##VIDEO ID:VU1CJ5UA0Z0## [Music] Eileen please open up the meeting Township of Howell Zoning Board of adjustment Monday November 25th 2024 I hereby declare this meeting of the how Township zoning board to be open adequate notice having been given pursuant to the New Jersey open public meeting act in the following manner first on December 11 2023 a copy of said notice was mailed to the asre park press and the Star Ledger second on December 11th 2023 a copy of said notice was hand delivered to the clerk of the township of Howell third on December 11th 2023 said notice was posted in the office of the zoning board and on the bulletin board in the how Township Municipal Building 4567 Route 9 how Township New Jersey in accordance with the fire prevention code and for your safety please please be advised that this facility is designed with two emergency exits at the front and the rear of the meeting room furthermore smoking is not permitted in the municipal building please take note that this meeting is being videotaped for possible future broadcast on how Township TV 77 this meeting is a Judicial proceeding any questions or comments must be limited to the issues of what the board May legally consider in reaching a decision and the decorum appropriate to judicial hearing must be made at maintained at all times thank you thank you ien can we have a roll call please Mr burillo here Mr caner is excused tonight Mr Hughes here Mr Mertens here Mr Rosco is excused tonight Mr St is excused tonight Mr Ryan present miss scotson here and chairman seya here you have a quum thank you will everyone please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the for it stands Nation indivisible with liy and justice for all thank you Andy can we have a swearing in of the zoning board professionals please you swear the testimony you will be the truth truth I doe your name the record Charles conliff Jennifer beam Shar SPO your professionals are Mr CH thank you sir okay item five on the agenda approval of minutes regular meeting September 9 2024 eligible vote is burillo canther Hughes Mertens Ryan scotson and SEO can I have a motion please make a motion a second roll call Mr burillo yes Mr Hughes yes Mr merens yes Mr Ryan yes Miss scotson yes and chairman sayth yes minutes approved thank you regular meeting October 7th 2024 eligible vote is burillo Hughes Martens Orosco Ryan and scotson can I have a motion please I'll make a motion second roll call please Mr burillo yes Mr Hughes yes Mr Mertens yes Mr Ryan yes and Miss scotson yes minutes approved thank you item six vouchers Isen are there any vouchers no vouchers tonight do we have any correspondence item seven I have two things for correspondents all right the first is application ba 21-28 freeold welding for an extension of time will be rescheduled to January 27th 2025 with no notice Okay so 27 2025 27 okay so anyone here for case number ba 21-28 freeold welding this is an extension of time this extension of time is being carried to January 27th 2025 with no further notice Eileen they're also going to need an extension of time okay so I recommend that you give them to 30 31 January whichever one you choose okay I'll email Mr Aly about that all right thank you you're welcome okay next one application ba 2316 the center for Education will be carried to January 27th 2025 with no further notice an extension has been granted to the board through January 31st 2025 okay so anyone that's here for case number ba 23-16 the center for Education New Jersey this application is being carried to January 27 2025 with no further notice extension of time has been granted to January 31 2025 and that's all we have for correspondence cor yes correct all right resolutions no resolutions tonight okay then what we have up here is applications before the board case number ba 24-1 this is how medical investors LLC use variance and preliminary and final final major site plan with bulk variances the description I'm going to read it out sir application of how medical investors as applicant and owner seeking approval to construct a 65,500 square foot three-story medical office building with Associated site Improvement within the HD 1 Zone the improvements will include a 398 space parking lot driveway sight lighting Landscaping building signage a trash Refuge enclosure retaining walls above ground infiltration basins and underground storm water management basing on block 143 lot 23.1 US Highway North this application was scheduled for September 23rd 2024 and rescheduled to November TW 4th 2024 expiration date is November 30th 2024 currently the eligible voters are burillo caner Hughes Martens Rosco Ryan scotson and S sir thank you Mr chairman and thank you for the the summary of the application uh my name is Jan Waters I'm a partner in The Firm of Bathgate wager and wolf in Lakewood representing the applicant as you noted this is a continuation of how medical investors uh application for preliminary and final site plan approval with bulk variances and a D6 hype variance um the applicant having heard some of the concerns of the board at the last meeting and and also after Consulting with the U board's professionals the uh applicant has determined to uh amend its application and I now like to ask the engineer and call him as our my first witness Mr Chris Chris Ro who will testify as to the extent of the amendment to the application you got it sir he he was sworn already I think I was the last time yes okay we're good great so I intend to be very brief this evening you heard enough for me at the November 4th hearing as Mr Waters mentioned we did make a change to the plans based on conversations in front of this board as well as with your professionals and that change is in regard to the proposed Building height originally we were coming in with a building height of 58 ft and 4 in and we are now proposing to reduce that to a building height of 50 ft and the way we plan to do this is we're proposing to relocate mechanical equipment that was previously proposed on the roof to the rear mechanical yard um previously we had a generator within that rear mechanical yard we're now going to include the chillers and the entirety of that mechanical yard will continue to be screened with a masonry encloser as well as with some louvers so we feel that's an appropriate solution the last thing I'll say and I mentioned at the last hearing we have no objection to complying with any of the engineering comments or working our way through any of the architectural comments with your professional planner thank you board members any questions sir thank you Mr chairman my next witness I like to call Alan Lothian traffic engineer with Langan engineering and environmental services do you swear the testimony will give will be the truth the whole truth not nothing but the truth to help you go I do please state your name for the record and spell your last Allan Lothian a l a n l o t h i a an thank you uh Mr lothing will you please describe your qualifications yeah I have a bachelor's of Science and civil engineering from Ruckers uh Master's of Science and transportation from NGIT uh I've been with Langan as a traffic engineer for over 26 years we'll accept your credentials sir thank you thank you Mr chairman uh Mr loan did you or others under your direction prepare the traffic study provided to the board with this application and if so would you please describe the results of your traffic study yes well I was going to hit on two topics um and I I think they're the most critical topics for tonight and then I'll I'm open for any questions you might have we did prepare a traffic impact study that was reviewed by both the township and Dot uh the right in right out driveway that serves the the project is on the auxiliary lanee on Route 9 Northbound uh and it's under dot jurisdiction after a thorough review uh of by the department of our access permit plans and the traffic impact study we received approval for uh major with planning which is their most intense uh access permit process so uh just before the last hearing on November 4th uh we we actually received the fully executed permits the signed and stamped plans uh that for all the work within the RightWay that includes the access driveway and all of the sidewalk that goes uh along the entire site Frontage um and the conclusion there was that the proposed medical building will not significantly uh alter traffic operations during the peak hours and that it is designed to current standards and appropriately for uh for the site um the other topic that I had was on parking we are asking for design waiver on the parking 421 spaces are required we are providing 398 uh and Mr roach spoke to this at the last hearing but I I wanted to bring some other numbers into it uh The Institute of Transportation Engineers has a uh parking generation manual similar to their trip generation manual where uh they they take data from all different uh all different uses and you can uh anticipate the the parking demand for a particular site based on square footage based on other parameters So based on the uh this particular site the average Peak parking demand would be 172 and again we we're providing 398 spaces and the maximum calculated uh parking demand would be 281 which leaves us an excess of 117 spaces on the site so we more than meet uh the anticipated demand for the for the parking on the site and that's all I have so thank you Charlie so um you know our review we had a bunch of questions obviously there's some intersections in the vicinity this uh Strickland Route 9 I think you have um uh is it white cofen Route 9 as well just to the north of this um some of those intersections are in the PE have some significant delay obviously they're under the jurisdiction of dot I would think if do had a significant issue with the impact on those intersections they would be requiring the applicant to do some improvements at those intersections um and then as far as the parking uh they don't comply with our ordinance requirement the it parking generation manual has been used by professionals to you know justify um you know rates that are different than what a particular M municipality's code requirement May State um you know I think it really comes down to the use and the user if uh they thought that they didn't have enough parking spaces I doubt that they would be coming into this site right here especially since it's on Route 9 and you can't park on Route 9 so um I really don't take a whole lot of issue with uh Mr loan's testimony but I'll let the board and the public ask any questions that they may have thank you Charlie board members just one real quick is there any intention to have New Jersey transit install a bus stop by the facility uh not that I know of no I know there's one down by casino before you get there but if one was to be put in would there be a place for the bus to stop and not block the traffic coming in and out well typically you want to locate bus stops at intersections where where where there's Crossings uh this would be like I said it's on the auxiliary Lane um so unless they anticipate to create a pulloff uh I I don't see a trans the buses use the shoulder in this area along rout n so they don't have a pull off they're a menace but they're in the and then they just pull right back out with zero care to anybody who's driving um but at the end of the day there no pull-offs in howl they basically use the shoulder I guess what I don't need to speak for you Mr Ryan but I guess it's something that would the applicant be willing to reach out to New Jersey transit to see whether they'd be interested in having a stop here I think it would be a tremendous benefit especially if this building is as successful as I anticipated that it will be at this point at this location in town and I can tell you that a lot of people take the bus a lot so espe this appliation so Mr Walters you know would you that's a good point and the would be more than willing to reach out to New Jersey Transit and the dot to see whether there's any interest in locating a bus stop at this location even even if it's just during an hour before and an hour after or whatever the hours of operation are you know just whatever they may determine whatever they may determine exactly because um and as Jen our planner has so eloquently stated she feels that this is going to be very successful As We Know Mammoth Mall location is a big hit so um we thank you for that but my applicant the applicants pleasure and to just add to that I think that's a prudent decision and by by the board and I'm glad that the applicant willing to so I think the closest bus stop is probably in the southbound Direction up at the next nearest intersection of whiteoff I'm looking at street view and aeriel I don't see anything on the North mland so I think that would be a positive appc any other questions more okay for my last witness uh Mr chairman I'd like to call John Aina professional planner who will testify as to the negative and positive criteria for the variances Andy do you swear the testimony you give will be the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth you got I do please state your name for the record and your L my name is John tyina T is and Thomas AI K is and Kelly i n is and Nicholas a Mr ta will you please tell the board your credentials and who you're affiliated with certainly I'm the principal of all things planning and development in uh South Brun New Jersey I've been a planner since I completed my studies at Ruckers University in 1992 received my license at that time I appeared before more than 175 boards including this one two years ago is your license current it is okay Jen no problem no problems all right we accept your credentials thank you so much Mr taken are you familiar with the site yes I am and you've reviewed the site plan which is subject of this application is that not correct yes I have based on your review as a professional planner would you please describe to the board uh the conclusions you reached concerning the applicant's variance requests certainly we need a a series of variances um first of all D6 variance for height uh 50 ft where 45 ft is is uh permitted uh additionally we need additional bulk variances for accessory buildings in a front yard uh for the hot box stream Carter and perimeter buffers and uh for a fence uh for actually it's a retaining wall um in the infiltration Basin uh in terms of our uh then we require waivers uh for lighting loading space and uh number of parking and number of parking spaces so there's three different standards I'll go through them uh quickly one at a time uh in terms of the D6 uh relief the standard there is a coventry standard of does the site continue to accommodate uh the proposed use even though uh we don't uh meet the standard in this instance um the site is very large we have a lot of environmental um constraints and uh I believe that we sensitively located the building towards the south end of the property uh where there is little little no residential development near us our residential neighbors are to the north uh so we are substantially far away from that I think that that combined with our substantial uh vegetation and uh stream Corridor that surrounds us uh is going to do well to accommodate uh the proposed uh the proposed height in terms of um in terms of our um advancing our purposes of zoning I'd submit to you that there are two uh the first is um to uh Advance the public safety and and Welfare um in this instance uh we believe that having a medical facility will uh Advance the the public health uh and then secondly uh G to provide for sufficient space and appropriate locations for a variety of uses uh commercial and Industrial open space both public and private according to their respective environmental requirements to meet the needs of New Jersey citizens uh the site uh can accommodate the medical offices it does advance uh the purp purposes of your uh Zone plan and your master plan is a permitted use in the district uh we believe having this facility on Route N9 will provide good access uh to both how residents as well as residences residents from the surrounding communities in terms of our C variance relief it is a uh the standard is Poland V sou planfield where uh you balance the overall benefits of the project versus the DI Minimus uh relief that is sought in this instance are buffers an environmental uh constraint uh do physically limit us uh to how we uh develop the site but again we have a very small footprint compared to the over 500,000 Square F feet of um of Site Area so again it's a very light footprint but we do uh get squeezed by the various environmental uh constraints that are on the property um can I just jump in for one second yes I I know you're not here very often but here buffers are not di Minimus no matter how small of an in intrusion and I think at the last meeting which to your benefit you were not here we were trying to ascertain and I I hate to do this to you Mr Ro because I know you're done but we were trying to ascertain where the outfall comes out and whether or not it's really a buffer variance or not right because it's based on the property line has to abut residential use or Zone and we know the villages is right behind this but where the outfall is is kind of on the corner so so I wasn't 100% sure if that was like the Self Storage property or what cuz if it's if it's not coincident with the residential lot line then you don't need that relief I don't think we do and I created a exhibit just for this so if you go down to thankfully I'm no longer in charge of the computer I think everyone's happy about that fact did oh thanks so if you look along the uh page north side it's tough to see that's the pink line that's the 50ft residential buffer our outfall is south of that and that's the commercial that's like a finger from the commercial lot that it's a budding like that property line yeah that's the commercial to residential buffer up there no no I get that but where your outfall is the property that's immediately abing it to the east that's HD1 that's the the next door kind of wraps around behind you a little bit yes so there's no residential component there so then they don't need the buffer relief we were originally had talking about buffer relief with the burm but to the north and we agreed during testimony that we are going to give a six foot burm so that's no longer a variant either yes I agree that's why I wanted to bring that up is this marked by chance it was marked as a25 it was a series of five PDFs thanks Chris no problem Andy that's why I wanted to bring that up because I know when we left the last meeting we were unsure on where that was and whether or not the relief would be needed and so I think thank you for this exhibit I think that clarifies it succinctly and that that relief is no longer necessary good catch J it's why you keep me around thank you um finally in terms of our um in terms of our waivers um again the standard there is uh are they are the requests reasonable and I think these uh these request uh for loading space parking spaces and lighting are certainly reasonable uh given the overall development in the project and it would be somewhat impractical to to provide for additional parking when uh you've gotten already substantial testimony that uh a Max of 20 281 is anticipated to be required and we have 398 still less than the four in 21 but we believe that waiver is appropriate um and then finally in terms of our negative criteria uh the first is no variance should be granted if it's a substantial detriment to public good um again that's our really our surroundings again we have substantial buffers now I I learned compliant buffers that's even better um and we and um the proposed use is permitted in the zone uh we have appropriate buffers regarding the retaining wall it is uh required for the Basin in the rear of the site to meet the storm water requirements um and again it's it's totally internal to the site so uh no impacts or our surrounding neighbors um in terms of our lighting uh again it will be uh appropriate for a commercial site it just doesn't meet in those technical areas uh for loading and parking again you've heard substantial testimony there in terms of uh how the site will operate and that it will be uh safe and efficient and then finally in terms of your master plan and your Zone plan um we are not having any uh any impairment there in this instance we um again we are permitted use and uh in terms of the intent and purpose of your master plan goals uh we want a continuous stable and diverse Community through a provision of Balan land use pattern we want to encourage uh the revitalization of vacant or underutilized properties um especially along the commercial cars of Route 9 and Route 33 and then uh we want to recognize the need to adapt to changing Dynamics and demands of a diverse and increasingly globalized economy of which the Health Care system is a very uh important part of it and in terms of the impairment of the intent and purpose of the zoning ordinance again again uh we were able to lower the height uh to become very close to being compliant there um the the building itself is is below the height requirement but we do have some things that protrude above the roof um that uh that are uh that are in need of of that relief um again we we think that the site accommodates it well uh and and we're getting sidewalks yes and you're getting sidewalks may be a bus stop it may be a maybe a bus stop so for these reasons I believe the board has the ability to Grant the relief request that I'm available for your questions thank you jck um I I don't take exception I to the testimony provided I think that the clearing up the issue with the buffer was important because you have so much room back there and if we could have moved it but I'm sure the board would have requested that so I'm happy that we don't have to do that um and I'm very appreciative the the applicants team Mr Waters and the architect had you know called my office worked with us to get the height down um move the mechanical equipment to keep it um more in line with the types of development that we have I you know I don't think it's news to anybody here that this section of Route n both in the north and southbound direction we're looking and and trying to encourage you know new investment and development and I think this is a great example of utilizing an existing piece of commercial property on Route 9 so I don't have any exception with the testimony provided and I you know I agree with Charlie that the it does give us some pretty good guidance on the parking and I don't think if you're in this business you would underp park your office because it's going to it's going to regulate itself really yes um so you know I don't have any issues and they are have agreed to coordinate with my office if there's any modification to the architectural facades that needs to happen should the board act the affirmative okay thank you Sharon you have something um yeah just to put on the record um you need a waiver for the tree replacement fees um so prior the original plans where they cleared off of the that um owner paid for it but they were also going to be planting a lot of trees so this new plan um they're not able to provide all the replacement trees we expected so there will be um a larger replacement fee for that Mr Walters I mean it is what it is so yeah just the way the ordinance is written you have to ask for the waiver to pay um and then also the foundation Landscaping I do think you could provide additional plant material over there where you wouldn't need a waver point be glad to do that Charlie yes Mr chair so obviously I wasn't here at last hearing so I just want to obviously the fire Bureau ISS should amend on June 6 I think we've seen revised plans with that but the applicant has no issue with satisfying the fire Bureau as far as part of resolution compliance KNX boxes fire things okay and then uh the environmental commission I think had a memo on October 9th uh we heard testimony about the parking requirement in it that was one of their comments um they talked about um the storm water management design and flows to mqu River applicant has provided a copy of all their D permits and they've also provided testimony that they would um comply within the a standingstone water comments in our review letter so I just wanted to put that on the record before we uh wrap things up got it thank you Charlie okay question now that we're thinking about putting a bus stop which is a excellent idea are we going to have a sidewalk going from Route 9 into the complex because I couldn't see it from the plans if you had a s you know the sidewalk would go in they do have it it's connected it's on the south side of the driveway it leavs it kind of connects around the drive aisle and then connects to the Cross there's a crosswalk you can see it on the right hand side right there okay that's great because that's yeah that's all I wanted to make sure no point uh without the the sidewalk we yeah okay great thank you so we're going to open the public right make the motion open we got a motion we got a second all in favor I all right eile we're opening to public the board will now be open to the public if you have a question or a comment please come up and state your name and your address make a motion to close Mr we got a motion to close we got a second that all in favor I yes all right I we're closed to public the board is now closed to the public all right so this requires seven do we have an issue no Mr Ryan no we're good Mr Walter Mr you know you're entitled to seven members I I I'm aware of that Mr chairman but uh if you would like you know I believe we can may be able to move forward with this we we are prepared to move forward uh and with it as the board is constituted thank you okay thank you so do I have a motion I'll make a motion to approve this application I believe the positive criteria has been more than met my biggest issue from last meeting was the height and you have come here made our planner happy which is good yes and and with that being said I like to move move ahead and approve this application Vice chair makes a motion do we have a second Mr chair I'd like to uh second I do appreciate the applicant uh pursuing the bus stop I think that's outstanding and then uh bringing the building down to 50 foot and with all the sidewalks and I think it's going to be a good thing for our town I'd like to second the motion secretary has seconded the motion can we have a roll call please Mr burillo yes Mr Hughes yes Mr Mertens yes Mr Ryan yes Miss scotson yes and chairman seya yes application is approved thank you Mr chairman thank you board we appreciate it good luck thank you and then we're going to take five the board will now take a five minute recess and at 737 go you got it ien yes the board will now reconvene and Mr P has a statement good evening Mr chairman good evening Mr two chairmans and board members Kenneth Pape on behalf of your applicant Gateway One industrial 175 earlier this evening M Rano um reached out to me asked that I go through all of the notices for the this application and I did this application was scheduled for March and that was scheduled for April and then it was scheduled for June and then it was scheduled for September and it was scheduled for tonight and those each and every one of those times the the board graciously carried the application without notice since the application has been filed we have been working with your staff and the application has changed evolved application is a smaller building the a warehouse that was identified in the legal notice for the March 11th hearing is not part of the application and the variance relief and the waiver relief are not accurate I the board did take jurisdiction and applications morph as I've just described we have a comprehensive presentation of five professionals it is my request of this board that the board carry the application to January 13th 2025 your secretary advises me that there'll be nothing else on the agenda we'll have the evening which is something we've been asking this board to allow so we'll have the evening I will Ren notice and republish with a fresh list of property owners and an accurate description of exactly what's on the plans I had a partner for 45 years and he said always make a decision as if today is five years later not today but five years later and look back and make certain that you did the right thing and I think that this makes it clear on the record for the board for the public and for the applicant and if that is acceptable chairman Mertens I would ask that the board so carry the application with the new updated notice board members I think we're good so we I guess we'll see you next year Mr Pap I just need an extension of time on the record on the record I'll Grant an extension of time through the end of February 2025 thank you thank you and to all I apologize if it creates any inconvenience I think it's just important that we do it perfectly okay it will be your night thank you Happy Thanksgiving yeah you too all right Mr peep okay anybody in attendance for case ba I'm sorry case number VA 236 Gateway Industrial this will be carried to January 13th with no further notice with no notice to February 21st 2024 25 I'm sorry so it's going to be new notice and and published yes and republished re notice republish okay is there any further more business from the professionals board no sir no okay can I have a motion to close motion to close second all in favor