh to give us an explanation of the operational. Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I state your name. I Carrie Devogue do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will tell the truth. I will tell the truth
and nothing but the truth. Nothing but the truth in this proceeding in this proceeding. So help me God. So help me God. Please state your name, spell it, and your business address. Okay. So it's Carrie kee r y last name devoked de e v as in victor o g as in
good d as in delta business address is 30 route 27 Kendall Park that would be our sapling school in Kendall Park. I have a residential address sorry um Mr.
Can you just explain your position uh within the entity that is Disha Management? I am the I will be the I am currently the regional manager. I overlook Kendall Park um the Sapling School in Kendall Park and I overlook the Sapling School in Fairon. I've been with the Sapling
Company since August of 2020. And can you just give a brief overview of how you anticipate seeing this site operate on a day-to-day basis? Um I would expect it to run similar to our other two schools. Um that it would open
approximately 6:30 or 7 in the morning and go to about 6:00 or 6:30 in the evening. Um with the bulk of um parents coming typically between 8 and 5 a quarter to 8 and 5:15 maybe. Um usually you have indeed your infants and
toddlers downstairs um and you have your preschool and prekers upstairs. So your threes and two and a halfs and older upstairs. Um, parents usually typically come in. Um, they clock themselves in, they they open the door themselves, they get a code. Um, they're greeted by
administration in the morning. Usually it's myself or someone else at the desk. Um, and they proceed to bring their child to what we call an opening classroom. Um, they um, usually the morning it's a general drop off uh, population and with the exception of infants. If an infant is dropped off,
they're dropped off in the infant room. But anyone over the age of one is dropped off in a general population room for the first half hour, 45 minutes until you understand your your population. Um, so those don't go upstairs right away. They actually stay down. So that's how you kind of cut down
on your drop off times um because you take all of their things down on the bottom floor. Um, and then the teachers come in and they retrieve their children from the drop off room and then they take them upstairs with their things. Um, and if they're on the bottom floor, then they stay in on the bottom floor. Um in the evening when they pick up um
they're going to go directly to their classrooms and pick up their children. Um and then um the teacher usually has all of their bags and things packed and prepared to go um to make sure that drop off pickup is as ex expedited as possible. The only time you really get a
a parent to stop by and chat is if they have to ask a specific question or if the teacher has a, you know, um a quick anecdote they want to talk to their teacher about. um bring up a concern, maybe they have an accident report, maybe they got a boo boo on the playground. Um they had to sign, but
it's usually pretty in and out. I'm sorry, real quick. What What's the name the two other You went kind of fast. Oh, I'm so sorry. Sapling School. Sapling. Sapling. S A P L I N G. Okay. And this is proposed to be the
same as those other two. Okay. Thank you. Can you just give um a brief overview of how many teachers and children generally are on site at any one time? Um typically you have between
14 and 17 at one time roughly speaking. Um but it's 14 or 17 what? Staff members, teachers. Teachers, that's including administration. Yes. Um and it's a staggered shift. So, usually you have what we call openers. Um, sometimes
those are 6:30 to 9:00 a.m. people. And then you have your full-timers that are typically 8 to 5. And then you have closers, which are sometimes 3 to 6 6 or 6:30 depending on your your closing time. So, there's three primary shifts
of teachers that come and go throughout the day. Admin, usually there's a morning admin and an evening admin. um uh unless you have a workaholic um admin, but usually they'll do the opening shift, which is usually 6:30 to about 3 4:00, and then you'll have the
closing admin, which is usually 9 to 6. I have no further questions of this witness. Could you uh first of all, you're licensed by um the Office of Licensing, Department of Children and Families, correct? That is correct. And that's a state
agency. That is correct. Could you describe what the licensing process for this type of facility entails? So yes. So when um from opening so prior to opening um when you get your um certificate of occupancy and you tell
the state I am ready to open, you have to already submit preliminary plans because you have to be given a license number um potentially to with your intentions to open a l a childcare center. Once you get it, they you get a schema of what needs to be taken care of
under licensing. So, you need to um uh floor plans, you need egress, you need to have all the safety things properly um in place. Then the licenser comes out before you're even open. Um and then they go through and they walk through the facility with you. They lo they walk
through your um your files to make sure that the staff you have prepped to come that the admin you have prepped to come meet all the credentials that they require. Um meaning are they CPR certified? Do they have a bachelor's degree if you're um an admin? Um do you know um you making sure you have an
infant teacher in place right at the beginning and an older so you have to touch all the variables. Um but then they have to go through the physical equipment um to make sure that that's all there. Um they have to go through your fire and see all your like your fire safety and your sprinklers that have been passed. So they have to see
all of your um your inspection reports. Um they have to make sure that uh what else do they do? My licenser was just there um yesterday. Um they go through to make sure that your teachers have been trained properly on the basics, health and safety mandated reporting. Um
so that's what the licenser does. They make sure that everything that they have in their licensing book is up to code at that moment that they give you to issue a license to open. Once they issue your license to open, that's not the end of the process. They come, they can periodically come back whenever they
want. Um they typically come back on a new center an opening center I would say probably about a half a dozen times in the first year just to make sure that you are making everything is good that if you had staff toner turnover that you've hired credentialed staff that if you had um some type of issue that
they've taken care of it there but the licenser is there as um the overseer of me of the admin to make sure I'm properly um managing the bird the building according to their credentials. Do you require a license? Do I require a license?
Your own as an administrator, are you required to have a license? You require You have a credentials. You have to have a bachelor's degree. So, I have a bachelor's degree in um uh sociology and psychology. I'm actually just returned to school. Get to get my masters in early childhood. Any of the staff required to have a state license?
Um they're not required to have a state license um at the um the private child care letter uh level. If you have a UPK classroom, um they do need a CDA or or a teaching degree if you have a UPK universal preschool in your within your
building. Um but to be a lead teacher under Grow NJ kids, you have to have a bachelor's degree. Um and you have to have and then so most of our teachers have a CDA, so they'll accept a CDA, which is a child development associates degree. Um and then your elite your your assistant teachers can have a high
school diploma. they can um but you encourage them to go through the CDA process because it's physically concentrated on the ECE population, early childhood education population. Now, does the you spoke of a manual uh does the office of licensing uh issue
that manual? Yes, they do. And is it part of the New Jersey Administrative Code as as regulations or law or is that something that is unique to that to that agency? I mean, it's it's given out by the state of New Jersey and the office of licensing. So,
everything that's in there is in order to be a licensed child care center in the state of New Jersey. You must um abide by everything that's in that manual. So, you have to not only conform with the uniform construction code, the FAR code, things of that nature, but also
this separate set of licensing standards. 100%. Yes, sir. That is correct. Good. Thank you. Okay. Will food be prepared on site or brought on? Um, let me just defer that. I believe it's being prepared on site. Correct. We will
have a full working kitchen on uh in the school. Yes. Uh, at what point do you file with the D NJD for your with a preliminary assessment to get approval from them? You have to do that prior. I'm sorry. I'm just checking with That's fine. That's fine.
You have to do that prior to even coming to this stage. It has to be approved site before we can even ask the state to consider it as a childare center. So that's like pre pre-stages if I'm not overstepping my language here. So that's all been taken care of because we
wouldn't be here if it wasn't approved already by D. Mr. Chair, if I may just follow up on that. Um Paul Sar Sarin S A S A K S O N issued a a letter um to uh Arvin Patel
on May 1, 2025 regarding the phase one environmental study that was done and the things that have to be tested for. Are you saying this letter has been complied with or will be complied with? I don't have I personally do not have that
answer. Yeah, we agree to comply. It it is in the process of complying with all of the requirements under the phase one letter. Okay. And all of these items um detailed on page two will be for example response
action outcome letter. You will obtain that. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Anyone else from board have any questions of this witness? Yes, I have a question. Please ask. I
I apologize if I missed it. Um, when the when the parents bring their their children into the school, there'll be somebody to greet them to direct them where to go or Yes. And after all the children are dropped off, the doors will
be locked. The doors are locked at all times. Okay. Um, the parents get a code to enter the building. So that's how they bu we call it buzz themselves in. So they enter their code, the door buzzes there, it releases and you're allowed to. And our our SOP is that you don't hold the door
open for the family behind you, even if it's your friend and you know them. Um and that's kind of something that I'm a big stickler on. And my parents understand um when you go through the process that we don't hold them door open because it's a safety feature. So you don't So but they but the doors are
locked at all times. Um um in terms of you can't get into the building, you can obviously always egress the building, but you can't get in unless you have a code and the doors around the perimeters are all locked from the outside. Again, egress is permittable, but you can't get inside and they'll alarm when they go
open. Okay? And then at the end of the day, when the parents uh they use their code to come in, there's no need. They just know where to go. There's nobody needs to be down there at the front entrance to direct them. Well, there's always somebody at the front entrance. That's okay. It will be somewhere requirement from from our our
again our standard operating procedure. So the d the director's office and the assistant director are always there at the front. Yeah, that was my concern. That was my concern that somebody is there to watch the front door. Yes. Because inevitably you're not going to remember your code, so you're going
to need to be let in anyway. So yeah, and if the delivery guy comes in, they don't have codes. So there's got to be somebody there at all times. Correct. Very good. Yes. Thank you. You're welcome. How long do you think it'll be before you become operational?
I if everything in my world goes well, I would hope September of 2026 would be our opening that you know maybe a soft opening in August, but I that's my hopeful non layman's understanding of construction. I would hope a year and that includes all all approvals, all
constructions and all licensing. Fingers crossed. I would hope so. Yeah. I mean, if there's some No, I just want to have You're not going to be held to that. It's just have have a an understanding of what the expectation is that this is not going to happen next month. No,
you're talking at at a year and a quarter or more. I wouldn't That would be a safe bet for me. Yes. Okay. Thank you. How many sapling schools are there in New Jersey? This will be This will There's two currently. There's one in Kendall Park, New Jersey, um in South Brunswick, and
then there's um one in Fairlon. Um, so this will be the third one in New Jersey. How long they've been around? 13 years. Maybe we're in our 14th year. I mean, I'm just establishing, you know, you have a routine. This is a regular routine that you used to doing.
Just New Jersey you guys are based in or We have a school in Michigan in in Chicago. Gra Lake. Okay. Anyone else from the board have questions, comments? Seeing none, I make a motion to open this witness up to the
public. Do I have a second? Second. All in favor? I. Anyone from the public wishing to come forward regarding the testimony of this witness? Please come forward. State your name and address. Seeing no one come forward, I make a motion to close this to the public. Do a second.
Second. All in favor? I. Thank you. Counselor. At this time, I would like to bring Brian Inendola back to the podium. uh to discuss the planning elements of this project.
Thank you council. Uh now this is Brian Tendola and we're going to talk about the C variances that have been identified uh during this process. So uh the C variances that were identified are dimensional variances or um uh having uh
improvements in the front yard specifically in the context of uh Plymouth to the back. Um it's a fairly unique situation. So we could plead to you as a C1, but I think the C2 criteria
is um probably more appropriate. It's somewhere in between. And then in that instance, you know, are we harming your master plan or the intent of the zone? And um in reading um Mr. Richie's 2023 master plan re-exam. It's interesting
that the existing use, the funeral home use is now uh has been outzoned and it's an existing non-conforming use, which is interesting to me. So, if any improvements were to be done there, I believe would have to go to the zoning
board. Uh but this is a conforming use because child care centers are called out and is permitted in the um the downtown uh village uh plan. And then so getting to the C2 criteria is that you
know um are are the purposes of your um master plan advanced and is does it causing any harm to your master plan? And I would say that given the um one that we are basically not invading the
residential area that's because that's in the zone is the R100 zone which is your um which are 10,000 square foot lots which are substantial lots and they have sub substantial setbacks. specifically the playground uh equipment
goes into the apparent front yard uh with respect to the culdesac and we understand that and I believe that that's C2 um or C2 variance can be granted and also specific to what is being put there right so the daycare is
not open during the weekend so that the noise that could be associated with a playground is not going to happen on the weekend when people are enjoying ing their homes and their residential use. Um there are restrictions uh heat
restrictions um you know um uh that the that the uh state has for that. So on super hot days that most likely won't be out there uh because that's managed. Uh the number of children per the square foot of playground areas also managed.
So it's not like it's a free form or open playground as it would be like a um a municipal facility. So given that I think it's self-migating and that it's within the hours of business um uh and it's not on the weekends. So I think you
can grant that C2 um variance uh for both the uh front yard setback generally and for the incursion of the equipment into the front yard setback. So, I don't want to belabor that, but I think that underlying that we are an inherently
beneficial use. Um, we're not belaboring that. I think it's self-evident that um this would um be an uh a facility that's needed. And if you look at the 202 2023 master plan uh redevelopment, you've had
some uh successful redevelopment uh projects that included u multif family residential and in that which is great for Clark, your population actually increased about 7%. So it's like it seems to be that there is also a need
for the daycare if your population is rebounding and growing again you know due to the efforts of the mayor and council and the planning board and your planner. So I think this is just uh this use is just an acknowledgement of that success and we hope that you can see your way to granting that C2 variance
for the occupation of the equipment in the front yard and also for the um the building line in the front yard. So that's and I I think that's and also there was um a variance for the 6ft fence u based on my driveby there and
you know doing the traffic counts there is a 6ft uh solid fence there some parts of it are four and we're just going to make it a consistent 6 foot uh across. So I think that can be also uh granted if should the board consider it. So that's that's basically the planning
testimony I'd like to put on the record. The request is also to have an opaque as opposed to a see-through fence. Well, you know, I think that the opaque fence that's there now. Okay. Um it's I don't know how long it's been
there. To me, it looks like it's a 10year-old or 15y old fence. Uh should the board consider it? I think that the opacity or opakeness should stay because then uh the the business of the daycare is not is buffering into the residential
area. I don't think it needs to be open. And the ancillary benefit of that is that when you look through from the residential area, you could see through to Westfield Avenue. So you provide that visual screen as well. So I think that's
a side benefit of providing a a solid fence. Uh you also use the phrase inherently beneficial. Um that's more appropriate for a use variance and the board of adjustment not the planning board. Uh but why don't you explain that concept of what is an inherently beneficial use
as as you've picked up. I'm not beloring Dean her. Yes. And I understand but it's a concept the board is not familiar with. So, so the you know the and um this the municipal land use law as it has evolved through court cases recognizes
there are certain uses that are inherently beneficial uh to the community and there's a list of them and uh their proofs to provide that are that the the site can function well onsite from like a traffic and operational
perspective and that its interface with the driveway and the street also O works in a safe manner. Uh you may or may not have to consider the parking supply depending on how rigorous your ordinance is. If it's not in your ordinance, then the parking supply is not considered or
the criteria for your inherently beneficial use. That's like a that's like a general overview of that, but we're not relying on that. Um Mr. Ricky's letter of April 10, 2025, you're uh compi you will or uh have complied with all those comments except for the
ones regarding the LED sign? Yes, the LED sign has been eliminated. Yes, I have nothing else. Mr. Chair, anyone else from board have questions for the planner? This might be for the operation. How many children are allowed on the
playground area at one time? I know you referenced that. Uh I don't have the I don't have the final playground equipment layout but it's not 198 children. I could say that you know it's it's has to be parcled out so that there's enough supervision and it's common sense approach.
Okay. Anybody have any Could you do you want me to answer that part? If you don't mind. Yes. Sure. just identify yourself again. Carrie Devoked. Um so I can answer that. Um on um any given state of office of
licensing, you're only allowed um one classroom per a per playground. So, if you have your playground as divided, infants and toddlers, preschool prek, you can have one infant toddler class out, which is approximately 12 to 18 children. And on the the older side,
which is preschool prek, a classroom can hold up to 20 um maybe 24 if you're capacied for it. So, at one time, there could be 20 to 24 children on the preschool side. So on any given 45 minutes of play because you're a morning session and an afternoon session
depending on the weather um there would be there could be what is it 20 and 35 children outside um occupying either uh both playgrounds. But if it's maybe the infants aren't going out today and only the preschoolers are, so maybe it's only
going to be 20 at that time. And playground time is anywhere between 30 and 45 minutes um per session per class. Just quick questions. Um how many how many kids per how many kids in a classroom maximum minimum? Um depending on what's work I I don't
have the exact capacity number class. So I would say between um um infants and toddlers between 12 and 18. Okay. Um which is your infants till about two two and a half. And then your preschool prek which is 2 and a half to about five four or five. Um you're going to say they're going to be 20 if you have a
full classroom. One teacher per classroom or is there no ratios? Um, so zero to you're going to test me. I know you're not on legal. So yeah, zero to um infants are going to be a 1 to4 ratio. One teacher to every four children. Once they turn 18 months,
it's going to be one teacher to every six children. Once they turn two and a half, it's going to be one teacher to every 10 ch children. And once they turn four, it's one teacher to every 12 children. Okay. And then you do you have a I know this is really reaching but there is
there a policy about weather outside being outside and inside 100% yes. So we use the 35 to 95 um scale. So they can go out as cold as 35 and as hot as 95 but you have to take into consideration windchill and heat index. If it exceeds that with that then
they're not allowed outside. Okay. Anyone else from the board have any questions of this witness? No, that witness. Thank you. I have no further uh testimony unless uh with respect to planning unless you have some questions.
Seeing no questions to the planner, I make a motion to open this up to the public for the planner's testimony. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Mike. Anyone from the public wishing to come forward regarding the testimony given by the planner? Please do so. State your name and address. Seeing no one come forward, I make a
motion to close this to the public. Do I have a second? Second. All in favor? I thank you. Thank you. Any other witnesses? I have no further witnesses. I would just for one point of clarification when we were going over
the exhibits, um A1 was the floor plan, A2 is the elevations, A3 is the site plan. Um the engineer showed a separate document for a lighting plan, but that didn't get documented. And then you made
the uh traffic exhibit A4. Uh so we can make the lighting um lighting plan A5 if that works. Well, just it's part of the site plan. Correct. It technically is a separate page because it comes from a earlier uh site
plan. I would just suggest do it as A3A only to keep it in the order of the testimony. That's fine. Thank you for picking that up. Having no other witnesses, I make a motion to open this up to the public to have any questions regarding this
application. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Lance. All in favor? I. Anyone from the public wishing to come forward, have any comments regarding this application? Please do so. State your name and address.
[Music] Hello, John Gre uh from Clark. Uh, I just, you know, there's actually quite a bit to like about this. I just wanted the board to consider, you know, we're getting uh something new, but I just wanted to just consider the things that we're losing and some of the impact that it might have in the downtown village.
Uh, you know, this is one of the more historic buildings, if not, you know, one of the most historic buildings in the the town and um, you know, preserving our past is important and the architecture, the charm, and the character of that building is something
that is going to be irreplaceable. um with the modern things that they were doing there and it doesn't seem like they um put effort into trying to preserve the old building and I guess you know downtown village a business district that we're trying to build having historic buildings is actually
valuable and can increase the wealth of those types of districts and I just like you guys to take that into consideration in your your determination. I understand that there's a lot to like about this and um you know I'm not necessarily opposed to it but I just wanted to bring
that up that we are losing um an important piece of our history and I think that's important and it would be great if we could find some way to preserve that though I understand there's a lot of factors involved here and um you know it is private property and people can do what they want as long as they comply uh but it does have
public value and I just wanted the board to consider that. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Thank you. Anyone else wishing to come forward? Seeing no one, I make a motion to close this to the public. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Mike. All in favor?
I. It's now closed to the public. Council, would you like closing statement? Uh, yes. Just to quickly respond, um, the building, while yes, it is uh old, has not actually been designated as a
historic area. And then additionally, um the fact that it was previously a funeral parlor, um makes it a little difficult to repurpose the building. So that would be um part of the reason why we are proposing to demolish and rebuild
a new building as opposed to uh retrofit or convert the building that currently exists. Um but at this time I would just like to um reiterate that this is a child care center um with exclusively C
variances. Um and we have uh agreed to all of the conditions that this board has suggested including um the right in write out curbing to make sure that it is both uh fire consistent with the fire
code and consistent uh with trying to alleviate any risk of left-hand turns. Um and the as Brian had stated the uh opaque fence is already there and we also um see it as a benefit for the
purpose of screening as well both for the children themselves and for the neighborhood itself. But uh with that I would just like to thank the board for their time this evening uh and request a positive vote. Thank you counselor. Does the board have
any discussion or comments they'd like to make? Mr. Chair, if I could just summarize briefly what the conditions are. Um the first condition would be uh while uh a CO would be issued before the license is uh issued by the office of licensing of
the department of child of children and families. They could not open without that license. It doesn't need to be said I think but I just want to make sure that that is a condition of the board that they have to have a license. they may be able to get a CO but not open. Uh with
respect to a few other conditions that the applicant will pay the uh affordable housing non-residential fee uh com as has been stated comply with all of the various um uh review reports um
including engineer planning, fire, uh police and uh traffic. uh that there is a pending application before the county and that that will uh be another subject too. Uh a condition is that a bench a
suitable bench appropriately located uh in a similar style to those before C uh at the CVS facility. uh instead of concrete um bumpers, biards, the right in and right out that has been
mentioned with the manable curbs for the fire department. The letter of the environmental consultant Paul SCS s a kso n dated May 1, 2025. And then the standard terms and
conditions that are typical of the board resolution. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you. No further comments or questions. Um yes. I had a comment about adding traffic control signage to the driveways. I
didn't you are our traffic expert. J Troutman, Mcdana and Ray Township traffic consultant. Um I noticed on the revised plans they didn't add any traffic control signage to the plan. So I would like to see uh that signage
added and review that before it goes to construction. And specifically on that exit driveway, I'd like to see stop signs posted and on the back of the signs, do not enter signs posted so people don't get confused and come in through the uh exit driveway.
Good point. Counselor, is that that is not a problem. We can absolutely oblige with that. Our counselor, did you add that? Yes, I did. Thank you. Uh I would like to acknowledge and I did ask earlier on if this uh had been considered for reuse. Uh, I would have
liked to have heard that they had I could see the difficulty of trying to I've been in there unfortunately for funerals. Um, I see the difficulty of trying to put 200 plus people into that structure and to function the way it was. Um, would it be out of line to ask
for some sort of a plaque regarding the history of that site or to be put up somewhere? You can certainly ask and that be acceptable. uh a plaque uh uh acknowledging the historical significance of the building to the town. Not necessarily that it is on the
national register or the state register, but acknowledging that this has a role in the town in in the role of the municipalities. Uh it's an older structure uh that that kind of thing. The wording of that um can be agreed upon u between um either yourself and
myself or uh administratively. So if if that's a condition that's acceptable, um I think that's what you're trying to get at. Next to the bench. Sure. On the bench or next to the bench or on the building? Either one. Wherever. Okay. The applicant has no issue with
that as a condition. I would like a motion to accept this application with the conditions that councelor has noted and we've discussed this evening. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you. Um, a roll call vote.
I did. Yes. Mayor Albanese. Yes. Mr. Olrich. Yes. Councilman Mr. Cotch. Yes. Mr. Triola. Yes. Mr. Alman. Yes. Mr. Shinberg. Yes. Mr. Piccado. Yes.
Mr. Aronio. Yes. Mr. Gri. Yes. application approved. Thank you so much. All right, continuing on. Congratulations. Um like to open and make a motion open
this session to the public to come forward and have any discussions they may wish. Second. Second. Thank you, Mike. All in favor? I. Anyone from the public wishing to come forward to address this board regarding any issues, please do so.
Seeing no one come forward, I make a motion to close this to the public. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Mike. All in favor? I. Any new business? No. Any old business? I just would like to make one comment. I
finally drove by the new Starbucks heading towards Target and somebody made a left turn in from Westfield Avenue. So, signage doesn't seem to stop people. Uh, our next meeting is August 2nd, uh,
August 7th, September 4th, followed by October 2nd. I make a motion to adjourn the meeting. I have a second. Second. Thank you, Mike. All in favor? I. Meeting adjourned. [Music]