7:30. You're on record. Okay. I would like to call to order this meeting of the Precipany Troy Hills Planning Board for Monday, May 5th, um 2025 at 7:30 p.m. The
uh announcement is made that adequate notice of this meeting has been given and that is being conducted in accordance with the with NJSA 10 col4-6XT of the New Jersey Open Public Meetings uh act. Roll call, please. Mr.
Diddich, here. Councilwoman Hernandez, yes. Mr. Meyer, yes. Mr. Math, present. Mr. Npalitano, here. So, our board planner, Miss Winter, and our board attorney, Miss Stein. Okay. So, I'd like to pledge allegiance,
please. Pledge to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisibley and justice for all. And for the record uh Mr. Dpierro is
present. Okay. Hi, how are you? All right. So, first we have um so this meeting is open to the general public. Is there any member of the public wishing to bring any business for this board that is not on our
agenda? If so, seeing none, let's move on. Correspondence. We have received correspondence from John Miller of Inglacino Taylor requesting application 24 colon 524 30
Homell Road block 338 lot 10 be carried to July 21st without further notice and grants an extension of time for the board to act to July 31st 2025. Um, talking to our at board attorney,
I'm thinking that I'm personally I think that this application should have to renotice if they come back forward. I think this goes back to January and uh enough times passed that I think if they're going to
come back, I think they should have to renotice. I don't know how the rest of the board feels. What do we do? Take a vote or Yeah. So, this application was originally noticed for our January 6th meeting, I think, and we've granted the
extensions several times now, just so originally for the applicant to um change council, then to respond to the board professionals letters. Um, and now they're asking for this additional um
two-month, three-month extension, two-month extension. Um, but no other notice has gone out besides what we've said at the meeting. So, um, if you want, you could say you get this one more chance without notice. All right.
Or you could say you can adjourn it, but you have to renotice. Up to you, right? Okay. Well, wait. They changed attorneys since they noticed. Yeah. Yeah. That's what I was going to say. That would have caused a a delay. Uh, that was not their
fault. Yeah. Um, and now you have new attorneys that have had to study. So, it would cause another delay for new attorneys. So, if they were just delaying for the sake of delaying, I would agree with you. But, but these are both delays that they they kind of had
no choice on. I I'll give them one more. My opinion. Anybody else have I'm just wondering what what what the last sentence there without further notice and grants extension of time for the board to act to July 31st. Wait, is that because we had a meeting that night on
31st or that's just No, what happens is in municipal land use law as soon as an application is deemed complete we have a certain amount of time to uh act on it unless the applicant grants us an extension. So that's what that extension is to for us meaning that
um and and let's just say they started their application. If they didn't finish that night, trust me, before they left, they'd be giving us another extension cuz the threat is if we haven't heard the whole case, we're going to vote no cuz we haven't heard enough.
So So it isn't like if it passes that J July 31st and it it's approved. No, what happens is they're they're extending the amount of time for us to act. Got So that's that's not an issue. We don't want automatic approval, right? Yeah.
So all right then. Uh I guess I'll uh withdraw my request to say that let's ask them for new notice. Um what do we should we take a vote on this? Yep. Yes. Okay. Uh can I have a motion to um carry this meet the this case with no further
notice to July 21st? I make a motion to grant the request. Second, Netty Ch. All right. Um, any discussion? Um, all in favor? I I think we got a unanimous voice vote,
Nora. Any opposed? Any abstensions? All right, we're good. All right. So that means we do not uh the our first application our agenda is not going to be heard because we just granted uh moved it to the next meeting. Our next I'll just make the announcement
that the application number 24 col 524 for 30 Homell road block 338 lot 10 for minor subdivision with C variance relief and a soil moving permit for two lot subdivision will be carried to the board's July 21st 2025 meeting without
further notice. Okay. Our next application is uh Bricksmore um 3081 Route 46 block 411 lot 3.01 statement for basis and preliminary investigation of area in need of
redevelopment. Miss Winter. All right. So purpose of tonight's meeting is determine whether or not the Morris Hill study area also known as Brooks Moore or 3081 Route 46 or the Mor Morris Hill shopping center which is
located across the way meets the statutory requirements to determine an area need of redevelopment. A preliminary investigation is essentially an existing conditions report. The study area is a single lot uh with block 411
lot 31.1. It's a 19.18 acre parcel, commercial shopping center, which contains a movie theater, freestanding bank, and two multi-tenant retail buildings, associated parking lots, landscaping, and signage, and it's in the B1 highway commercial district. So, there has been a steady
decline in the occupancy of the shopping center over the last 5 years. The movie theater has been closed since 2020 and is in a state of disrepair. The shopping center has lost its anchor tenants and a few smaller shops remain. The current occupancy is just 14.6%. The decline in retail and movie
theaters is not a problem unique to Parcanany. With the growth of online sales and streaming platforms, these industries have been hard hit and the pandemic accelerated their decline. On February 11th, I did a site visit. Uh vacancies are evident with empty storefronts and signs. I think we've all
driven past and can see that. I went into the movie theater. Uh some of the pictures show there's spray painting, broken windows, and it's been boarded up to prevent further vandalism. Multiple points of entry for the weather and vermin, which can lead to further decay of the building, as well as spread
disease. When you're on the site, there's a sea of parking lots with minimal landscaping. The bank sits at the corners, highly visible, but the rest of the site is set back from the highway. And page 16 has an aerial view. You can see how far back the movie theater is set, as well as the inner
corner of the two retail buildings. The current layout is outdated and inefficient. The lack of visibility makes those spaces less desirable for potential tenants. Their vacancy leaves the movie theater parking lot unused and unwatched. There are no
eyes over there because there's isn't a reason for anyone to be over there. During my visit, though, I saw several cars loitering as well as speeding through and around the movie theater. Um, there's potential safety hazards. There's also the potential for illegal activities to occur in the
vicinity. The redevelopment law provides for eight different criterion to determine if an area qualifies as a need of redevelopment. The important thing to note is that a study area only has to meet one of these criteria to qualify. This one qualifies under four. The first
is criterion A. as discuss the generality of the buildings particularly the movie theater or substandard unsafe unsanitary dilapitated and obsolescent uh criterion B the discontinuence of the use of a building or buildings which were previously used for commercial purposes or significant vacancies of
such buildings for at least 2 years um we've noted vacancies for at least 5 years the study area also qualifies under criterion D which builds on the previous criterion A the shopping center is absolely less than in the current marketplace and shows faulty arrangement
of design and obsolete layout. The increasing vacancies result in a lack of productive use and offer little public benefit. The combination of these factors are detrimental to the safety, health, morals, and welfare of the community. And finally, under criterion
H, the study area is located in the metropolitan planning area of the state plan. The intention of which is to provide for much of the state's future redevelopment, revitalize cities and towns, promote growth in compact forms, stabilize older suburbs, redesign areas
of spraw, and protect the character of existing stable communities. While listing specific redevelopment activities for the study areas beyond the scope of this report, the redevelopment of this site may be expected to result in economic development for the townships and its taxpayers, which is consistent with
SMART group planning principles as embodied in the state plan. So, in conclusion, the study area qualifies under the local redevelopment and housing law under four of the eight criteria. Therefore, I recommend that the planning board find as such and can recommend to the council that the Morris
Hill study area be declared an area needed development. So, just to remind the board of the process if basically if we we would vote to agree with this and then the next step would be to go to council to develop redevelopment criteria, right?
Council would designate it an area needed of redevelopment. That would be the next step. Um after that's done, then a plan could be created for that area. And once the plan was created, it would come back here, would go back to council, would have to be approved. And
not until those things happened would um the developer come back and actually submit a site plan, which would also have to be approved. Okay. Um can I entertain a motion so we can start? Can we have discussion first?
Oh, we have Mr. Chairman, can I ask a question first? Sure. Does the McDonald's is the McDonald's included in this? No, no, it's its own separate lot. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Does this include all the shops that are occupied now? It Yes, it includes the
whole lot. Um, it doesn't necessarily mean that those shops will be gone. Okay. So, they could they could cut it in half or whatever they Right. Okay. Right. But so, the movie theater, the Marshalls, and the is that HomeGoods used to be there. So, basically those three those are empty. There was a gym that's empty. It's a lot of smaller
shops. That one um building that's kind of faces perpendicular. Two cheap Maggis was over there. Yeah, that that's empty. That's that's also included in this too. Yeah, my favorite burger place over there. I don't want to go habit burger. So, I'll make sure that just stays right
there. It's own little building. How about the bank? Is bank part of this? The the bank is part of it. It's on that site. Um again once we get to the redevelopment plan portion of this um you know there could be further discussions of what will happen on those
sites on that site. Um my turn. Yes. Sure. Sure. I would like to dwell on the topics that are not within the realm of this planning board if I may. Um there was an article in a magazine, a
planning magazine oh about two months ago that talked about a a massive project taking place in Paripony with about 1,400 apartments and and stores underneath.
Um, I didn't I cannot envision any other tract of land large enough to do what uh what was in that article except this tract of land right here. Uh, so I'm concerned about apartments being a part
of that discussion. Um, and not only that, but every time we do an area in need of redevelopment, we end up talking about pilots sometime down the line. And there's no way I would support a pilot if it's going to include apartments. So,
I just want to put that down for the record. Uh, I'm not going there and I hope no one else on the planning board does either. Is there any way to of knowing that's outside of the realm of this
board? Yeah, it is. Right. So, at this point, as Miss Winter explained, we're just reviewing whether this property meets those criteria. Then any um any actual decision on what will be
permitted, a permitted use on the property will happen at the redevelopment plan stage, which we review for consist master plan consistency. Anything involving a pilot is done at the council level. Yeah.
Well, yeah. I mean, I've heard I didn't read anything in a magazine, but I've heard that the developer is interested in that. So, that's for council. And and ultimately, the township makes the decision of how, you know, what they
want to allow on this property. Yeah. All right. I I put in my two cents. Thank you. How about warehouses? I think either we are seeing warehouses or we are seeing apartments. So, well, that's not a site for warehousing.
I would say that that would be one of the least likely spots to have warehousing on a highway on a commercial highway like that is okay. All right. Anybody else? Um any members of the public wish to comment on this um
this uh uh basically our report of findings for um area the uh investigation for area need of redevelopment. Seeing none now I can't entertain a vote. All right. Would anybody like to
make a motion to move forward with this uh to accept this study? Mr. Chairman, a motion to move forward with forward with the study for the area in need of redevelopment at Morris Hills.
Okay. Do I have a second? I'll second. Hernandez. Okay, we have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All right. Um, what do we want to do? Take a vote individually. Yes, please. Yes. Yes. DPro, reluctantly. Hernandez,
yes. Millie, yes. Npalitano, yes. Math, yes. So, we talk about Okay. Uh, motion passes. We have no other business on our agenda. So, if that with that the case,
can I have a motion to adjurnn? Second. Yes, you can. All in favor? I I think we're good. All right. Thank you, Nora. Thank you. I get a chance to Marina, thank you for my great grand. Thank you,
Peter.