mayor we had no microphone Now we do Now we Thank you James Uh please rise for the flag salute United States of America and to the republic for which it stands One nation under God indivisible with liberty and
justice for all So good evening everyone Welcome to the Little Falls Planning Board meeting as a board of adjustment tonight also um and it's a it's April 3rd 2025 meeting called to order 7
p.m would you please read a statement of public notice the Little Falls Township Planning Board meeting of Thursday April 3rd 2025 is called to order Please take notice that adequate notice of this meeting was provided in accordance with
NJSA 10 col4-8 and NJSA10 col4-10 as follows Notice of the meeting was promptly posted on the bulletin board at the municipal building located at 225 Main Street Little Falls New Jersey on January 9th 2025 Copy the notice was
sent via email to the North Jersey Herald and News on the same date Additionally a copy of the notice was filed in the office of the township clerk Please note that this meeting is being taped Therefore we ask that you speak loud and clear into the microphones
Thank you Please call the role Mr Barry here Mr Kash here Mr Luke Damiano here Matildo here Mr Sber here Mr Posious here Mayor Damiano here Councilman Scoba
here Dr Aldi Mr Wade Mr Dolan here Mr Rama Mr Griodoro here Mr Kblars here Mr Bar here Mr Kilpatrick here Uh thank you Uh Council President Scoba
do you have any comments from the council for us Chairman no one came before the governing body at our last council meeting with any concerns for the planning board Thank you very much We have two uh resolutions memorialized May I have a motion for the
minutes May I have a motion for approval of the minutes of March 6 2025 Motion Second Please pull the board Mr Barry yes Mr Luke Damiano yes Miss
Kato yes Mr Sber yes Mr Poses yes Mayor Damiano yes Councilman SC yes Yes Mr Dolan Yes Mr Kilpatrick Yes Minister approved Thank you councelor for uh reminding me Um may I have a
motion to moralize resolution for the housing element and fair share plan addendum number one to 220,24 Little Falls master plan Make the motion May I have a second
Second Please pull the board Mr Barry yes Mr Luke Damiano yes Miss Kato yes Mr Sber yes Mr Poches yes Mayor Diano yes Council Miss Scoba Yes Mr Dolan Yes Mr Kilpatrick
Yes Um may I have a motion to memorialize resolution for Jimmy and Paulina Giraz 11 Wman Street I'll make that motion I'll second Please pull the board Mr Barry Yes Mr
Luke Demiano Yes Miss Catalo Yes Mr Sber Yes Mr Pochius Yes Mayor Damiano Oh sorry Um Mr Dolan Yes Mr Kilpac Chairman votes yes The resolutions are approved Application Our first application
tonight is Bes Valley High School for a courtesy presentation Chairman I'm going to recuse myself on this one Very well Good evening uh Mr Chairman Good evening members of the board of education uh board of education planning board Uh my
name is Raymond Red and I am councel for the Pake Valley Board of Education Uh we appreciate you uh hearing us on short notice We are here in front of you tonight really just for a courtesy um uh hearing to enlighten you on the board's
proposal to um erect some protective netting on their property along their softball fields Um sort of abuing the properties that are uh located on Hopson A in Little Falls Um we didn't file a formal application but like I said as a courtesy we'd like to come in front of
you of your board just to have our officials explain to you what they're proposing to do Um they're here to answer any questions you may have So I'll just give a a brief introduction We have Mario Gada who's the Pake Valley uh supervisor of Brown We have Colin
Monahan who's the business administrator and we have Brack Healey who's the superintendent So I I'll turn it over to these gentlemen just if they can give you a brief overview of what they're looking to do and why and certainly they'll feel any questions you may have
Chairman before we start section 31 review under the misplaneous law it's a courtesy review The board does not make a the board does not make a decision whether to approve the request or deny the request It's just forformational purposes and if the board has any
recommendations the board can make them Thank you council This is not a hearing We're not swearing in any witnesses Thank you Sure Good evening So just to echo Mr Re I want to thank the planning board for for hearing our presentation And just to give you a little background
uh about the project about four years ago well four years ago I started at Safe Valley High School and over the course of those four years we've lost quite a few trees along the lines of Hopsnav that sits between our varsity softball field and the Hopsnav residents
homes Um over the time we had lost our back stop We had erected a new back stop Um but we've quickly found over uh the last couple of years with the trees uh being decimated that more and more foul balls were going into the backyards of Hopsson residents So to remedy this
issue we had built a 25- ft high fence that then ran down um the side of the first base side of the softball field which was supposed to add protection to the homes It reduced the amount of foul balls by approximately 80% And I'm using
that sort of anecdotically I I attend all of the softball games I'm I'm proud to say I usually do not miss a softball game And the first couple years there quite a few balls I would estimate anywhere from 8 to 12 balls were going to the backyards of those homes during the course of a varsity softball game
The last softball game I attended we actually had zero with this 25 ft fence The game before that we had one The game before that we had two So we have seen over the course of the last year that the fence is working However balls still end up ending in the the backyards of
the residents So we looked at some of our options We decided to uh erect a 60foot fence and I'll have Mr Gada come up here in a minute to sort of explain the the parameters of this new fencing project But in essence it extends past 25 ft fence right now
Another 35 to 40 ft which would give us about 60 to 65 ft of netting additional protection We are pretty confident that that will stop any additional foul balls from going over As I sit and watch the games I do notice the balls go about 10
15 20 ft over the 25 ft fence So estimating at about 60 ft that that should remedy all the issues of foul balls going into backyards Um to further protect and provide a natural barrier we've decided to plant trees along that
property line we just planted 15 15 uh 15 trees that will sit um adjacent to the houses in between the softball field providing another additional barrier And actually we really like the way it looks Um I know it was put there to actually protect and eventually they'll grow to about 50 60 feet tall So they'll provide
additional protection But I think our our idea is going to be over the next couple years to continue to add trees each year to you know just just add to a natural barrier that also looks aesthetically pleasing As you pull to the school and you look to your left you're not necessarily looking into everybody's backyard You'll now see
beautiful landscape of trees So that is sort of the long and short of how we got here and I appreciate your support and more than happy to answer any questions after Mr Gada has concluded with his his part Thank you like to thank the uh board for welcoming
us here tonight Um the project consists of four telephone poles Uh the poles are 75 ft in height 15 ft of a goat will be plate goat in the ground Uh and 60 ft of it will be showing um from the uh ground
up So we have 60 ft From that 60 ft we'll have netting over the uh 25 ft pole We'll have about 40 foot of netting on the poles as we go down past the the fence then we're going to go a full 60 feet of netting Uh so the total uh project would be 120 feet uh down the uh
first base sideline That's and it the net does stay up all year round It never comes never comes down It's sort of if anyone ever saw like a golf course or if you ever seen another ball field like at Cedar Grove they have the net that protects the road
It's the same type of netting system Very good Any other presenters Any questions from the board members The board has no Does the board have any recommendations Okay I I have I have one
comment that was very uh mayor informed me you planted 12 trees today More we planted uh 15 trees and they're going to grow how high 60 feet They're saying 40 to 60 ft Yes That's impressive Thank you very much I do I do have one comment
as you are making a courtesy presentation Um you appeared last year on November 4th 2021 And at that time you presented uh putting the carpet if you will uh on
the football field At that point we had uh four things that we recommend Well one thing we recommended concerning poor tree um two out of the south two on the north two oak trees two sycabor both trees over 100 years old And we ask that you
consider keeping them in place We're informed at that point that um you know this was going to be done in phases and the only thing being done in the beginning was the field In four weeks those trees were
gone Um I wrote a letter the day after the meeting copying not that it matters anymore Mr Ren the mayor shade tree commission Mr Brigliadora and what have you We never received a courtesy
response and I think that's what upset me I just passed that on so we can maintain good relationships going forward Sure And my my response is I actually never received that letter so I don't know who else would have been responding but
well you still have the comments from the meeting Okay that's all I have Thank you very much for your courtesy presentation Thank you Next application is New Jersey American Water
Chairman I don't think the mayor and I can hear this application or is that that is correct Are you recusing yourselves gentlemen Yes we are Very good Thank you Thank you Thank you Mr Chairman members of the board For the record Neil O'Brien from the law firm of Archer and Briner for
the applicant New Jersey American Water Company New Jersey American Water Company of course is a supplier or purveyor of portable water in Little Falls Township and lots of other areas public utility regulated by the board of public utilities um is proposing as part
of the application this evening to uh install a booster pump station at 147 Long Hill Road block 178 lot 6.01 on your township tax maps Um that is a relatively small property which was
actually before you about a year or so ago by way of a subdivision approval your subdivision approval actually created the lot that New Jersey Marking Water had been sort of monitoring and hoping to locate the booster station on that lot You'll hear in testimony why
this lot was so um uh uh critical or useful for the location of this facility Um but the booster station is a conditionally permitted use in the R1A zoning district There are four conditions attached to the use Um the
first one is that uh the facility can must be located in the zoning district that it is located in We'll provide testimony related to that Second one is that adequate fencing and security and screening have to be provided Um in in
providing that security we are proposing a 7 foot high fence which actually exceeds the height of 4T that is permitted by ordinance Um we're going to ask you to accept that that 7 foot high fence is necessary for security and therefore a variance is not required for it But if the variance is required for
it if that's your determination we'll request the variance Um the third conditional use standard is that the building has to be designed to be harmonious with the neighborhood and um neighboring structures We have I think gone a long way towards trying to
achieve that end Um the building as you'll see in our testimony does contain features that are vital to its public utility function which can't be removed So it can't look exactly like a single family home So again we'll ask for your comment and input as to whether we've
satisfied that standard If we haven't satisfied it we'll ask for the variance And then the last condition initial use standard which we don't comply with is that the um the facility has to conform with all other requirements of your zoning ordinance At the time you granted
subdivision approval to create this lot um you approved it uh with a non-conforming lot area and a non-conforming lot width Of course those two non-conforming conditions are still present today um and would be for a single family home or anything else But because we don't comply with all of the
other standards of the ordinance we must and will uh request a variance from that conditional use standard And as you've already um I think uh accomplished here those are devariances variances from conditional use standards So we're asking you to exercise your zoning board
of adjustment jurisdiction this evening rather than your planning board uh jurisdiction So we have a a couple of um I think three witnesses who will testify tonight Um there were a couple of completeness items in uh your planner's review letter but what's your pleasure
Mr Chairman with respect to those Go ahead Um so uh you we we are requesting waiverss from the submission of an environmental impact statement uh a tra and a traffic impact study just due to the minor nature of the development that's proposed this this evening We do
feel that those are appropriate and would ask the board um to grant those Our engineer has already said he did not have an issue for that So that's good Acknowledge Thank you sir So if I could would you like council to swear in all our witnesses at once or as they come up I could swear them all at one time Okay
great [Music] So please raise your right hand You swear from the testimony that you're about to give before this board going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth Just for the record each of you tell us your name and spell your last name and
then Catwoman as each witness comes up as an expert witness council will dare you your ability to testify as an expert Steven Hawk is HK professional Christopher
Os excuse me S R O project senior project engineer American work Thanks So um Mr Po if you you're the senior project engineer
from New Jersey Water here on behalf of New Jersey Correct Engineer consulting engineer design building will describe the site That's right So Mr put his qualifications on the record but it's here for New Jersey record you have an
engineer engineer test what's important uh we need to know his background education and if the licenses are all presently in effect absolutely so um I have a
uh I haven't had to say this in a while a bachelor's of science in civil and environmental engineering from NGIT in 1990 and working as a consulting engineer most of my career
um six years ago joined New Jersey American Water have testified before uh several boards such as yours credentials are accepted thank you thank you Mr Sure So in voice drop in my uneducated terms I talked about a
booster station What is a booster pumping station What does it do in terms of water distri system Yeah and actually I'll take a little pause right here to apologize if I cough hack or whatever I'm getting over a bad cold Not contagious anymore but want to miss
tonight So bear with me Yeah So a booster pumping station is a structure that contains pumps with uh inlet and outlet pipes connecting to the buried distribution distribution system piping Uh it contains electric motors and controls to turn the pumps on and off as needed Uh the purpose of the pumps is to
move water from one part of distribution system to another Uh typically to increase flow and or pressure in part of the system The increased pressure helps to meet peak demands in other parts of the system and to maintain water service
throughout the system Here portions of the Little Falls service area are experiencing low pressure and flow issues This this project should help address those issues So the booster station contains pumps that increase the pressure of the water that's already
flowing through the township and moves more water at a higher pressure Uh both higher pressure and and flow correct pressure and flow to to satisfy demand and also to make sure there's pressure
Correct So um explain the board a little bit about the the portion of the system to say Little Falls and what this facility will address Right So we we provide water to Little Falls Um that's water is bulk purchase
from the valley water commission and um in 19 2022 we provided an average of 1.445 mgd of portable water to that's 1.445 will provide a billion gallons per day
Correct Um the proposed projects part of our ongoing efforts to improve order service to our existing customers in Little Falls and other recent improvements in the township included installation of a 12-in watermega and luck
So what will the project do The project will provide a new primary source of supply from PBWC and that will serve as an alternate to the existing supply from PBWC which comes from their great notch reservoir
Um the current emergency use only interconnection with PBWC will be utilized for the new primary source from PPWC and that existing interconnection is located along center avenue and is fed by uh their 672 pressure gradient
The new primary PWC um source is necessary is necessary to supply post booster pumping station and we'll supply the Union Avenue Great Notch and Mont Clear pressure pressure
zones in Little Falls So when you talk about a pressure zone you mentioned already I think three that are in Little What you mean by that It's it's a portion of the system but all are the same Yeah So they're they're all interconnect They're all part of our franchise But
basically um if everything was flat like the ocean you would need one pressure zone right You you'd want whatever say 60 PSI above that elevation Well where in New Jersey it's not flat So with bearing train you need different pressure zones So the
number I rattled off just a moment ago uh 673 that's basically the hydraulic grade line of our connection with PBWC And really what that means is think of it as if you held that water up to that
elevation you know up in the sky So if you held that to elevation 675 that's the pressure it's going to provide And the pressure you see at a given elevation is difference between those two elevations So the booster station helps to help equalize between pressure
between those pressure zones that may be at different elevations Yeah So what it does is it lets us fine-tune the pressure within each varying elevation portion of of of the tangent So where are these green pressure zones basically
in general Sure Um the Union Avenue pressure zone serves the westerly portion of Little Falls It extends easterly to um the Great Notch pressure zone Great Notch Pressure Zone serves the central portion of Little Falls That zone is bounded by Lower Notch Road to
the north Morningside Circle to the west Route 46 to the east and the Monlair Bootin Line Railroad tracks to the south Uh the Monlair pressure zone serves the eastern portion of Little Falls The zone begins south of the Monontlair boot line
railroad tracks and extends southerntherly to the township limits by Montlair State University So yeah these are not all these not individual deeps They're all part of the same water distribution system
You're okay with this and all of the ball Correct So then what does your project do in terms of the pressure zones Uh the proposed project will combine the Union Avenue pressure zone with the Great Notch Pressure Zone to create one larger
higher pressure zone which will be referred to as the new Union Avenue pressure zone Um the Union Avenue pressure uh Union Avenue 385 pressure zone will be increased from 385 ft of pressure to 450 The Great Notch pressure zone will
be increased from 425 ft of pressure to 450 Uh proposed booster pump station will convey water from new Union Avenue 450 pressure zone to the to the Monontlair pressure zone Excuse me And I have a cough drop
too The Monl Air pressure zone is uh currently solely supplied via interconnection with the Montlair water bureau So the proposed booster pump station will increase available fire flows with in in the Monontlair pressure
zone and it will also provide an ultimate source of supply to the Monontlair water Um the proposed booster pump station will contain two lower capacity pumps for satisfying domestic order demands
Specifically one 200 gpm pump and 104 excuse me one 400 gpm pump are proposed Uh the booster pump station will also contain two higher capacity pumps for the conveyance to higher flows for firefighting purposes Uh
specifically there will be two 1,00 gpm high flow pumps proposed in the in the pump station All four pumps will be equipped with variable frequency drives which will allow the speed and hence flow rates to be varied as needed to satisfy system demands
A little just like your gas pedal on your car you know you want to go faster give it more gas So you need more water you speed up the pumps Same concept Um and then the booster station will use that new name that you described in
block road to draw the water Correct Uh the booster pump station will draw water from the recently constructed 12-in water main along Hemlock road and it will discharge via a new 12-in water main be installed along the slowly extension of Longill Road um to the
railroad crossings to supply the monthly gradients Correct The only place they're not underground is within the building Um New Jersey Americans spent over a year looking for available locations to construct a new booster
pump station on This site was determined to be the best location for the proposed booster pump booster pump station as is located near the required existing infrastructure meaning the pressure zone boundaries and is not located within a
flood plane or floodway So where all these pressure zones you talk about need is the approximate general location Correct It's it's on the boundary of the the union I'm sorry of the great notch and
the Montlair gradients So just talk about briefly about the facility operating itself Now this is definitely it's not a big building by 45 It's only 17 Um will it
have employees going in and out of it What will happen there Sure So it'll be an unmanned facility like all of our pump stations uh it's launch will be to transfer water from the great notch pressure zone to the Montlair pressure zone So it's nobody's in there
basis doesn't have monitoring to water operation center so you guys know what's going on there Correct So we have a all of our facilities are controlled remotely via SCADA system Um and this facility will be operated
continuously as needed to provide improved water service to the Mon air pressure zone There won't be any chemicals used or stored at at the booster pump station Uh and no no related deliveries So you don't treat water there You just
it's already finished water So we're just I mean you said there's there's no employees refuge Yeah I don't know if I said it but um typically somebody will stop by the facility once a day Um you know quick
15minute uh visit in a small uh SUV or or pickup truck um just to get eyes on the facility So it's remotely monitored but also somebody stops in once a day to check on it Um so yeah to answer your question nobody's there so there's no
real large generation of um refues or or recycling will be will be generated Anything that is will just be removed by our maintenance purchas there's no public access obviously correct and then the seven foot high fence as I mentioned that's
typical for public utility facility and I think your experience of course New Jersey facilities yeah specifically we have a security group and they have a a uh nationwide because we're a nationwide company American Water is uh they have a
nationwide security package that they want to see implemented at every facility excuse me which includes a 7 foot high Again this location spent about a year looking for a location in this area near the boundaries of
great pressure zones Yeah So as I said right it must be located near the boundary of the great notch pressure zone and the monle zone order to serve that's needed function of moving water between the zones Um suitable locations are accordingly very
limited Uh particularly not being located within floodprone areas Um you know addressing the resilience component Um New Jersey American determined that this this area is optimal for the location of the new booster pump station
Uh vacant properties like this for the booster pump station are very limited And as soon as we learned the subdivision and availability of the property uh as soon as the subdivision was complete we were interested and as soon as the subdivision was completed we move forward with our plans for the
booster pump station and applications to the township Um so it's currently planned to get the new facility in service by the end of 2028 Now natural response might be well that's pretty far out Why is that And
probably everybody's heard of P5 POA uh le services So those regulatory drivers which are hot topics right now have basically they're in the spotlight and have pushed out projects like this So we started looking for a site found a site
then those new regulations kind of hit hit the ground so to speak and kind of pushed the projects out So that's why we kind of have an extended time That's why I have direct testimony from Mr Mr Chairman I thank you very much I have one question
just to put this in layman's terms Um properties to the south that's called the school two side of Longill Road have good adequate water pressure Do you agree
Well living there in that area the main improvement is Well there won't be I'm sorry There won't be any improvement there right Across the street from where your facility will be So if you're
I'm a water engineer So I trying to say this booster will improve the water pressure on your side of the street from between you and row 46 So it's going to increase pressure in the union grad uh
pressure zone great notch pressure zone and probably most importantly um in addition to giving an alternate source to the great notch reservoir um most importantly it's it's going to increase available fireflows in the
Montlair zone Thank you You're welcome Any questions to the board It be anything about the decols that it's going to create when the pumps turn Okay Thank you And thank you for bearing with me Thank you Feel better
Yeah Our civil engineer Chris Olsen Um we have rendered site plan It's just a rendered version of the site plan that you see We have some smaller versions for you to see a couple of your name and your
professional affiliation My name is Chris Olsen I have a bachelor's degree of science in civil and environmental engineering from Ruters University uh 1999 I have over 25 years of experience doing civil engineering in the state of New Jersey
and am a licensed professional engineer in the state of New Jersey Are your licenses all in effective Yes Current I think is the word I was looking for Yes Thank you You are accepted So Mr if referring to the exhibit um bring it
over here so you don't lose the microphone Thank you Just orient the board to the location Somebody hasn't been out there If members of the public can walk around so they can see this You can you stand
over here perhaps Um along the southern portion or the bottom portion of the map is is Longill Road facility in the center Uh and to the to the top part of the page is Heblock Drive Um
to the left is our closest residential neighbor and to the right uh is not shown but the look the church Catholic church Um the parcel as we mentioned before is
9,335 ft Um the driveway is located here along Glville Road in the existing uh location of compressed curb Mr Chairman maybe generally we have a presentation
more towards that glass door and oriented sure towards the board and the public So sure we don't have this constant movement of people That's good That's good We have our own So that's good So Mr And in terms of the the facility
design could you describe the uh Yes the structure is a 45 foot by 25 ft uh structure Uh it will contain a pump room with four booster pumps um an electrical room and a natural gas
generator Um we placed the natural gas generator as as far as we can from the the resident on the left side to make sure that we would have the least amount of uh sound impact Yeah No no
storage on site Correct Um so the property it doesn't meet the minimum lot size 15,000 square feet required We have 9,35 square feet Correct Then also lot
width and of 86.11 ft doesn't minim that is correct these were approved by the subdivision but because they don't perform requirements we're asking for that D3 variance that is correct
any traffic generated by this facility no as u Mr Floyd drop said earlier there'll be one visit to the site usually um and that person will be there for a short time maybe 15 minutes uh daily just to make sure everything's working properly This is a relatively
small facility in terms of public facilities to say the water operation center maint that is correct going to the side of the facility Yes it is You
comply with the side dart set back Yes we do Um driveway access is appointment located is that the same location as the current driveway Yes it is So driveways already there with a
pavement We're gonna add her in response to one of the questions in height That is correct Already there's already there's already there Yes we did include
a uh a seepage uh basin underground for the the roof leaders uh to minimize any impact uh at least in a short term of of rainfall That's not the majority That is correct
That is correct Describe this site security Uh it is an American water standard as Mr Floyd drop says that uh American Water uh requires a 7-ft fence uh for security
purposes Uh shorter fences would not provide as secure of a facility Um we did opt to put a uh a decorative fence to try to fit in with the uh the local uh community and that fence area but it's not the fire department
That's correct Um I think that was the voice testified this would not be a man facilities no employees So do we need dedicated parking spaces in here No we don't And has your penalized back Yes we did And we did
design it so that a person could perform a K turn and and always come out uh facing a resident landscape is always what uh two things uh come to mind Uh number one in the front of the property we
intend to maintain the existing trees there to you know stay with what the the the community is used to uh and you know maintain the life of those trees Uh and then on the side of yes that side we we
implemented um a row of arborites We we put them in as densely as possible to minimize visual and sound impact of of the next door neighbor There's also some landscape for folks there on little property
finger Correct Correct And then there's some existing vegetation which is ours but we can take advantage of what I believe is the township's property that of course correct Uh in terms of
um noise effects are are the pumps a significant noise generator Uh no they're not So what do you mean by that If I was standing outside the building with my ear against the door and act I don't know that I would say no but
maybe you have good hearing Uh no It would not be loud Yeah If I was standing at the front of the property or my property next door I doubt I doubt you would How about the generator Uh the generator is louder
than the pumps Uh we did place it as far away as possible Um the generator is an emergency generator It will only run one time per month for testing purposes to make sure it works And then it would also run in the event of a power outage
That's correct Correct I think that's what I have in front of testimony for Mr Thank you Any questions to the board members Oh I just heard you didn't hear anything Just heard would be dependent right So
you don't we don't know what the decibel count would be once the pumps are on inside the building I don't have that information for you We do any noise mitigation plans or monitors around in the area to see what it is currently versus when the pumps
are on and the generator is on did not be a known study but we would be certainly going with a known test um as condition measurements I think his testimony was hardly here outside which
means it certainly would be 50 night time which is basically left The test take place at night or during the day Thank you I would need to talk to a a uh noise
specialist does The duration the duration of the test Oh the generator test Oh Uh usually an hour a couple hours Usually done during the I I got confused what you meant by uh the test Well the generator test usually runs for an hour or a couple
hours during the day uh while people are working and hopefully people aren't home to uh disrupted a regular weekday Yes We ask a question of Commissioner Fabiano How long does the one run by
you on the property I can't remember the name of Sixum or whatever Over by PSJ I don't live there anymore Okay Do the present owners ever complain Not that I'm aware of but I Very good
Thank you uh the lighting uh on the on the site but obviously due to security purposes lighting will be on the site What's the timing of that lighting and what's the throw of that lighting I didn't happen to see a lighting Um so the reason there
was no lighting behind this there's no lights or you know lights need for this facility because it basically operates itself right Yes Yes Correct Correct
That's also correct Yes Regarding the building design um isn't it typical to have soundproofing in the generator room to contain those that will be present Yes that will be included And in the general uh building
design itself will it be insulated Otherwise do you have a heat source Is it climate controlled Yes Yes it'll be climate controlled to keep the equipment from And what kind of heat uh electric or Oh you know I don't know Sorry Our
architect will actually speak to that He's going to talk about the building design aesthetically and he can speak to what's in there Okay You are the engineer I'm not sure who to direct this question to but should we should we address the our engineers reports the February 25 2025
um report from your board There are a few Technical comments Take no exception to the comments We agreed to change concrete per granite block We'll provide the copy of the survey We'll note the owners of
the drainage sanitary experience township Um I think we've given the testimony regarding the emergency generator We'll provide the actual noise levels offered with them as approval if you wish Um we are just about to talk
about the color of the brick facade Um we talked about lighting and we'll provide all agency approvals How about the driveway and fence being installed over the sanitary sewer easement No restriction
Thank um for our engineer Do you have any questions Thank you Um just want to confirm once per month that it's the only time you need to exercise generator That would be typical
I'll I'll ask Mr Drop back in case he says yes And time of day that between 9 and 5 hours maybe a half an hour Half an hour
Any further questions from the board Go on real quick With the fencing that goes around the property is it a uh how far off the road is it enough for a car fit there without blocking the street at all when they is it a key they get into the fence with Oh the the entry gate Yes Yes
They can get into the driveway before the the uh and then open the gate The car will already be off off the driven way Yeah Is that an automatic gate or a manual gate Uh I believe it's automatic sh
The gate I believe is automatic Is that correct The gate um is is manually operated It manually opened Yes Basically our employees So that's an automatic thing Yeah
I'm sure our fire department would probably want uh a siren blast broken Um Mr ask would just like to add a little more information about what this obviously is not the first
generation facility might talk a little bit about what's been done at other facilities and what'll be done here Uh before we do that are there any other questions to the engineer Thank you Cough drop work
Good neighbor Yeah we always like to tell people uh we're the best neighbor you could have We don't have parties We don't stay up late We don't play last We might not know So I I wanted to just really expand a little bit upon upon the questions about the generators
Um they're obviously you know let's be frank they're noisy We're used to dealing with them Um typical construction will have uh special block The building's going to be concrete block It's called sand blocks So it's sand attenuating block Um we'll do uh
acoustic installation over top of it Um we don't want the roof basically to act like a drum skin So you got to intercept those noises as as they propagate out Uh we'll use acoustical louvers So I think I just wanted to kind of give you guys a
little more reassurance We even proof in the pudding As Neil said you know post construction measurements the engineer who does the final design has to you know do that sound study to make sure they don't waste our money that thing meets it Um
but we're used to doing all kinds of creative things to keep those noise levels down and be compliant Um even as much as I don't know if you've ever seen a generator mounted on the exterior so exposed
they'll have their own uh enclosure from the manufacturer which really attenuates noise In the worst case scenario sometimes we'll put those inside of our buildings to get kind of the double uh sound reduction if you will if if
necessary Typically it's not Okay Thank you Mr Yeah Could you give the board the benefit of your professional qualifications
Sure I have a bachelor of architecture from NJIT 1987 I was registered in the state as a licensed architect in 1990 I've testified in front of many plane boards and architecture License is current Yes it is Thank you
very much Accepted Thank you Um so the water company asked to design a building some what was your building Right So knowing the area where this building is we were told to
be sympathetic with the general neighborhood So the neighborhood consists of both church and I'll say a very assortment of residential dwellings and so you're we're aware of the condition
Correct Um what are some of the difficulties in achieving that design There's some features here that they just have to be there They're not quite residential to make sure they don't quite go to
residences necessary Yes So as you might expect we don't really have many windows and unoccupied building We do have a lot a few openings though and those openings have loopers in them for ventilation of the equipment within the building Um there are varied sizes uh depending on what they're used
for So on the souththeast corner uh we have large louvers which we've been talking about for the emergency generator uh in the pump room and in the electrical rooms we have smaller generators that would just be for ventilation purposes and so
um what we have visible to the board now is A2 which was the design that we submitted with the application correct but I'm going to ask actually quickly move off of that to A3 three which is a revised design that we we
submitted in response to the faculty associates review the board and make some changes So with the changes in mind it seems as dry as we can right So to be more harmonious fit in with the residential
standards Did a few things to try and improve the look of the original proposal I'll start on the south side which is in the upper left corner That is the side that faces the street Uh there was a louver hold over the top of the double doors that you enter the pump
room We took that louver off of the top of the door and we put openings on either side of the building to make it look Also in that same area we added a gable dormer to kind of break down the masking of the building a little farther
than we already have the two uh height Um on the on the north side of the building the back side we also lengthen the lers to make them more residential sized They were squares before now they're rectangles to be more residential in character Uh and then
what we did all the way around the building is we added a base a darker color brick to try and uh you know give it a more classic composition to side Now for these elevations of course they not show what the building will look like with the
landscape They do not show the design of the building and not obscurely by etc Uh that's correct So which of these will be very closer to the residence Uh so
that would be the west the west side which is the bottom right corner There are no openings on that elevation at all That'll be by That is correct Yeah A combination of I'll say a lighter
red brick and a and a darker sort of brownish color One of the board members asked what would be the source of that Yes So there is a I'll say conditioning system It's a heat pump system So
there'll be uh units in each room to adjust for the heat especially in the summertime and then in the winter time they would also lighting Can I can I add one one additional comment about the lighting So we do have lighting It's recessed in the south above each door So there's the double
doors on the south side and then on the east side we also have we have a second man door into generator room and then we have a third door into the electric Each one will have a recess fixture above that door You will not see the light fixture They're just manual Well so they
by code we have to have it emergency operated So if there's emergency in the building they will go on automatic But otherwise they'll operate What color are you using So we had we have two bricks We have
more of I'll say a light red brick kind of sympathetic to the church I did bring samples There was a request too So this would be the shingle for the roof Now this is the base brick and then
this is the body brick that below that That's the combination This is closer to that church because right now can you share that with the neighbors Can you bring that over They're all over here on the right
Thank you Any other questions about any questions from the board Yes Um I'm not sure if I'm asking the right person I believe I am Uh there's a statement of a a decorative fence Um what what does that mean
It's aluminum painted aluminum pick like or it's so it's like a almost like a rod iron kind of Yeah Yeah What type of what's the spacing What's the spacing on it I think we
have a good I'm sorry I say I miss she in the or not I can't tell from here Can you see through the fence or not Yes Thank you
The plans you you just passed out do not indicate an exhaust manifold for the generator Will that be a roof penetration It'll be a roof penetration on what u what elevation would be It would be on the roof side Actually the generator's on the south
Would it be on the west elevations Uh closest to the west Yeah it would be In other words above the generator room Above the generator room which is on the south side Yeah Somewhere here Will there be any exterior controls for
your ex Uh there'll be a condenser on the ground where I think we have it on the back side that that's also on the side Sorry at the end of your driveway Yes
Can you show me where the movers are on the building right now that are being closed on plan Yep Right there There's an intake on acceleration and then when I say intake it's the cooling of the generator and they'll be exhaust
Can you just explain what a Uber is I I understand Maybe just for clarification Sure Uh is a um an opening in a building to allow air to enter or exit for ventilation purposes Uh there are
horizontal members in there to control rain infiltration ability and we can also as Neil said add acoustical value to those loopers to reduce the amount of noise that would either or escape
are those louvers facing any res uh it I don't think so not direct well the Across the street I guess Yes So on the south side across but it's not directly across It's directly down And there's no looters in the west There are
none Can you tell us a little about the drainage system The gutters Where would they be The downspouts will be leading to surface Uh no they don't They live they go to that underground uh drainage system that we talked about earlier that that Chris mentioned So there are
gutters that go all the way around the perimeter of the building They'll be at the edge of the roof and there'll be leaders on each elevation and that water will be collected and taken on the ground to that treatment I missed that I'm sorry Is that a detention system There's an underground seepage pit which
is uh a little bit like a dry well with with Oh that's all right Perforated pipe and and it's proposed I see Thank you There's currently uh for the residents on the western western side of
the property the the home that's right next to uh on Long um about 20 a final fence that runs almost about 25 the road Um how are you going to accommodate that fence your arbor and your fence
They're between They'll be between the existing fence and the new effect You look at the plan they are so outside of our new fence but to the outside of the neighbor's fence How tall do the archite
grow So you're going to put a fence on a fence No the fences are separated by I'll say few feet and the arrival air plant between them You are a man of many Thank you Has there been a conversation
with your neighbor or a potential neighbor regarding your ladies on like that very unmanageable space just you know being a homeowner myself I can't somebody puts a fence right up against my fence or it's an area that's just not manageable uh to get through because we
place an arborite there basically you can't get to either side of it Has there been a conversation with the neighbor or no I understand that the uh New Jersey water is a wonderful neighbor and won't make noise at night but you know there's
you might make some natural importance but you may want to talk to your neighbor at some point your your property titles So our fence isn't on the property line It's it's within our property right
you're putting plantings right above right So I'm just saying just as not because there's zoning or anything like that being a good neighbor Yeah Um planting things right on the property line of adjacent to the fence it's going to make it very difficult for them to be on the other side of the fence of service or to clean it or for them to be
a good neighbor to you Yeah for sure They may Hey Mr Sorry one more question Will you ever be accessing Hemlock to get to the property Never We were told not
just wanted it on the record And there's is there any fence break aside from the driveway like at egress Um well anywhere around the property you know there's no other openings Mr Hall could give the board the benefit
of your professional qualifications that um allows us to provide us Sure Uh I've been practicing planning since 1988 That was after a degree at Stockton
University and I got a bachelor of science and then another additional 21 credit hours at Ruckers University in urban and regional planning Uh I've been licensed uh since uh for over 30 years now in the state of New Jersey It is current and in good standing U member of
the American Institute of Certified Planners for over 30 years 28 years with the city of Vinand as the review planner for development applications and now on private practice I've been before over 50 boards throughout the state and um
qualified as an expert I would have interrupted him but that was such a great Anyway you credentials are accepted Thank you Thank you So Mr Hawk you push the plans here Obviously you
listen on other occasions to the water country's need for this facility of this I have I've listened to all the testimony tonight and you've looked at the surrounding neighborhood and the location
That's correct What did you uh well I concluded based on the D3 variance that's required it that u you know in looking at the little falls ordinance we only miss out on two uh aspects of the conditional as you know
when when a use is deemed conditional use it's basically permitted as long as you meet all the conditions but in our case just for lot width and lot uh area if not for that this would be a permitted use and it would be allowed by
right and um I'd like to do you want me to go into the testimony of the D3 variance So uh a D3 variance is one of the six D variances that the zoning board uh can grant and it's when there
is one of the specific or one or more of the specific standards of the conditional use are not met In our case there's a total of four conditions in in Little Falls ordinance uh which allows uh essential public utility pump
stations and substations which are permitted conditionally in this zone And the very first condition cannot be located in any other district It's our burden to prove that that's uh the case And you heard the uh testimony from uh
the uh representative from New Jersey American Water And it's a very key specific meaningful place to have uh that this pump station in this location because of how it interrelates with
multiple pump areas and pump systems that they have and the blending of that water and the blending of the pumping facilities is is key The fact that there is also um the facilities and the water
lines at this location uh it was an exhaustive search for uh quite a while and there was also a need to have it in an uplands location and that uh met that So I feel it meets the uh condition one that it be locate can't not be located
in any other district So uh with regards to condition two it has to be housed in a building that harmonizes with the character of the neighborhood And you heard the testimony from our architect You saw the brick samples and the roof samples and
you saw some of the minute details that were provided and given based on your uh board professionals comments to even fine fine-tune it even more to have um features like dormers and slope grooves
and brick and different colors of brick and variations in um the louvers and even the rectangularization of the louvers in order to make look more residential This is a public utility building and it's going to serve that
purpose So it's really hard to get it look to get it to look exactly like a home but it's been use required to be exactly like a home It does not require just harmonious And as far as harmonious
goes if you want to just talk about um brick and the materials perspective uh that corner has the um the church which it's going to match It has not right on the corner but just off the corner is the fire station And then also
I think it's the Little Notch um village apartment complex That's also brick So there is a lot of brick at this area There's brick at various other locations There's one at 31 Hemlock and a couple of them uh that are also along the
neighborhood So because of that I feel that it is harmonious with the character of the neighbor What about the third Uh the third condition is that there be adequate fences safety devices adequate screening and landscaping And we
definitely have satisfied that 7 foot high fence It's going to be um not only there for security because we don't want anyone to get into this facility uh but it's also going to look uh decorative and have a nice appeal to it with the
darker uh metal um finish And uh there'll be evergreens on the the westerly side for the most part to screen the adjacent residential use plantings throughout the site and then a locking gate for security So it meets the third condition as well The
condition use standard asks us to provide adequate fencing in water companies termination 7 foot high is the adequate fence but it exceeds the maximum permitted for other use in the district Is that correct That's correct
My reading of the um ordinance is that a 4ft high fence is the max in the front yard and a a six foot high fence is the maximum in the sideyard So I don't know if any part of this fence qualifies as a sideyard Uh but it's only one foot higher than the maximum allowed in the
sideyard based on the ordinance And then how about that last That last one is all other standards And I count there to be one two six um actually uh eight other standards
that are ordinance standards that the in the R1 zone or RA1 zone and um we meet we meet most of them except for two ones that we meet are front yard on hemlock We're 30 ft uh from the rightway
line versus 30 required Uh we also meet the dimension from Longill Road 31.8 versus 30 We meet the sideyard both the minimum at 10 and the total we're 40.4 total versus 25 Maximum building
coverage we're at 12.1% and that zone allows 25% So we're half uh actually less than half of that amount Um maximum height zone allows three uh two and a half stories and 35 ft We're at one story and 15 feet and minimum ground
floor area Um there is a requirement to have at least 700 square feet on the ground in that zone We have 1,125 And as far as imperous coverage uh 31.8% is our amount and there is an allowance for 55% So we meet all those
The two that we don't meet are kind of the two that are out of our control because the lot exists uh the width uh and the um the area the width being 86.11 versus 100 ft and the uh area being
9,355 versus 15,000 ft I would I would make the argument that um those lot dimension standards 15,100 are were single family uses and designed for that are in and the chart
in the ordinance our use is actually in the single family row and we don't need all the things that a single family home needs We don't we're not going to put a deck or a pool or a shed in so we can um take care of what we need to take care
of on a smaller lot very efficiently and that's really where the focus of the D3 Coventry Square case variance goes Uh Coventry Square was a case that um gave rise to the fact that whatever
deviations you have you try to reconcile it and see that the site can still manage and still survive and be suitable even though you don't meet all the standards We don't meet those two standards but based on what we're doing and based on the intensity and the
infrequency of visits and the amount of space this site survives and is suitable despite not meeting those two standards So that's the D3 positive Positive criteria Y just
staying on positive criteria for for a moment Um you you've heard and familiar with the need for this facility and the great benefit that it serves Could this facility be deemed an inherited benefit
It can And I'll read the definition uh from the uh statute universally considered to be of community value that municipalities should be favorably disposed towards their inclusion And the demand for that higher pressure and that proper pressure during high demand
periods is a a very beneficial use not only for the region but also for uh Little Falls Township and the uses that are nearby Montlair State has a use of the water system uh also various
businesses industries and the residential uses nearby So I I do feel that it is important to have these booster pumps and it is inherently beneficial So it's not listed as one of the inherently beneficiary but it satisfies could satisfy the definition Yes How about the
negative So on the negative uh criteria prong one uh which is no substantial detriment to the public good It's has to do with um whether it takes away from the character of the neighborhood and whether it is
something that would be uh a detriment to the character And we've already talked about and given quite a bit of testimony and design on the building itself and how it is going to meet the character as far as building materials
roof uh slopes and generally just being almost not quite a mini house but being of that character and having a smaller u structure that's going to have uh some house and some residential type character So uh it doesn't take away
from the character of the neighborhood There is a church next door which is a non-residential use which is institutional use So given that and weighing that against the fact that there's this great public benefit for the booster pumps uh it does not rise to
being substantial Second part of the criteria variance is reconcilable with very effective conditions are in the ordinance That's correct This is a conditional use It is permitted as a conditional use Uh we meet all the standards of that
conditional use except for two The two that are out of our control because the lot exists and um the deviations uh are appropriate for allowing this lot to uh function as a public facility Small lot
Correct Um so if the board were to determine that this is beneficial um does this application satisfying test It does And I Yep
That's right And we've established that the need to have uh the various uh uses in the area and the system to be properly pressurized It helps water firefighters um industry residential
uses Yes So the second problem then it's detrimental impacts That's correct Our testimony has been there are none or very few minimal noise if any definitely below uh the decibel levels that are um mandated by through D There's no
treatment at this site So there'll be no odors or chemicals on site uh no production of water is going to take place here and no really assigned personnel to spend the day here There'll be uh the infrequent uh visits uh for
for the testing and for the maintenance So the detriment detrimental impacts are very small Then third step is mitigating conditions That's correct We made changes to site in response to the engineering plan this pleasing
would be the decorative fence plantings harmonizing architecture and um fact that the natural gas generator is overtook the opposite side of the well those are some things that we've done to mitigate the uh the impact
correct so then test is that easy That's very easy The tails I mean the um the scale tips heavily in our favor of of the public benefit versus with very little impact the district Just before
we go it's a 7.5 Yes because of the benefits of um the use that's proposed versus the very little um detriment Like I said six foot high fences are allowed in sideyards This is seven so it's only one foot
higher And then in the front yard it's seven versus four uh the Pulman case says that when the benefits of the overall development are strong enough and overpowering for um even with the C2 variance that it could be granted uh if
uh the overall benefits of what's being proposed outweigh any better just in terms of this facility in addition security which would be first purpose welfare helping to ensure
Um no trespass no interference with the public water supply certainly serve the public health and welfare That's correct Any other purp Uh your ordinance does talk about having
a fence not be any more uh closed than 50% and or well less than that Any questions for Mr Hall Any questions from the board I would like to ask our planner Mr Barry if he has any comments as well Sure Uh
just a question first Um evening Mr Hawk Um in your practice do you typically review residential developments as part of your work Uh when I was with the city of Ireland hundreds and hundreds Do you have any opinion Subdivisions and minor
subdivision Sure Do you have any opinion about the relative intensity of development Were this a single family dwelling as permitted in the zone versus what is being proposed Yeah Um I my knowledge of public utility facilities
based on the amount of uh traffic trips one per day in and one out is well less than the 10.1 that the RSIS standards uh have as a typical trip generation for a single family dwelling um the amount
of impact or intensity of a single family dwelling versus this uh there probably no weekend um visits and and no weekend or late night activity So the intensity of this would be well less than a permitted use which is a single
family dwelling and as you mentioned the um proposed impervious coverage the proposed building coverage are below what would be permitted otherwise That's correct Okay So um you know Mr Chairman with with that in terms of
the standards for the conditional use variance thinking about the intensity of the use on the property whether the property can accommodate the use I think that the the testimony has been on the mark I think that um valid questions and concerns have been raised particularly
about noise and we've heard certain representations that I think that we need to ensure that there's appropriate conditions to follow through with any mitigating factors if they need to be put into place um after the project's
online But otherwise um in my view this this is likely a lesser impact than a new residential building would be much larger most likely and generally have more activity And then as to the fence question normally I I don't always
subscribe to the idea that a C bulk variance is subsumed into a use variance as a matter of course but because the conditional use standard talks about appropriate safety and security I think in this case the um fence variance is
really almost encouraged by the conditional use standards So um I wouldn't see issue with that um provided the board agrees Thank you Mr bearing Any additional questions the board before I open the
meeting to the public May I have a motion to open the meeting to the public Second Second All those in favor I I I All those opposed Nay The meeting is now
open to the public Anyone wishing to come and address the board to ask questions of all the professionals that presented be aware that you will be sworn in the quasi legal hearing Uh so your testimony in fact the entire
meeting is recorded Anyone wish to step up Ladies first and please raise your right hand Do you swear affirmatively to testify that you're about to be before this board is going to be the truth The whole truth and nothing but the truth I do
Please tell us your name last time you give us your address Norm kegger 141 Long Hill Road Right So my house is directly uh next to the one that's
next to the project down the downhill side Um I do remember when we were talking when Mr Bronzudo wanted the variance for this property several years ago We ran a Zoom meeting and the
suggestion was to make the lot larger that the township might assemble in that strip on the other side which had that happened it would have been a you wouldn't have been able to move this building further away from the immediate house
Um I have the same concerns I had at that time Uh I heard that there was they want the environmental study waved I object to that Um even though my house is about equidistance from a house in
the back on um more what's ter Margaret Court When they put that house in they had to blast through RAW Um I'm gonna take a wild guess that because this is the same piece of mountain that that station is going to have to be blasted
out Um and I think that there needs to be a study to find out what exactly is under the piece of land Maybe they have that and they haven't shared it Um when they put that house in the back my whole house shook Um I think if it's
determined that there is bedrock under there that someone needs to post a bond to compensate the neighbors for damage to their property if blasting has to occur to put that in I'm also concerned
with the runoff Um my house is a brownstone foundation It's been there 130 years I still have to have a French drain on the uphill side and a huge sump pump and a backup pump Uh the runoff is significant Um I heard the testimony
that there's going to be a collection tank but that that collection tank as I understand it and I'm not an engineer has little holes in it or feeders where that water gradually goes out into the surrounding area Is that correct Am I
correct on that Mr Brian can your professionals address that It doesn't go into the it gets filled into the surrounding If you're commenting can you step up to the microphone We don't want to
lose because we can't hear you She asked whether it was connected to the sewer It's not connected to the sewer Uh it will infiltrate into the soil Okay And the blasting the
blasting Now what's undo that My firm has not been engaged in exploring the water be sure there won't be any glassing The foundations don't go any lower than the depth of the existing water manong the driveway and to
your water like that little strip of land but can't move the building over any further storm Okay So we really go on further at least that's okay So you're what about the
possibility of posting a bond in case there is blast We would deal with that on a case by case basis We had bond for every single every single eventuality but certainly some damage such as
So we can do pre and post condition surveys if there is inflac and vibration monitoring Yeah If there's blast of all surrounding properties correct Correct the sound issue Um is that study done
after the building is installed or be or is it done on similar facilities um in other areas to determine what the sound level is be done So measure what the actual sound is and if sound don't meet the
requirements required to do something else Okay Is the um is the uh generator inside the building or out Yes it's inside It's it's
testific ly and then right on the generator there are sand block that has sand on the inside so that there would be
so again make sure that that property line when we're talking about decorative fence are we talking about a similar picket vent high picket fence such as around the reservoir
under it's a high green fence with a curvature to prevent okay um what's the approximate distance between that those looks the left end of the building to the the neighbor's fence it looks rather narrow
and you're talking about arbor is 10 ft It's 10 ft from the edge of the building to the neighbor's home Yes Okay Assuming that is right on the propert And the fence will be around the building not the entire correct So the
little square you can see it there pointed out So yes there will be large portions of the property that will still be open and water company only secures it facility It's not the building because
vehicles have to get in there but it's represents a third of the property So are those I'm assuming that's landscaping under that parking lot in front of the property that row there Yes
And the original trees All the questions I have Thank you very Mrs Ger Yes I compliment you on your questions Well done Anyone else Please raise your right hand You swear
from the testimony you're about to give before this board It's going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do Please tell us your name display last time You give us your address sir My name is uh Daniel Giri I live at 152 Longill Road And on your map that would be number two directly across
on the south side Can you spell your last name please Last name Last name G E A R Y Thank you But building number two directly across Well I'm sorry Building number three building number three um
directly across on the south side of the facil the proposed building So questions yes but a little background on myself I'm retired so I do have a little more time now at the home and I should point
out in my 45 years of working in the film industry I built a few sound studios Now in doing so you had to make sure that they were quiet and if there was any equipment going in and out of that or on top of the buildings it had
to be quiet such as a air conditioning unit etc Um in this case they're talking about pumps being placed on as I understand it concrete base Would that be correct gentlemen Okay Again if you're going to answer please come up so
we can hear you over the microphone I'll probably I'll try to make my not you though I understand Yes Pumps are located on concrete floor and okay Now before we get to the number of pumps that are necessary for this work I
question on the pumps as far as sound will they be placed on vibration isolation vibration isolators That's one question regarding sound indicated
Yes Yes Are you familiar with vibration That's just another sound actuator that should be taken into consideration that I living right across the street and the number of less than 100 ft I will hear
that Now you're also placing louvers that are facing the south side as I see it It's not we're not seeing that right on here but those louvers I don't know about the spacing and I know that you have to go ahead and do that for ventilation from the west side and from
the south side but nothing on the west side and that's good for my neighbor who I'm sure you'll hear from But I will hear trust me And I'm I do have hearing aids So I will be hearing those when I'm sitting on my front porch and I'm trying
to enjoy say in the summer an ice cold tea and I will hear I hear traffic all the time but I know I will hear those pumps So I have concerns about that As far as the um 9 to5 going off the the generator
that is a that is run by gas as I as I understood Is that correct Yes that was run by gas All right Lighting is a concern Um again sitting on my front
porch and I'm enjoying the evening and listening to the crickets I may be listening to pumps across the street but lighting is another concern that I have You mentioned 24-hour lighting on this facility but they're going to be on
sensors or is there more information on the lighting Will you be putting additional lighting in the parking lot for when somebody pulls in if they have to get there for say an emergency run Um you just indicate lights going
underneath and sophet above a door and two doors are in fact three doors Okay that's after you get into the fence which operates the fence operates on a uh sensor I think But if the
electricity is not working how did you get past the fence So if you can answer that question is there another gate for personnel to enter the facility through the gates aside from the operating date Do you have another way to get into it
No you do not Okay Just something that we might want to ask about and where that would be located All right Uh lighting pumps Pumps are a question Now I understand I'm not going to be getting any benefit from these from the
water being pumped up the hill And I've seen number of pumps over the years um in other areas in New York City A friend of mine works for the New York City uh Department of Water and over by the Croton Reservoir I'm originally lived in New York State and I'm familiar
with how they added new pumping stations from the 19th century into the 20th century to bring us into the 21st century all based on demand Now this may be as I understand it may be for something that's going to be for people
50 years from now My first question is in your planning are you planning for more buildings to be put in Number one are you planning for the university to have use for this pumping station
because the water company doesn't plan for additional buildings Water company does tests or does studies to determine or try to predict demand Other folks buildings other folks build the university Other folks increase the
population Okay Well Norma I wish you could answer ask that question because as far as studies are concerned that's one I'd like to know more about Um because I mean I may not be around 50 years from now but some of you folks might be and their children
might be So I'm curious about um how that works because this only is beneficial as I understand it to people who are on the north side of Long Hill Road And how why do we have to have four pumps in a building this size Why do we
even have to have a building this size That's another question I have I see other pumping stations down the hill working for the New York new Newark res New York new Newark the city of Newark And shoot I'm a little nervous being up here in front of you but as far as
getting water over the hill to be pumped all the way to the city of Newark Well this is only for a small area of people and you have four pumps that I don't understand Now is that in some of your studies too Why do we have four pumps Mr
Floyd explain that where the the area that each each pump serve feedback testimony before we like to hear it again No no you heard it already All right I'm sorry I was a little late I was I was with Mickey Cheryl She was having her town hall meeting over at Monontlair State University Ran a little
late so I couldn't get here right for the beginning of this one So you'll have to excuse me I was worried more about tariffs and what's going on in Washington But aside from that I I I can always read those minutes if I wanted to later But basically you've answered all
those questions Now I guess I'll ask the board if I can Sure If I could bring some issues that I have concern about with the idea of this pumping station be there You can make your comments We will not respond Very
good Understood Um first comment is the fact why do we need such a big building in a small area Yes I am concerned It's right across the street from my house All right What's it going to do for my resale value That's a concern I have Not everyone else does You know how long
this is going to take to build I hear you're looking to get this done by 2028 Um when do you want upon approval When do you expect to go ahead and break ground to start this They can answer these questions Yes So you can answer
that question right gentlemen Upon approval when do you expect to break ground How soon after you would begin 2027 is the construction start Okay Condition one under your variances Now there was three conditions I heard I'm not a planner I don't get
involved with that But I do I am concerned about condition two the immediate sighteline of the design of you know this and so on that there is aside from the church there's no other buildings you mentioned other buildings but they're not in the
immediate sighteline at that intersection up at the top of the hill um those buildings that you mentioned are in quite a distance but not within sighteline of that area only the church so I wanted to make that comment item
condition number three Uh 700 7 foot high fence That's a wonderful idea I have no problem with that Yes But I would ask could you cover it with some netting because I'm very familiar with the type of fencing you're looking at I believe it's more of like a aluminum
rectangular looming aluminum that it's going to be And what color is it going to be Is it going to be brown red black white You mentioned decorative That's all I heard It's black Okay So it's very similar to what you were asking about
over at the reservoir and that's small but it'd be great if you go ahead and cover it with some uh netting so you can't tell what's going on the other side of the fence [Music] Um again gentlemen ladies and gentlemen
I am very concerned that this building is being placed across from my house and um that yes if I sit on my front porch in my rocking chair that I'm going to be listening to
pumps that I'm going to have to see lighting going on and off The size of the building is a concern to me as well as my immed right next to it which is in building 10 I don't know why you really need this size building there
I can't understand that Aside from that I'm I thank you for your time and that's all I have to say Thank you for your comments Mr Mr Gary Anyone else Please raise your right hand You swear from your testimony you're about to give
me the word It's going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do Please tell us your name Spell your last name Give us your address sir Uh how you doing everybody It is Peter Last name is Loera So it's going to be L O V as in Victor E R A S
And this plant I live in lot seven I am the neighbor that lives direct next to this What's your street It is 145 Longhill Road So um I think everybody did an excellent job questions that they had so far They addressed most of the things
that I had concerns with Um one of the things that I had concerned with was the decibel level that is going to be coming out of this building As most of you mentioned my bedroom would probably be
about 70 ft away from the end of this building My bedroom is in the front corner as you guys described the front east corner of my home My question would be and I believe you
made it clear to me you guys have a sorry words getting away from me no you have an easement on that rivalry which is why you're placing this
building in that it's not actually there are utilities that storm water to drain the cul back there I think there's a sewer pipe in there and is there It's it's not just us It's so my
question would solely be because most everybody that came up already asked most of the questions instead of doing the 45 by 25 why couldn't you do 25 by 45 and get it further away from the residents
It it would decide further away but because this The required setback from the culac is actually right here in the back of the building So we couldn't approach into that um into that setback because it's a lot smaller because it's
it's it's narrow the building envelope is actually right where the building is Okay So the reason that I'm asking this is as everybody asked you guys before you mentioned you were unaware about the EV level from the pumps but
I'm sure the newer style pumps and they're not very loud but even at that they do have a DV output I'm sure the generator is not going to be running time but you guys are running as you guys said heat pump system that is going to be removing the
heat that's going to be generated from these rooms And in the summertime the pump's running all the time They're making heat all the time So that means that's going to be running all the time
Yes So no matter what there's a constant BB level coming off of this facility Next correct Uh the heat pump system is very like what you would have in your house and the noise level coming from the condenser the outside piece of
equipment have it is farther away I said earlier it's only thank you u so with that being said the only other concern was the other one that was mentioned yes the building is 10 ft away
from the fence that's on my property Um I would double check my survey The fence on my property is not actually on my property Fence on my property is past my property My property line goes beyond the fence So beyond
that you're approving your fence What is the footage between your fence and my fence I don't think we have the answer to that question but we did prepare the site with the benefit of the service So we're 100% sure you're not Okay No that I'm aware
of I just wanted to know like as was mentioned before if I had to service my fence am I cutting down your abide to service my fence Okay Besides that everybody else did a
very excellent job You guys did a great job So thank you very much for your time Thank you for your comments Anyone else wish to address the board No one coming forward I close the meeting to the
public Uh any comments from our professionals Mr Badoro So chairman u the applicants looking for conditional use approval conditional use variance approval that's the D3 variance that
they spoke about preliminary final site plan approval the conditions of the conditional use ordinance the lot area lot with deficiencies uh the board approved that in a prior subdivision which I'm sure the board is aware
of So it's really just a question of revoting and reapproving what the board previously approved the fence height It's interesting because under the conditional use ordinance it talks
about you know adequate fence but we do have this another ordinance that has the height of the fence but I think the applicant is put in proofs in in both uh scenarios Um in terms of
conditions the board were to look favorably upon this application uh the applicant would be required to comply with technical comments to the board engineers board engineers review report which the applicant has indicated they have no problem with
They also agreed to a noise study in order to demonstrate that pumps generators within this building would comply to the NJ standards for decibb at property line I understand that there's also been
representations that they don't anticipate any blasting to construct this building but they also agreed that in the event that they were to embark upon blasting that they would provide pre and post blast surveys and all the
other requirements that are in the house when you have blast That would change the whole construction plan for the project Understood So this is a a devariance Um so seven board members will vote The applicant needs to obtain the affirmative vote of
five board members in order to secure an approval I'm sorry chairman Are questions off the table right now Can we ask another question You can ask a question What is preventing the applicant from what the gentleman stated making it vertical instead of horizontal on the plans other than one more
variance for a rear setback whatever it is What's preventing them from doing that Some of the louvers that are next door neighbors But if you turn it why couldn't the louvers be on the other side Because the equipment has a certain layout
building designed to accommodate this facility It'll be the typical you know public utility who cares American water Do not enter do not enter There will also be telev that have any concerns Mr O'Brien I know one of the board members mentioned about fire department gaining
access Yeah water company's used to that They'll do whatever is required Okay very good Is that concludes your testimony It does I'm sorry I didn't That's quite a rush Thank you Um I believe not
only plan or a study but mitigation as well I believe that's all we agreed to Yeah Oh if sure Yes Any other questions to the board or comments
I have a motion Chairman I'll make the motion based on the stipulations uh that the board attorney has made May I have a second That's to approve To
approve Okay We always have to add May I have a second to the motion please Second Please Mr Barry yes Mr Parage no Mr Luke Damiano Yes
Miss Gataldo yes Mr Sber yes Mr Posus no Mr Kilpatrick yes Count I believe it was 5 to two The motion is approved Thank you very much gentlemen Um we've been at this for almost two
hours Does anybody wish to have a comfort break We'll have a five minute cover break Thank you Um wanted to make some comments prior to presentation Yeah At the next
meeting So Mr Chairman just just for the record um this is not a public hearing tonight Um the application has been filed Applicant would like to address the board The applicant now has the
benefit of the board planners report the board engineers report So they are aware of certain comments and concerns that the board professionals have So my understanding is they just want to make a brief presentation tonight and they will come back They will provide notice
to the public and they will come back for in the future for a public hearing That's my understanding Mr Chairman Thank you Mr Thank you very much for your patience It's a You are Mr Forella Yeah Anthony Fiorella office at 16 Furst Street Total Barrel and I'm here on
behalf of Martino Enterprises Uh I'm sure the board at least some of the board members are familiar with an application that was brought a couple of years ago wherein the Marino premises or Martino Enterprise buildings uh were
approved for apartments uh the approval was conditioned upon D approval Unfortunately D did not approve uh the application So the condition of the approval couldn't be met So the orderos were left to try to revision their
project and what they could do And this was an attempt to see what could be done with respect to these premises Uh and the application was filed in order to get comment from your professionals and to see what is possible as they move forward to another phase uh of uh a hope
for development You're aware of the property It's located almost at the intersection of Main Street and Route 23 or Pumpton Avenue Uh it is uh I guess east from uh the uh restaurant from the church and from the private school Used
to be the school for the church but it's a private school They have two lots there Lots 11 and lot 12 One is about an acre and a half more or less The other is a half acre But it's unusual in that this property has a zone line that splits off lot 11 the halfacre smaller
piece and lot 12 which has most all most all the buildings on it Uh lot 11 contains frankly uh parking for the facilities on lot 12 The U zone uh for lot 11 is RB1 RB2
RB1 RB1 residential Um the zone for the for the a lot 12 which the bigger piece is industrial Now going back a number of years uh many many years there was a foundry on the site uh and it operated
as a foundry switched into warehouses switched into industry fabrication all is permitted under your industrial ordinance the uh our one zone remain frankly a parking
lot It's too small for a residential development It really doesn't fit in the area that it's located for residential uses So we have the split duality and we have constructed on the property things that are probably best focused in a
mixeduse zone but we don't have a mixeduse zone in Little Falls So many years ago there was approved uh stores uh they were non-conforming uses and every time a new store moved
in the marinos had to come back before the board for approval So we have a hair salon uh we have a plumbing establishment we have uh a dancing studio we have a tanning salon So if the
dancing the hair salon decides to move and we put in a nail polar instead we have to come back before the board for a variant So it's a very odd situation that the martinas were were faced with and how best to figure out how to utilize this split zone Uh the stores
are existing and nothing you can do with them other than tear them down We can't do that because there's nothing else to put in So Mr Moreno was considering a a thought of utilizing the buildings that are
parallel to Main Street keeping the stores that are there their businesses They've been operating uh hard to rent them Uh small stores in an urban a community like Little Falls don't rent up very quickly Some of them are vacant
Most of the time there's vacancies there Vacancies are not good for the community uh just not a good sign of help and vigor So the thought was to request consideration with respect to the building that's parallel to Main
Street especially upstairs businesses that are there that really don't have frontage They don't have a window to look out and advertise with to convert two that two two apartments into that area about a thousand square feet each uh and re let
the remaining uh business that's up there stay uh and with respect to the building that's perpendicular to Main Street to do pretty much the same The upstairs doesn't rent out convert that to two apartments uh and a a business use for
the for the third area of space with respect to the existing warehousing and industrial use uh is proposed to keep that pretty much the same The thought was to have smaller
warehouse uses in the form of mini warehousing or self storage uh in the same footprint There's no expansion in their thoughts when they generated this plan as a concept as it were to see what what what would fly what would make sense having your opin your input as
well as your professionals So there would be an addition uh to one of the areas presently under construction So it wouldn't change the footprint We just had one story Uh and the industrial uses would remain pretty much the same
Whatever the industrial use zone permits whether it be assembly whether it be fabricating whether it be warehousing would abide whatever tenant came by was willing to utilize those premises So the plan more of a concept than this is what
we want to do uh is to invite you to take a look at it see if we're doing the right thing or if there's thoughts that you may have or your professionals may have We certainly appreciated their input because it gave us more grist as it were to refine our plans uh and and
cement them in our thoughts uh and to see what the board may think of the concept of having the existing stores uh fronting on Main Street with two apartments above the perpendicular uh
building uh having the existing stores on the bottom with two apartments above and to utilize on the same footprint where the warehouses I'm going to call it warehouses because there's more than just warehouse there It's industrial use There's some fabrication There was a
chair company there that brought in parts and assembled them to keep that the same industrial uses permitted under your ordinance and just expand it by adding a one additional story over a portion of the warehouse portion as I call it Uh and see if that is something
within the contemplation of the board Is it something we should go forward with Uh we spent an awful lot of treasure and money with respect to the 64 apartments that were there through months of testimony and professional fees D
concerns Uh so we would like to proceed cautiously to see if this project uh can become a real So I have Mr Mart here He has thoughts like please address I want to apologize for come having to come back again and I want to
thank everybody on the board everybody for approving us after we got denied uh we got approved by the town we got approved by the by the uh county we got approved um technically by
the state on the site uh but we got denied the access for Main Street because they raised the the water they We did not let that go We went after the state
Uh Don knows all about that Went after the state about a year Um uh trying to invite them as me going down and speaking to the assistant uh commissioner for a lengthy bit of time Uh they determined
that it was not going to happen uh an 8 vote and they weren't going to uh change Um so we spent a lot of you spent hundreds of thousands of dollars close to a half a million
dollars uh in uh fees everything else over divorces all these years trying to put that through It was a beautiful thought Loved it But I wanted to um now come back to Sonia to try to
uh try to fix up the um try to fix up what I have there As you know we were n at the 99% completion and approval We emptied almost all of our old our building um of the
tenants Uh so we had we had no income coming in for years Now we've finally got the tenants back up Um get some kind of revenue back Um so I would like to do something with
the back building and the left corner Thanks James Uh the left corner uh which is currently there currently I just want to um put two stories in there
The entrance is going to remain the same Uh we're just going to expand it back into the warehouse and make two stores there That's where your How many apartments will go there So the the the apartments wouldn't be there The apartments would be on the second floor
right where you're at right there Top left of over the laundromat only right there Those three windows right there That'd be two The other tube is on the inside a little further back to the left
right above the nail No to the right above the tunnel Those are old pictures Yeah it won't be connected to the self storage Right That's where you see the tumble zone now
That's a Us FedEx Yes Yes I've been there So that's where they were going to go And as the warehouse what we have here Mr Fierella was expanding on I
um right now you don't know who comes to that wants to rent 15,000 or 22,000 or 20,000 square feet They may just want to wait uh rent 5,000 square feet or 7,000 square feet or a warehouse
So my idea was to keep the warehousing and what what is not rented like a mini storage Um the second floor Mr Furella
was speaking about the dominant long part of the building in turn that coming from front to back Uh we're not adding a level in there Um right there Perfect
Thank you Left to right It's going to be within the building You have the height uh clearance Obviously we want to take down the want to redo the roof Looks terrible
Um that stack is no longer there Um that was taken down over the summer and want just want to fix it up make it look better But you wouldn't add a level to that You would use that second level for purp
Yeah we're going to put a mezanine in the middle of the where where we were going to add one single level is on the um inside back of the parking
lot Comes the main parking lot there Right there Okay Add one level And the reason for that for extra uh usage um storage many storage
I guess my question is this Where were when I think of self storage you know you you get a key and a lock and print goes up and you have an area to put your things in Is that what you're thinking of or you're thinking of
many warehouse thinking of some of that and smaller small not a warehouse space but not a self storage space if someone wanted to say like a for example we had to call for a plumber they want put a plumber in
well they they only needed about 500 square feet I guess what I'm leading to is from a parking point of view um that could be challenging people could move in there and set up little offices employees something to consider going
forward have to come back and running Well that's yes So have to be have to be industry warehousing assembly things of that I mean there was like there's there was a
small section of office space currently in there too You have to have a little something in there if someone has a warehouse space like so for that facility right there They had a small office space inside the space to do your paperwork shipping out shipping in it's
just not even if it was just stores you have to have something there Your labels your your your your log register you have to have something for somebody there So that whole space out of a store Yeah we're we're we're saying the same thing
there may be employees there that should be taken into consideration Um I have just just a few comments for direction Uh you mentioned to make architectural changes enhancements we haven't actually seen the plans
uh or the plans we have seen sounds as if they'll be changed Okay So something like they put the self storage we're calling that self warehousing We we'd like to see if that can be dressed up more than what we see on the additional plans In the previous
approvals for the front of the building we had brick on the bottom and we had hardy board on top Okay we'd like to see that unless you can enhance that even more I'm not saying make it look like a squishlet but you know what I'm talking
Um the bedrooms I was concerned cuz I thought you were putting two additional bedrooms in the back but you're not By back I mean where the warehousing self storage will be So that's good Uh they're all going to be one-bedroom
units It's only four which is good for reasons you're aware And that's all I have Any other any comments or thoughts from the board members The storage facility was going to be 24 hours a day seven days a week
If we were going to put in the ideas but a little bit more and then we'll keep building answer your question Like subcontractor cages like subcontractor cage or contractor cages I have one inside
One last question Is there presently uh ingress and eress from G Street There's defense sloped We locked Do you open it during the day now Yeah Okay Because part of the original uh
we're going to cut off entry from Gross Street in order have neighbors be happy and uh we're going to put in a gate Excellent Okay that's all the comments I have Any additional comments from the
board Yes I Oh thank you Um I'm looking at the plans that were submitted and to me it looks like a fullscale self storage rental facility You sound like you're describing it as something that's
not quite retail like a homeowner wouldn't rent if they need extra space to store things They they put if you're going to do the self storage Yeah
Basic All that you see there [Music] They're not even design anyway Yeah When you do a solid layout so it's
customizable right They they utilize the best Yeah Um the last time you um you were you appeared before the board there were some residents in the in the area behind around Grove Street and Dwey who
were concerned about the height of the proposed um project and you had agreed to do a setback Now what you're showing on these plans is using the existing footprint which is
a lot closer to the property line than what was agreed to with the last project that we approved So my concern is that I would expect the same number of people from the community to come and object to a second floor being added to a project
to a building that's closer to the property line than what was originally approved in your last application Right We're not raising anything on that side
Okay It it does show that here in the plans that you submitted So because it says proposed second floor plan there exactly Yeah How about behind that closer to Dwey Exactly
Oh so there's no second floor Like I like I said we're putting a second floor inside We have a height inside the building So the existing height I see a second floor Okay You put a floor here
I understand So that you're not you're not you're not adding to the existing roof Yeah Yeah The only spot we want it second floor is the back I see Okay That is not clear in the plans that
you No Well that's that's why we I'm glad you came and I'm glad we clarified a lot of things Um yes the autoturn analysis when you did this was it on box trucks cars trailers How they and is only one way
traffic They're not as street Believe it was just for emergency possibly Maybe the last but proposing is to come in off
um see where the black bands are Yeah There I parking right there continuing into the park as it is and there yeah I was just looking at the term
analysis done and I'm just I'm just a little concerned that you got you have a pinch point on a building you're trying to access the red doors So I guess this way we're still going this way Mhm And you have now coming
around doors for storage or whatever you like I just want to be clear that you had at least two way traffic to do that if that was okay That's how we get just what I'm just looking at That's all
Yeah You know uh regarding the apartments too I know you want to put four in but is there a reason you're not going to put another apartment in the front on Main Street on that corner that says existing business to remain Seems to me that that would be more logical
use to be an apartment too Honestly check Well yeah Um I I I believe this would this would trigger me going back to being
um res and access two apartments Yeah The third apartment would trigger D and back where we were going So access to these two units would be in from the back or from main street
all comes together We're doing this very very solidly destroy slowly painfully but it came together that's the building that I built Okay So you're going to be walking steps
which you're located where on the side building that's not this is going above it I see right now there's a dance ballerina there above the see
where the laundry center pole that we put there Right there That's I think the question is are you going to have a door so they get up your apartment's located there
No The door that's which is where Okay Thank you That answers that Yep Yes Any further question recommendations Thank you very much All right Thank you
for your input We'll be uh revising plans rethinking uh what we said and what we heard here tonight And I thank you for your time and your courtesy Thank you Seems like there might be a pinch point there especially doing something especially break down
Okay Thank you Thank you Uh any old business Any new business Bills are presented to the chair I have a motion for procurement So