the rton township planning board is now in session well the water the notice requirements of the open public meetings act have been satisfied by the placing of a notice of this meeting with the bolon board at the municipal building filing the notice with the Township Clerk and transmitting the notice to theun County Democrat The Courier News to St leder in the trend times thank you roll call please chairman Mr Edward gennings here Vice chair Miss Donna Drew she's asked to be excused miss Robin Fatu here Mr Scott McDade here Miss Judy dejon Domenico here Miss Michelle kakiri here Mr Dennis conanan here Mr James Miller here and Mr Glenn soos professionals board attorney Mr John Bardo here Township planner Mr Jeffrey ferella here Township engineer Mr aesh Dari present Township landscape architect Mr John Morgan Thomas for planner Miss Jessica Caldwell and for traffic consultant Mr J Troutman you will be arriving late okay thank you I'm going to ask everybody to please stand and recite the pledge of allegiance to our flag followed by a moment of silence for the men and women in service I pled Ali flag United States of America for stands one nation God indivisible withy and justice for all thank you okay first up this evening we have minutes from our March 13 2024 meeting to approve we had all received those in advance does anyone have any comments or changes on the minutes I do not that being the case can I have a motion to approve please motion second was that Scott yes okay chairman Mr Edward gettings yes miss Robin Fatu yes Mr Scott MCD yes Mr Dennis conanan yes Miss Judy djn Domenico yes Miss Michelle kakiri yes Mr Glen soosi yes okay thank you Tay Taylor I don't know if we have any members of the public who are with us remotely uh we do have a few online we do okay well welcome and welcome to everybody here in the room tonight we don't usually get uh a large group of people but thank you for coming out this evening the next item up on the agenda citizens privilege and what that is that's an opportunity for any of you online or here physically to address the board on any item that is not going to be addressed further down on tonight's agenda if you have something you want to address to the board please uh ident step up to the microphone and identify yourself okay there being none we move on to the next item which is resolutions of which there are none so we're quickly moving to the first public hearing of this evening and that is Flemington Industrial Park which is a site plan waiver for reconstruction and also an enlargement of the loading do actually I apologize I have made an amendment to the agenda so it's uh Flemington Industrial Park amended preliminary and final site plan for warehouse addition sorry about that that's my mistake M Matt Flynn from Sabo sh law and on behalf of the applicant uh Flemington Industrial Park LLC in connection with its application for amended preliminary and final major site plan approval uh it relates to the demolition of on-site building number 500 and the construction of a new building 500A is how it's been labeled on the plans uh which is approximately 14,000 square foot of industrial space and an additional 2400 or so foot of associated office space the lot is block 27 lot 34 in your I2 industrial Zone and it's better known as 45 River Road uh the applicant is not identified nor have any of your professionals identified any variances as part of this proposal so it's as far as we know solely for the amended site plan with me tonight I have two witnesses I have our project engineer Ian Hill from vanlee and I also have our land landscape Arch Peg prizer uh and I do have a representative of the applicant sesh Patel available if there are any questions that relate to operations so Mr Flynn why don't I do this why don't I swear your three Witnesses and um I'm not sure if we WN our board professionals yet this calendar year so anyone that's going to testify on Flemington industrial if you could come forward and raise your right hand and I'd ask our for board professionals to do the same and I would ask all of you if in connection with your testimony tonight you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth including your engineer Mr Hill so help you got or by Otherwise affirming you're all warn thank you Mr Bardo so we'll start with our project engineer Mr Hill whenever he's [Music] ready Mr mentioned here for Amendment Mr Hill you've been here before us on many times for the record why don't we have your Council qualify you as an expert witness in professional engineering by way of your professional background and licenses sure can you go through your professional background and act licenses sure um uh Ian Hill h l l van CLE engineering um I graduated from New Jersey Institute of Technology with a degree of a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering in 2001 I've been a licensed professional engineer in the state since 2005 my license is current um I've testified before this board numerous times um I'm a board engineer at various municipalities around H County Mercer County your licenses are in good standing yes I would offer him as a expert in professional engineering thank you he's been accepted before thank you thank you for going through that so uh Mr Hill why don't you go through uh the existing condition as they relate to the site and then go through our proposal this evening as far as the existing conditions in the portion of the property that we're asking for the amendment um this is River Road Pennsylvania Avenue is down here uh the Bushkill Brook is along our southernly border the uh Ren river is along our easterly border um there are four buildings adjacent to River Road um building well building 400 and building 500 actually there two two buildings three Suites in building 400 and a standalone building 500 which we are proposing to remove and replace with a larger building 500A um and then we're going to make some alterations to the the driveways and such to put in a storm water basin parking Landscaping um accessible parking EV parking and things of that [Music] nature why don't you go through our site plan proposal okay should I touch on the original plan approval or sure just for the background okay um I believe it was um site plan 545 PF was approved in 2009 or so got signed off on in 2014 um they called for a new building 600 in the southernly portion of the property as well as a twostory addition just building 300 along River Road um and then some pavment modifications towards the area between Suites 200 and 400 and 500 um it also called for widening a River Road along the frontage um altering the entrance driveway and adding a new uh two-way driveway at the uh southernly portion so with that said what we are proposing [Music] now um we're still going to uh remove the old driveway connection to River Road build the new driveway connection one way in to River Road and do the River Road widening up into building 300 um and then we're going to remove some pavement here um to regrade it to allow for this larger building 500A which as was mentioned consists of 13,960 Ft of Office Space um we're providing eight new parking spaces for the additional warehouse space and as part of this we had to relocate seven existing parking spaces and 10 banked parking spaces that were approved this part of the original approval and to the south of that is the small scale infiltration Basin that's going to manage our storm water and uh we're in receipt of some professional review memorandums um yes would you like to go through the Township Board Engineers review memorandum [Music] absolutely for the record identify each by date and who is the [Music] author um okay the first one I have is uh just Jay calwell and Associates LLC planner report number one dated March 21st 2024 um the first couple of pages are basically informational stop me when I'm wrong but um I think she identifies some existing non-conformities subsection 8 in the T um and that's on page five that is correct and these were actually granted as variances under the previous approval and those are not being altered or enlarged in any way they are not okay and uh we didn't identify any additional variance relief as part of this application is that correct that's correct and we're actually reducing the amount of impervious coverage on the site uh by 09 Acres yes great um um under paragraph 10 she itemizes the um the non-conforming um setbacks um which we agree with um we I would like to add though under subp paragraph three uh building 300 received a variance for the proposed addition to 47 feet and the new building 600 received the variance for a setback distance of 90 feet and that should be in the previous resolution moving to parking and loading we don't need any variances as they relate to the number of parking spaces that's correct can you address what's listed on number 12d are we seeking a design waiver as it relates to providing one loading space instead of two that's correct since we have um two uses uh the uses are considered separately so while the one loading birth is enough for the 14,000 give or take square feet of Warehouse the fact that we have a separate office use requires a separate loading birth for that use and we're only providing one which will be sufficient for both uses Mr Hill can I take you back for a minute sure to that section 10 you said that item number three should have been 47 feet uh I just want to get the numbers right the existing building has the 787 is correct but there was a a two-story addition on the front of it approved under the previous application which reduced that set back to 47 square feet give or take and what was the second one uh Building 600 is not existing it was approved with a variance of approximately 90 feet okay got it thank you no okay I think we were heading to item 13 on page eight which is lighting excuse me cancel before you meet uh yes um the the the rationale was that the parking area adjacent to the loading dock is replacing the parking spaces that were kind adjacent to S 400 they didn't have any sidewalk access then but we we could add sidewalk along the along the new building 500 to building 400 we're fine with that we would stipulate to that as a [Music] condition okay item 13 lighting there's a comment that some testimony should be provided [Music] yeah we will you know um without looking at the lighting plan I'm not sure but there should be a concrete base that's at least 3 and a half ft High to protect them from as long as the I think the ordinance says that they have to be two and a half feet behind the curb and I think they are but we will we'll comply with the Ordinance one way or the other uh can you address how uh waste is going to be stored uh yes and will comply with the ordinance as to any fence or retaining wall height uh yes I think what we're proposing is in compliance yep currently yeah okay so what about the uh Township unless there's any questions further on the planner's report I have a question please on um paragraph F 12 F number of parking spaces says the number required is 17 you're proposing 25 but of that 25 you're proposing to bank 10 which means you're actually going to construct 15 which is too less than what's required could you address that please um well our our rationale is that we were eliminating slightly more off space and we were adding so it was a net reduction in parking requirement um yeah all yeah the we're we're moving no only only seven spaces are required and we're providing eight is our calculation uh yes I mean if you determine that having only seven is a a a variant situation then yes we can fit as many as we [Music] [Music] need uh yes stipulate to that there isn't anything further on the township I'm sorry the board planners report I would turn to the engineering report from Mr dargy y uh Mr D's memo to the r and Township planning board dated where's thee March 22nd 2024 he also restates the same non-conforming conditions as they relate to the setbacks yes um and starting with General comment number one he refers to previously granted variants and waiver which I did touch on briefly um when we do revised plans for submission we will put them on sheet1 as he asks and identify the resolution number um same thing under paragraph two uh the floor area ratio um I believe the um the floor area for each building is on the cover sheet in the top right corner by the keymap um well short of the ordinances 75t maximum for floor area ratio on the site uh [Music] yes we're we're in single digits I think yeah 75% is permitted we're at 6.44% and the proposed is 10.77% uh yes um just to in order not to confuse building 500 which is the existing building will'll refer to every the new building is 500A everywhere um we stipulate to that um Building 600 uh we discussed it's not on the surveyor site plane because it doesn't exist yet but they do have approval to construct it and they're not looking to concede that right so it's still included in the impervious coverage calculations the floor area ratio Etc five will comply will comply yes six will comply um number seven there is no lock consolidation to be done um the block 28 lot five is a very small parcel on the other side of River Road adjacent to the river that currently houses the uh fire supression pump house but them as we'll get into later under Mr th Cannon's memo that um pump is going to be relocated and um that pump house decommissioned so so real quick and that's I was a little confused as far as where the lot five was it does show on the key map that lot five is across the road so OB yeah it's like a little 1acre parcel that was but then there's a what appears to be a property line shown there's a condominium line which was a a project remediation line there was the rear of the property was um had contamination from the uh pre the previous Plastics could that be clarified on on on the S plan as far as what that line is uh yeah I believe so if you look at the survey it's shown as a on the site plan on the site plan sure um yeah it's basically a condominium line number eight um uh number eight um I have exhibits to enter into evidence just related to the um the uh the landfill easement area and the Wastewater settling Basin should we mark them we haven't been marking anything yet so well if are those plans the same plans that were provided 10 days in advance to the board yes yes the board does have the that yeah okay so Mr Bardo I A1 is the uh termination of deed notice as it relates to the the landfill easan area um at one time there were um PBC resins disposed of in that area but it's been cleaned up the deed restriction or the deed notice has been eliminated um and we aren't proposing to disturb that area in any event and A2 is the closure report for the Wastewater Basin as yes we that was removed in 2018 but you know we weren't involved in the removal so it was still shown up as existing on our survey so that is no longer existing where would you like these to tail why don't you give a little more detail on we're going to no I mean just you said it's the termination of De notice is there a date on it or something that oh yeah um it's entitled termination of deed notice for AOC which stands for area of concern one filed at the office of the register of huning county in deed book 1111 page 0988 as to blocks 27 lot 34 tax map of the huny county in accordance with njsa 58 col1 b-13 this document is to be recorded in the same manner as deeds and other interests in Real Property um it's a termination of deed notice for aoc1 recorded in the office of the register of Hing County um it's dated March 9th 2009 all right thanks that's that's much better and then A2 which we've marked right here um A2 is a report prepared by Sovereign Consulting Incorporated uh referenced former EP polymers incorp red facility 45 River Road Flemington Hunting County New Jersey 08822 isra case 86315 Pi number 05468 Wastewater base enclosure report and it just goes through and explains how they removed the stuff back filled it withle material etc etc thank you uh dated September 6 2018 so as far as the so you have the D notice has been has been eliminated does the easement still exist on that property then is that why it's still shown on the plan yes as far as I know the ean's never been vacated okay officially that's how I was sort of get a little bit alarmed when you see landfill he's been on a planet wanted to confirm um okay thank you uh number 10 uh um yeah that the corner the of covering the the loading dock at the corner of the building is probably going to have a like Canal levered roof over it some kind of an awning type situation 11 will defer to the fire Marshalls report um moving on to the site plan comments uh yes the loading dock is going to be reinforced concr um I thought it was on the labeled as such on the plans but perhaps not um um we agree to put Ballers for protection of the uh the charging station at the EV spot some square footage differentiation unfold uh yes the architectural plans um discount some mechanical areas such the stairwells and uh HVAC rooms I believe and I think that's allowed under ml that was just u i that comment really just is that the the dimensions on the plan for the actual building but when you do the the math of it that area those Dimensions actually equal area that's different from the 13,000 that's labeled I just want to clarify whichever it was that's all yeah we'll do the reinforced concrete for the dumpster yeah that is identified yeah uh have we included the bank parking in any impervious coverage C we have yes and that'll now be amended right that will now be amended because you're to include two more spaces yes that's it'll be negligible but yes it'll be moving on to page the grading drainage and utilities comments um yeah I I have uh no objection to any of the comments um but act the waterline connection and the sewer connection were really not at a point with the plumbing engineer to finalize that we really need to you go through him to figure out how we're going to keep 400 connected connect 500 you know not have the lines under the building as you mentioned we'll need obviously right to the board act favorably prior to the final sign off and plans we'll need to have that clarified yes absolutely yeah yep um we comply with seven col and 8 the major development regulations uh I believe so um the Inland flood is there a question no confirmation of where you are you've agreed to comply with everything in the grading yes comply with all of the recommended yes to 26 which I think basically says you comply with the stormw regulations yes um 27 yeah the the design complies with the green infrastructure requirements of the uh the Township's SEO stor motor Control Ordinance um and the existing manhole structure um we you know as a condition we'll get um Oswald or someone else out there to track it and see where it goes yes just to make sure that it's um discharging um under 28 the additional information requested will be provided same for 29 and 30 yes so we'll we'll comply with through number 32 we will um under 31 the um those circles are basically um they're like 4 foot high wood posts so I I don't know if they're delineating some kind of utility underground or if they're just there I mean when we get out there and do excavation we'll have to it's going through your your Bas and that's the reason why you wanted to yeah yes we'll do a maintenance and operations manual yes to your professional satisfaction yes um obviously we understand that there's some Outside Agency approvals that may be needed we'll comply with that yes and then the administrative items will comply with those as well so in general a full stipulation to all the comments from the township engineer that's correct yep oh I'm sorry one one thing I just wanted to clarify I think you may have touched it already but just want to stay I guess clarify it for the record um the addition for building 300 is not part of this application right no it is not no it was we should probably remove that from will yes yeah um the township planners memorandum okay dated March excuse me uh March 26 2024 uh I have a memo to the r plan board from Jeff ferella dated March 22nd 2024 it's just review 1.1 he just had a minor revision FR page it was just what the applicant is seeking he accidentally put in okay there's no additional comments okay I like that that's fine okay uh paragraph one the states that the proposed uses consistent with the permitted uses um and this he's asking for testimony from the applicant should we go through the rest of it for four yeah um variance relief is not required um we will provide additional parking spaces to eliminate a potential variance um uh number three Recs a site visit that identified um outdoor storage that was in violation of a certain zoning chapter um then the uh applicant will address that we we are going to comply with the ordinance correct the shipping containers correct will comply with the ordinance for any signage yeah as far as I know for for the signage all they're going to do is paint 500A on the side of the building we don't really need any you know directional signage or anything like that it's pretty pretty straightforward out there number six addresses the NDP permitting process yes we the application for the LOI went in in March of 2022 they still have not issued the LOI we'll accept that as right I mean we can't do anything until we get it so that'll be a condition of approval and the rest of it will comply it's providing AutoCAD files um y resolution compliance will do all of that [Music] yes I think further on there's some comments from the Fire Marshall do you want to hit on those um yeah uh we will um like the basic comments about the knoxbox and things like that will certainly stipulate to that and that's in his memo dated February 8 dated February 8 20124 to uh Mr Jeffrey Vella we get that I just had one one other question is there going to be any outside storage for this proposal I know it's for a warehouse so it's intended for storage inside right not that I'm aware of okay and I'll have the applicant confirm that okay thank you um yeah the noxbox the responder radio coverage inside the buildings the hydrants to be relocated we'll get Ballard protection 5in stores adapter steamer Outlets um and the main issue uh the existing fire service Pump Station on on the Riverside of River Road will be decommissioned um we'll have some kind of fire suppression design done as part of the plumbing plan um and we will comply with all the comments in here excellent thank you public water is available out on the street yes there's a there's a 12-in main and they've already been started the application process with New Jersey American Water to get that going great thank you yes I think that's all the memorandums is um well J Troutman environmental commission let's go to the environmental commission yeah sa that okay um environmental commission comments dated February 2024 uh the proposed infiltration Basin sits on the top of a known contaminated groundwater area as indicated in the NRI this is not permitted unless otherwise directed in the S remedial action plan um I did contact the uh the applicant's um environmental expert today um he says um for the for the most part that infiltration Basin is not on the uh contaminated portion of the site but there may be a small corner of it [Music] oh s this is the remediation line so it's basically halfway into there so he said that unless there's a large change in the um the groundwater flow that it's not an issue but we will get his professional opinion and change it as necessary excuse me something we agree with or is that I'm not quite sureesh what what's your take on that thank you uh to typically um as part of the if this site is under lsrp um oversight the the plan has to also be reviewed by the lsrp to make sure it complies with their re action work plan so I think the way that we would do it is that it would have to be subject to that as a as a as a u condition of approval should the board act favorably if if there is a significant change uh then you know we would bring it back to the board if need be but if there's a if the basing can be altered yeah and still comply with the regulations and not alter the site site layout building size parking what have you then uh typically that would get done as an administrative change as long if it's determined that we can't do groundwater recharge we can just put like a a liner and under drains and still get the water quality benefits out of the the change like that we again we we would I would review that and if it's something that again would be a significant that I would would think is a significant enough change where it would require an amended site plan approval I would inform that the township and we'd ask the appc to come back for amended site plan approval at that time that sounds really to me the the the license site remediation professional that's assigned to that um that issue so that's the way that the uh State's oversight Works uh on on environmental cleanup is there's a site remediation professional who's you know licensed to do this stuff and he's sort of sign he or she signs off on it and uh as part of the our process uh we make sure that that lsrp actually uh reviews these site plans and make sure we we have a sign off from them that the improvements as proposed are consistent with the remal action work plan that they may have for the site or ongoing monitoring that they have for the site thank you so we'll confirm that we'll address that in resolution compliance and if anything is substantial we recognize we'd have to come back okay okay uh paragraph two the existing waste water settling Basin has been removed uh we did provide a storm water management plan unless he's talking about the main operation and maintenance plan then we will provide that uh the plans do meet the requirements for green infrastructure per the township as CEO um we've already spoke about the uh the need to um television the line to see where that the manhole we tie into discharges ultimately um paragraph six we've applied for a freshwater wetlands Loi um the flood Hazard area verification um theep has published the fact that if it's mapped under FEMA uh the new base flood elevation is the FEMA Bas flood elevation plus 3 feet um which would put it in our project at 109 and we're not encroaching on that um we're outside of the uh the riparian zone as well so um we would not need a flood Hazard area permit of any sort seven we confirmed that we took into account The Bu in our calculation it is counted in impervious and F and St water eight is do we comply with seven colon 8 we've addressed that uh the design was done prior to July 2023 um the township ordinance at that time wasn't I don't even know if they have adopted the Inland Flood Control Ordinance yet most towns I deal with haven't yet um you have until July 2024 in order to do that um but in any event um our design was submitted long before that went into effect so now it wasn't designed under that standard number nine um number nine we had initially requested a a waiver for lighting but I think Jeff said no and then we did a lighting design and didn't change the waiver request to eliminate it so we're not we're not requesting a waiver um Mr troutman's memorandum dated March 26 2024 to the board I got a question back on the stormw U so you're saying that since you had applied in July of 23 the new standards don't apply the new standards when D issued them they went into effect for all Residential Properties under the residential site Improvement standers they also went into effect for any project that needed a Wetlands permit or a flood Hazard permit but it didn't automatically go into effect for commercial or industrial projects because they're not regulated under residential site Improvement standards so they don't go into effect there until the township actually updates its ordinance not before this we have passed our storm water ordinance it was done post their submission can can you guys speak it to the mic microphone I'm sorry I can't I can't hear [Music] you um okay last memorandum McDon Ray Associates Tre Troutman to the r r Township planning board dated March 26 2024 um paragraph one is informational just says talks about trip generation and how our development will add three car trips for the weekday am peak hour three car trips for the weekday PM peak hour and 24 total trips weekday daily um number two the it threshold for a detailed traffic impact study is not met based on the low trip generation of the proposed use uh number three the existing conditions plan shows the twostory addition to Site 300 which we've already determined needs to be taken off of that plan um paragraph 4 seven parking spaces are required for the proposed warehouse space and the detailed site plan plan shows eight proposed parking spaces along with seven relocated parking spaces previously approved and 10 relocated banked parking spaces previously approved testimony should be provided on pedestrian connectivity between the relocated parking spaces and S 400 which we've already addressed we're going to add this add the sidewalk and a couple more parking spaces uh the plans appear to show that the existing access to River Road will remain with an entrance only driveway at the Northwest end near the railroad crossing actually that's not correct we are going to shift that to the South a little bit as previously testified to and an exit only driveway with proposed mountable curbed Island and that is correct that's going to be between buildings 200 and 300 and separate left and right turn exit Lanes to the southeast um the existing proposed access driveway configuration onsite traffic circulation pattern should be explained in testimony and I did get into that previously anybody needs me to go over it again be more than happy to so I know we're saving um the landscape architect report for our landscape architect but with the remainder of the memos we will fully comply with all of the recommendations and requested conditions of the board professionals uh yes I don't think I think we went through all of them right there's what's this RTM said it was acceptable and the public works department said it was acceptable as well so okay are there any other the board questions from Mr Hill I don't know if it's Mr Hill someone else who's the tenant gonna be where they G to make or is that someone else I'm going to call the a rep from the applicant up to talk about the operations so I have nothing further of Mr Hill unless there we should throw we need to throw it out to the public we have a number of people here in the room and online this evening if anyone has any questions on Mr Hill's testimony that you've heard for the past uh several minutes speak up well if you do please come up to the microphone you know theou hi Town Council knows me well hi my name is Jane Gorman Mendes I'm a resident of hun and Creekside which is located right off of case Boulevard uh some of my fellow um residents that live at hunting cre Creekside here are here and um they live on the town home part of our community which consists of town homes and and single homes there's already been warehouses yes everyone at the end of the hearing gets a chance to testify and if you're going to testify I'm not going to testify I have to s in but right now it's just for questions from Mr Hill okay you have questions for Mr hell yes um was there any traffic study done as far as the impact on the traffic that is on River Road that goes on to case Boulevard not for this specific application no and that's for the original application yes this is just because it's a modest expansion of what's already there the your traffic the Township's traffic consultant prepared a memorandum and determined that it didn't meet the uh threshold of requiring a detailed traffic study because we're only adding some square footage by re redoing one of the buildings okay okay and then I also have the same same question as Scott who will the kind of tenant will be there what what kind of business would be in there the a representative from the applicant will come up and talk about that Mr Patel but um and again I'm I'm not testifying but the idea is to accommodate ex existing tenants it's not like he's going to be bringing in a bunch of new tenants to the site and my last question was as far as the road in the area where this construction is going to be um is there consideration of uh the a widening of the road Road um on River Road because it's very windy and it's already difficult sometimes when there's a lot of traffic on there uh yes microphones um for this portion [Music] of basically um what's going to be constructed as part of this application is from here to here can you please reference understood understood sorry about that um from the northwesterly most portion of the project on River Road is going to be widened so that there's three lanes with a left lane only um entrance into the site and then a southbound and a northbound lane that would not get stuck behind somebody trying to turn left and that will be continued South to just south of the two-way exit between SES 200 and S 300 to where the previous design stop the widening and then it'll be just be two lanes in each Direction um and then in the future if s 600 ever gets built and there will be another three lane widening widening from two lanes to three with a left lane only okay so then the widening is solely on River Road where this project is going to be built it's not something that's going to it's not the the entirety of River Road no it's just for for now it's about half of the properties rage okay and if they develop this the easterly portion of the property then it would be the other half okay because I was Al I had a question but I'll save that for later about case Boulevard thank you very much okay thank you thank you thank you I'm also resident of hun Creek Side in the condo section um oh it's G is and George O M is and Mary B is and boy a my question is again you said that the tenant is actually going to be an existing tenant and they're going to be expanding there's currently a tenant there that makes honestly we have no idea what but the air is filled with anything from a noxious cough syrupy stench to ranted dog food on a regular basis how is this going to impact what we smell in our homes we can't even open our windows at times and this is where where we're smelling when we're walking so how is if it's the same tenant is it just not going to make it much worse for us this is going to be a warehouse use there's going to be no manufacturing it here all okay so they're not going to be they're not going anywhere they're not going in this building it's just for storage okay but I I'll let the applicant testify for that okay thank you so the manufacturing continues right right which is causing the problem and we've heard that before but this application's for warehouse space which isn't additional manufacturing correct we'll hear from the applicant okay thank you Singleton s i n g l t I live in Hunan Creek Side also in the condos uh I drive daily on River Road to work and I take my life into my own hands so what I I when I've heard all the technical talk are 18 wheelers going to be going into the warehouses they already are you're building new warehouses they're building 14,000 ft of additional warehous so there'll be more 18 wheelers on River Road because I don't understand why a traffic study hasn't been done because I drive it every morning and I cannot tell you how many times I have taken an 18 wheeler Crossing into my lane on River Road that is very very tiny so I I don't know if any of you um live in that area and have driven on daily basis and on Saturdays and Sundays I drive it every day so I'm concerned that more 18 dealers are going to be coming into an area on a curvy River Road that can't take it the I see them Crossing the the yellow lines they cross into my lane every morning we are adding some warehouse space as part of this application but the data that was presented in the board's traffic Consultants report estimates zero peak hour AM and PM trips from truck traffic because of hours uh 7 to N I leave my house every morning at 7:40 rush and I and I come back at 4 o'clock and I I hit it every time I'm telling you that there are 18 huge 18 wheelers with big front um ABS Crossing into my lane every time I try drive at least in this one little section there'll be you know an exra 13 ft there for them en will that accommodate an 18er I I don't know yeah they're only like 95 I mean it's it's like a highway traffic L where you're adding this Lane are you putting a curving Island in between no no just pain just [Music] painted that that is my concern and all the technical stuff you're talking about all I'm talking about is daily safety on River Road and if none of you drive River Road on a regular basis I take River Roads home sometimes at the end of the day it's a narrow road tractor trailers do go on there so it can be intimidating have tractor trailer coming at you even if he does stay in his own our industrial but they don't stay they don't stay in their own way um and and it's it's an accident waiting to happen oh yeah um so I'm not sure but those trucks you're seeing are not going to and from Clemington Industrial Park which has been there since actually they are because you know I I've been stuck I'm I'm gonna have to swear you in because you're you're testifying and so we've gota I mean you get to do that at the end you get to do that at the end of the meeting you come up and talk for five minutes and tell us everything you want to but I I'd have to swear you or I'm not gonna have a good record thank you well before you before you sit down the the traffic study was done by the Township's professional who unfortunately had a conflict tonight he's on his way here okay so hopefully then by when we get to the end of this portion of the meeting hopefully he can address some of your questions too okay we're we're waiting for him thank you Sor you just said something that raised a huge flag for me you said that this wouldn't affect the peak hours we live there so if it's not going to affect the peak hours it's going to affect the off peak hours so what about the people that live work pay taxes and everything that actually need to sleep we don't want to hear the engine breaking at 3 o' in the morning we do not that that's not even a little bit acceptable for us how is that going to be hand I we're into testimony right yeah I know I mean I I I want to accommodate the residents but I also if you know they can reserve the time to present comments at the end I'm asking a question though I'm asking how they're going to accommodate time out time out you you can ask Mr Hill questions but if you start testifying then I'm going to have to S you in because Mr Flynn's going to have a right to cross-examine you and so I have to run the meeting according to the rules of the municipal land use law okay then I'll amend it how are you going to handle the off peak hours you can't stop people from driving on the road I mean I'm sure the township probably has an ordinance against it engine braking it hasn't stopped anything thus far going into Flemington Industrial Park we've driven that road for 18 years we know we've seen this so how you're testifying it's question asking him to clarify because it's not answering the question how are is the additional traffic going to impact the off peak hours the a as the township and I and I do hope he gets here in time to discuss his findings but he rightfully notes that because of the small amount of square footage that we're adding there is not a substantial increase to what's already there we're not saying that the tra the current traffic is not a problem but again that's why we're also agreeing to widen River Road through large portions of the front of the site the this application is solely to build one bigger building that is still modestly small in terms of the industry for warehousing so we're not the the report from the township expert correctly notes that there's not going to be a substantial tra change in traffic because we're not proposing to build a giant Warehouse that's going to be a do a truck Depot anything I say is going to be a testify so I'm going to go sit down right now well you can come back up later yes with that okay any other comments ments or questions I should say on that testimony anyone online please speak up if you have any questions on Mr Hill's testimony no I think we should then move on to the applicant because there some background information [Music] sure so can you just confirm once this structure is built what who's going to occupy hold on let's Foundation okay name what's his relation to the app go through your relationship to the can you go through your relationship to the applicant Flemington industrial correct yeah I'm the managing member of the Flemington industry oh my name is sures ESP Patel I'm managing member of the Clemington Industrial Park LLC I been from the beginning I in the same position so the the building that's being constructed what what are you going to put there who's going to occupy the building it's the same tenant no new tenant is coming in and who who's that tenant uh right now it's occupied by two people PTI Hydro International and some chemicals and this would only be for the additional storage for their material existing whatever they're storing right now they cramp up and some of the officer can verify that thing and that's the reason we are trying to expand the building for storage for them so it'll all be indoor storage inside of this building that's right there also was a comment from the township planner about outdoor storage can you confirm for the board that any outdoor storage of trailers or material will be removed as part of this application yes and you would stipulate to that as a condition of approval should the board act favorably yeah okay I don't have anything else on Direct who were the two tenants Summit chemical and what was the first one anti Hydro International and Summit Hydro International and summer acis Company Inc which runs under Summit chemicals and then there another ten Sumer will I mean some custom spr line and both both of those tenants will have storage space in this new building yeah okay so it's a two tenant occupied building yeah two ten same ex tenant no new tenant is coming in and there will be no additional manufacturing it's just for storage people continuing their operation but the business is expanding that's why they need more that's all I have Mr Patel any other questions from the board for Mr Patel no I believe that when you first spoke sir you said at present there are two tenants and there will be no new tenants can you um clarify for me what is the length of the present lease hold that they have how long will they be there until the present lease is over how long they will be there yeah as far as I know they will be there forever I can of tell you that how long their business will continue but do you have a defined lease you have a lease with them right you have a lease with both companies longm lease and how long does that go out about 15 years left in a least 15 years left for both tenants thank you uh so let me throw it out to the members of the public who are here in the room or online if you have any questions for Mr Patel and that testimony that he just gave again it's questions on what he testified to yes you can come on up to the microphone please you should you should come over here and grab a microphone sir my name is Susan chevlin I also live in hun and Creekside this was the first I've heard about chemicals do we know what kind of chemicals are going to be stored in this place are they is there a risk because we all live so close to this and now we we're finding out that there's going to be in the future a possible extra building built that's not before us tonight ma'am no I know I know but I'm but my question is right now about the chemicals that we just learned about so the company Summit we've met with them and we've addressed some the smells or the particular odors they produce food additives so it's it's chemicals yes water is a chemical technically but what they produce are food additives flavors Etc so we don't have we're not at risk for toxic chemicals or any kind of leakage or anything when we have the complaints of the smells we've had state agencies go out they put in additional air scrubber so the smell isn't as strong when you smell syrup well some of the birthday cake odors that we've heard reported so we've been in an ongoing engagement to ensure that Summit and what they produce there um is not putting something into the air that would be of concern they've tested and again the company has remediated to address the the smell but there's um not been determined any um adverse effect to health as a result of what you're smelling um so we've been actively engaged and and we do employe state agencies to assist and that's not something that this particular planning board is is responsible for that's another agency of the township we're just here to decide under the municipal land use law whether the application should be granted if there are other issues relating to the the property they're addressed by outside agencies as Miss Fatu has indicated and again the other question was which has already been addressed about the traffic it's you have to ask the applicant questions relating to the testimony that he just gave can please come up to the microphone thank you are you saying that you're moving what's going in in different the two there's two driveways I guess I don't know if it's north of the new building are you moving 18 wheelers from going into the parking lots North and you're putting them in this one or is it going to be additional 18 wheelers going down uh I could not say additional 18 wheelers because I do not know what the traffic will be in the future currently what they're coming in it will be the same what they're coming in so I what I'm asking is as you go down river road heading heading up to 523 there's several driveways in your we have two entrances yeah yes and you're going to are you going to take 18 wheelers and redirect them to this new location or are you adding a new location to have more 18 whe wheelers have access I'm going to let Mr Hill answer that yeah there's not going to be a new entrance Mr Hill you need to come up to the microphone please maybe you can yeah currently the existing driveway entrance up here is at the very it is at a bad spot for a sight distance so the previous approval had to shift it to the east about 50 ft so now it's going to come in here but it's not a new driveway it's just relocated from here to here and then this new Warehouse it only has one loading dock it can only handle one tractor trailer at a time and it probably takes you know six hours to fill it up so I mean it's only going to add maybe two trucks a day and that truck those trucks are probably already coming here they're just going somewhere else that's that's what I'm asking yeah same amount of people that are going there right now but you're redirect dirting the traffic the traffic is still going to come in this way and go out this way it's it's not being redirected there's it's a one-way traffic pattern all the trucks come in here all the trucks go out here you know whether there's going to be another one truck per day on the site maybe I I couldn't say but it's not going to be a lot of trucks they're just not the capacity for it it's not like they have 10 loading docks on that new building I guess I'm just asking it seems like some of it's being presented as um a better access to the warehouses I'm asking is it going to allow more 18 wheelers or are you redirecting the ones that are going in the second driveway and maybe you're giving them better access to the property to pick up whatever they whatever they're loading there to pick it up the property only has one entrance now and it's only going to have one entrance later it's just moving a little bit so the number of entrances is not changing to that that's correct so uh I guess some it just got realigned so that it's a better spot on this curve for psych distance in both directions and to provide the left only turn lane in the middle of River Road Jane Gorman Mendes um I think what Julie is trying to ask is or trying to help you understand what her concern is is that you're the building that's currently there okay on River Road is going to stay there and no there's there's a building under here that's getting knocked down okay all right and now that building that is going to be knocked down okay does that currently have trucks that are in that area using that building I'm sorry could you repeat that the the the building that's going to be knocked down where something is going to be built in that area Okay the office building doesn't have a loading do as far as I no yeah okay so then there's another building that's going to stay there right and then you're adding a of the warehouse and an office the building is going to get knocked down and be replaced with a bigger building with about the same amount of office space okay and about 14,000 square feet of warehouse space okay so I think what Julie was trying to to ask was there's a certain number of trucks that are currently on this land that comes driving through our area okay now with this new construction that's going to be happening or upgrade that's going to be going on um is the where whatever trucks are currently using instead of using the area wherever they are are they going to then be at the new place that's being built or if the trucks that are at this new place that's being built is this additional not the access of coming in and out of the road the it's the number of trucks that potentially could be on the property is that what you're trying to get an answer to all if you're asking is where is the product that's going to be in here coming from is it coming from here is it coming from here um would would they otherwise use these load docks or these loading docks that's beyond my ability to answer at this time yeah because what we're trying to figure out is if there's going to be a large increase in the number of trucks that are going to be driving on the road and you know we've been like excuse me no we've Co we've covered that there there's the the township traffic expert who prepared a report and support or uh commenting Upon Our submission his finding is that for weekday am peak hour and weekday PM peak hour I.E rush hour there are zero increases in additional truck traffic and that's on account of the fact that what we're proposing in in terms of traffic and truck generation is a very small warehouse space okay so there potentially will be a little bit more but not enough to impact the traffic flow on River Road according to the town Specialist or right I I can't testify to that but that's that's the way we're presenting the when you compare the little bit of extra you may get with the amount of relief you're going to get by having a left turn lane here it's probably going to be a net gain for you okay all right we're just trying to you know get a a full understanding you know before everything is okay thank you thank you if there's anyone online who has any questions for this point Mr Hill speak up please no there is not so thank you I have one additional witness which is our landscape architect uh Peg prizer and this this plan has been recently updated to respond to some of the comments of your uh Township land landcape architect so I think we should Mark this as an exhibit A3 I believe A3 and this will this is a updated Landscaping plan you want me and this is on account of the fact that we received his memo on the 22nd so we endeavored to try to respond to some of those comments do Taylor do we have a copy of that I'm pulling it up right now on the computer okay not I'm like am I you you don't have it we have we did submit a landscape plan in our original plan set but this is a modified version that's great and my name is officially Margaret a prizer but everyone calls me Peg prizer I'm a landscape architect I went to Penn State University graduated in 1987 um has been a licensed landscape architect in New Jersey since '92 and licensed in Pennsylvania as well um and I've testified in front of this board like 15 years ago but not recently um p r i z r priz with an and your licenses are current and in good standing yes they are I would offer her as a acceptable thank you sure okay so I'm just going to do a quick presentation and then we can go through the letter oh sorry I'm gonna do a quick presentation and then we're going to go through the ler um this is the plan and and um to acknowledge um what's going on with um hun Creekside um we are actually adding Evergreens along this area above the the the Basin to help screen this Warehouse from all the Residential Properties up above um we are also adding deciduous trees here that will grow faster to create a mixed buffer area in through here um we are adding additional Evergreens along here to screen the existing loading sorry on yeah coming in from River Road on the North East Park um we're adding additional Evergreens here to screen the existing uh loading docks and we're adding um plant material around the parking lot that was installed near Building 100 and and um also there is a tree that's coming out that is 24in calber and we're replacing that with eight um 8 to 10 foot Evergreens in through here to help screen and more screening in through here so that's kind of a general overview um but we can go through the letter um and I spoke with John Thomas the the township landscape architect today and we reviewed a lot of the information and we are complying with everything he is requesting but we can go over them individually if you would like so I'll just ask gen generally we will comply with both the ordinance and his recommendations and his professional judgment and to his satisfaction yes we will okay um sorry what does generally mean you said generally you will well specific to the letter we're GNA go through the letter Point by Point fine yeah so item one we are not removing more than 55% of any of the existing Woodlands the existing 24inch caliper tree which is being removed because of grading issues we are replacing those with eight 8 to 10 foot Evergreens in addition with the other plant material we are proposing um the parking lot um behind the existing building 100 which is here has no current oh which is close to River Road on the Northern side near the entrance Road um has an existing parking lot which has the foundation of the building has been landscape but the parking lot has not so we are adding additional trees in through there for shade and for the requirement for parking um and that's consistent with the prior application yes it is say that again sorry you're doing that now as part of PRI yes we are yes yes just make sure it's in um number three the loading area screening we were asked to add additional screening in through this area which we have done to screen the existing parking areas and to add the street trees that weren't installed before a long River Road um which is good because the expansion would have moved those trees so these trees are um going to be installed also um four basically all the notes um and we put on the tree pre tree protection um fencing around existing plant material we actually showed the limit of disturbance and the the silk fencing all around so it can be viewed on the landscape plan as well as on the SN plan and we'll comply with his recommended additions to notes on the plans relate to the yes and I have done those so far already um which have been added in through here and along here and in here and will uh comply with any uh ongoing maintenance obligations or performance guarantees that'll have to be posted as part of the application correct um the substitution in plant material because of certain diseases uh we have complied with um some of the native plants are getting new diseases so we substituted those out for more resistant plant material um and the storm water management area the basin which was to be seated we are also adding plant plugs in so it establishes faster and will help filtrate this the water better and quicker and that's about it unless JT you have any additional questions no I don't have any additional questions I think the main thing here was we requested that the planting was that was a part of the prior application for the small parking lot in the front the new driveway and the street trees be planted with this application since that work hasn't and we will comply how long is the tree maintenance gone for is that a bonded thing for a couple years or something it would it would go on through the end once the uh once the the plan has been accepted then there is a two-year maintenance Bond beond right which is noted on the plans those and those are noted and I think there might have been a change on the notes that the township has a two-year maintenance guarantee yes we changed that from 18 months yeah I don't have anything further of this witness questions for Miss prer anyone else have additional any from the public any questions on that testimony yeah it's probably I know so I'm gonna give a simple question okay um hunting and Creek Side really Buffs up against Pennsylvania a right Pennsylvania Avenue is right along so what kind of trees are being put up to block that we're not looking at lights I don't know trucks and cars well the lights yes the Pennsylvania AB side we are actually adding Evergreens and small flowering trees as well as shade trees along the new loading dock then across that Entrance Road we're adding additional Evergreens all through here um which are about about um 14 to 16 um shade trees here on the other side of the Basin we're also adding tulip trees which grow very quickly so that their canopies get higher and will block this even more so the grades are going up the hill closer to the building and as close to the building as we could get we added significant um trees for for screening in the winter and through the summer because we we're elevated I know I know looking down on well we're doing the best it will take time you know I mean it's not going to be perfect but we are the intention is to create a screen throughout the year you know any additional questions okay anyone online who has a question no there is not okay thank you are you done Mr Flynn yeah I mean I I don't know if it's customary to do a summation we testimonies yeah I have no further direct testimony so before we limited you in the public to questions relating to the testimony that you heard now it's an opportunity for you to give testimony and gain responses from the applicant can I just acknowledge the concerns raised already by residents about traffic on River Road and I'll acknowledge it doesn't apply just to this application but speaking as a member of the township committee you know that is our industrial Corridor so many trucks are going to Walmart Lowe's Etc and we have done some remediation to ensure that they cannot travel on the 202 River Road down to case but you know using the case Boulevard and repaving that as a wider and safer section but um I will take this General River Road um concern to the township committee where it can be addressed more holistically if that um you know I just wanted to acknowledge that so that maybe the testimonies here aren't necessarily um needing to be are warranted directly to one application but rather indicative of the fact that River Road is our I to Industrial Corridor where you would expect and and we intend for then traffic to in include a lot of tractor trailers since that is where our industrial businesses reside so I just kind of want to acknowledge that I've heard that and that I have the ability to take that back to maybe a forum that can address it aside from one location but rather of that area I just want to and I I think that's that's perfectly said by committee woman for two because I was going to indicate that um this is a permitted use and case law indicates case law meaning prior Court decisions that because it's a permitted use we cannot deny an application merely because it may cause more more traffic um as Miss Fatu said traffic is something that the township governing body deals with what this board has to decide is the application specifically they no Varian is being sought it's a permitted use we required and can impose conditions as you've heard including landscaping and additional things but our traffic engineer has indicated that in his professional opinion this will not cause a negative impact in terms of of traffic and in fact as Mr Hill has indicated adding a left-and turn should uh slightly benefit so again traffic is not something that we we deal with we we we don't deny because the traffic in the area is is bad that's something that if traffic is bad it's a police function meaning the township committee addresses it I had mentioned earlier that our traffic expert was trying to get here there's an accident on his way not that he's in he's stuck behind it so he is not here so uh we have to rely on his report which which indicates what you've already heard so okay um I um I think this is going to be a testifying yes not me and not the board but the mun you can speak the municipal land use law of the state of New Jersey as crazy as it may sound requires me to swear it's New Jersey so do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth in connection with your testimony tonight ma'am yes okay all right part yes part of this is going to be a question and part of it is going to just be a comment okay um first um I was president of hun and Creek Side for three and a half years the both both condo and and the the single homes and I've been living there for five years many fights with PTY okay so um on one side where our single homes are there are there's the the warehouses that are being built by Royal Road or whatever it's called I'm not sure um and now we have I understand this is an I2 industrial this is the area where it's it can be done okay but we are surrounded and I would think this planning board maybe not all you folks but the planning board had to listen to PTY saying that they wanted to do hun in Creekside we are surrounded by industrial stuff and then we moved here and now we have warehouses going around us okay our homes go for a lot of money as you see on Zillow or anything else and there is in the community a big concern about property value because of more warehouses coming in to raran Township there is not an understanding of why because a piece of land is is identified as that industrial uh complex can be built there that has to be built there because it's it does impact and people can say whatever they want but we all know logistically what's on paper versus what happens in real life is going to be very different if if if H the dream of these guys comes to pass down the road that additional things are approved by the planning board at Rend in Township well that that is going to cause a problem so I asked the planning board that when you're looking at these projects to please understand that the people at H 100 and Creek Side are getting very frustrated we're a 55 plus Community we pay a lot not just to the township but just for our general use of our property and you know it's we feel as though that this kind of thing is going to hurt us if it keeps going and going and going and and I will I will tell you that our only task under the municipal land use law mhm is if an application comes in and it is a permitted use under the township ordinance M and and they comply with our rules and regulations we have no right because residents feel that it shouldn't go there or there are too many things going there as a planning board to vote no we are here strictly to look at the application whether variances are required whether waivers are required whether they've met our Landscaping requirements whether they've met our storm water management requirements whether they've met our planning requirements and now the long awaited star of the evening has actually arrived and that's Mr Troutman a traffic expert so he he's going to give us some testimony on traffic once residents are done testifying okay and Mr Bardo the um the governing body that would um change any zoning or change the permitted uses of zones is which governing body that is the township committee okay so and and even if and even if the township committee decided that it wanted to change the zoning on certain tracks right uses that have been previously approved would continuous non-conforming uses it's not like they're going to go away yeah we went down that road before but I I'll be at the other minute to address the roads but I greatly appreciate everyone's time and explanation today thank you do you swear to tell the truth whole truth and nothing but the truth and connection with your testimony tonight ma'am so help you God I do you're sworn so last August I was one of the many that came here from hun and Creek Side and we were concerned because they were building that new Warehouse on barbish we were told that it would be minimal disruption we were told that there would be um consideration for this in the future and that the township was considering buying more open Spa more land to prevent some of this from happening by permission of this board um because I found out because I called um we were forced to choke down cement dust for weeks from October to December 2 am to 6: am pors we have jobs I mean you I mean our our lives were literally put in danger intentionally to make a a cement pour for something that nobody wanted then there was a fire behind one of them and I think it was October or so that the firemen couldn't even find so they had to start entering people's homes to try to figure out where this was coming from and it was from that warehouse that was the second Warehouse that was built in the in a calendar year within a f Mile radias in Flemington this will be the third out of those warehouses all of them have empty empty space plus the lip and tea Factory has had empty space for over a decade we drove past it every day for 22 years believe me I know they there is empty warehouse space in on Min eonic Grove that is five different places there is no need for a 13,000 foot Warehouse when all of this warehouse space is empty right there right down the road I understand that it's permitted use that doesn't mean it has to happen I mean you've got the power I to we do we do not have the power to decide to tell an applicant that has a piece of property that wants to build a warehouse that's a permitted use not to do it or go elsewhere our only role under the municipal land use law is to make sure that they comply with existing Township ordinances and that any variances that are sought meet the positive and negative criteria there are no variances being sought here the the case law has said in the case of piso Man versus Randol Township that an application that is a permitted use is essentially one that the board unless there are extenuating circumstances must approve as of right and this is an application that's a permitted use we have a very narrow function here tonight if you have issues with the zoning in the area it's not with this board it's with the governing body in the township committee okay so if we can't do thing about that how can we do things to minimize A disruption I can be honest with you we are not going to stand for being woken up at obscene hours because they're avoiding using the the high traffic times of 7 to9 and four to five if if you feel they are violating local traffic ordinances then you contact the police department but it's it's an industrial Zone they have a right to use the roads in the township again we're not in charge of police enforcement traffic regulation if if you feel that there are particular violations that are ongoing you should contact the police department we have a very narrow function here tonight and that would be for noise issues as well noise issues as well just traffic so let's assume that this is all permitted how do we prevent the disaster that happened with Barb strive from happening to us again 2 a.m. not even a little bit except not our jurisdiction so I would suggest you come to a Township committee meeting um we as a governing body including Mr McDade here and the others on Township committee need to hear that so that when a developer who has a right to construct comes to us with a request of exception of what would be characterized as a couple of days to do the concrete for so you don't have 10 concrete trucks in a row backing up traffic during the day and asking for alternative times which are an exception to our noise ordinances Etc um we hear from the public to understand then that that those are the concerns and that's how we arrive at honoring an exception requested from a developer who has the right to construct and balancing that with what's best for the community three days of 2 to 6: am or backing up the whole day I don't know you know those are the things that we have to wrestle with and make those decisions but it would be with the governing body okay so when I did call they told me actually to call you specifically they told me to call the mayor's office and I said well it's kind of too late now we need to know how to prevent this from happening in the future and is this going to keep happening and we were just told call the mayor I'm like well obviously it's already been decided that we don't matter Our Lives don't matter our health doesn't matter but we need to prevent that from happening with this bill too because it was disaster you're at you're at the wrong board we have a very narrow function tonight how do we find out when the next board when The Other Board meets I would suggest you contact the clerk and the clerk of of the town will indicate or you could go on the website we'll tell you when the township committee meetings they're on the calendar on the website okay thank you yeah thank you Mr Troutman welcome there's been a quite a bit of discussion about the Mr Troutman I'm not sure if I've sworn you yet this calendar year so if you would raise your right hand he swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth in connection with your testimony tonight or at any other subsequent meeting in calend year 2024 for this board yes I do you are sworn and remain under oath for the balance of the year and I apologize for my tardiness for the benefit of the public Mr trouton you don't have to do this why don't you give the benefit of your educational background and your experience with respect to traffic matters yes uh I'm a licensed professional engineer in the state of New Jersey uh my field of specialty is traffic engineering uh I've been practicing for 37 years now conducting traffic impact studies for developers as well as reviewing traffic studies on behalf of the planning and zoning boards that I represent okay and you are you are not an employee of the township you are an outside consultant hired by the township is that correct sir correct I'm a principal with McDon and Ray associ okay and your your role with respect to development applications that are submitted to the township are to review them for uh traffic impacts and to advise this board whether you feel there are traffic impacts or not is that correct yes okay and you reviewed the plans that were submitted by the applicant with respect to this application tonight correct yes I did and you rendered a a report concerning your professional opinion correct yes what what is your professional opinion as to the uh applicant's proposed warehouse and whether there will be additional trucks cars or or impacts caused by this if we approv it yes uh that was item one in my report the the the first item I I covered was uh what the anticipated Peak hourly traffic generation would be from this size Warehouse I based that opinion on uh research data uh collected by The Institute of Transportation engineers and what would the peak hour be defined as uh it would be the highest uh hour of of uh traffic between 7 and 9 am on weekdays and 4 and 6: PM on weekdays the typical commuter hours that we're used to what were your findings so for this size warehouse this is about 14,000 square feet uh we summarized in our review that the uh the total trips generated would be three in the weekday am peak hour three in the weekday PM peak hour and 24 for the entire weekday uh breaking that down that would be 16 car trips on a weekday and eight truck trips on a weekday is that for the entire facility or just caused by this additional Warehouse uh just caused by this additional warehouse and and do you find in your professional opinion as a traffic engineer as to whether this will cause any significant negative impact if the board were to approve this application with respect to truck traffic in the area caused by this proposed addition it it does not rise to the level of meeting a significant increase in traffic um the number speak for themselves it's it's not a a significant impact on even the the driveways where the traffic's coming in and out Mr Flynn do you have any questions of our traffic engineer please just just one question uh you mentioned that they were three weekday amm and 3 weekday PM peak hour trips those are all anticipated to be cars and not trucks is that accurate yes I did uh put in the report that it would be in the peak hours it' be three car truck trips and zero truck trips but we were we were splitting hairs with the three trips if you rounded it one way it could be a two and a one two cars one truck but the total trip generation is three I don't have anything else board have any questions of uh Mr TR no no there being none we can throw it out to the public again if you have question to Mr TR Mr Troutman specifically on his testimony with respect to his traffic report we need your name Sor John S I'm a resident of H and Creek Side thank my only question is there's a dirt road that's kind of a turning for the trucks coming out of that facility today where they have to actually cross the road go into the dirt road on the rivers side to may be able to make the safe left turn coming out of that entrance some of them also use it to go to make a right turn I've been there when they've made the right turn to go up there to get the width for their articulation and get into the driveway is there any development done I know you're widening the road but that might even actually narrow the area of going into that dirt road that they use today and I'm not sure if the dirt Road's part of anybody's property there or if that's public property or there's an easement or whatever the case might be but the only signage that's up there is to keep fishermen out from parking there to go into used the river so so your question is encroachment of large they have to make the turn with the articulated trucks right they have to go far enough out to make the left turn and far enough in to to get the angle as because they just can't make the angle on a straight turn off the road right so you're you're you're talking about the the large turning path the Turning path of dirt road they basically it's been worn down over used it's not a road there's a dirt area on the river side opposite the property right that they use for that turn I would say that that's something that that we should look at on behalf of the board that that geometry um some of the documents that were submitted really didn't focus on that I mean on that aspect I have a photo an aerial photograph that shows where it is yeah I'm aware I was out there myself and I totally understand what you're saying again I I think that's something uh that we would need to see more from the applicant on in terms of geometric design to make sure we did not get any um anything lot of times the the people would just naturally say you know what I'll wait the guy has to make his turn and you give him give him a break and let him make the turn but in other cases you have people that it's I think 35 m per hour road and you're coming around and it's kind of blind even though you're adding some some width to the road you're coming pretty quickly and all of a sudden there's a truck stopped because he's got to hesitate to make the cross to get up into that dirt road area so it's just something I think for consideration agreed okay the widening of the road all you think work I don't know I'm not the engineer but I just know they do it now on a regular basis and that's on which entrance are exit I guess can you point well I see it on my Google Map but I'm trying to figure out based upon the new plan make big they do it from both directions tell you the truth I mean I've been there where they've done it and it's just it's a long truck and I've been try to cut it in drive across the Landscaping sure go out wide um if you want to right now this driveway is like further up along this curve and this is only a two lane driveway so the truck would be here and he's trying to get around like that what we're doing here is we're providing this separate Lane here and this is a 25t wide driver it's only one way in Direction so it's it's wider than that is and we have is it well they have to or they just choose to wait you're going to drive our reporter nuts she can't take down what she wants what she's gonna say she can't take down three people talking at the same time yeah but for the previous application where all all this was initially approved we do have truck turning templates showing a a WB 50 I think it was not necessarily WB 67 back then but um we could run it again for WB 67 to make sure that can make that H Mr Hill this is what we're going to do a condition of approval is that those prior templates they're going to be submitted toie by Mr Troutman and we'll work on what we need to do to stop because now you're talking over me Mr Troutman will review those and indicate as a condition of approval that that the traffic and the templates and turnings are are correct and in fact safe okay and so we we've we've eliminated that issue thank you for pointing that out sir thank you sir that was a very cogent comment so I'm curious about you're saying the cumulative effect and you say it's only going to be three cars and maybe one truck I'm concerned about what's been built in addition to this one so it's a cumulative effect on a cumulative effect because there's warehouses backing up to um Diamond Nation that have been just been built there's warehouses built between mini coning and the road to go to Walmart and Costco so this one thing doesn't really sound like that bad of a deal but in the last I guess two years how many warehouses have we been built and how many additional trucks that's that's that's not subject to Mr Troutman tonight the only thing he's here to answer questions about is his application again all those additional warehouses and everything else that's that's not for us but he's presenting it as it's just one more truck but it's really not well all he's all all he can testify to is the additional traffic that will be generated by this development if it's approved and the expansion and you get ask question the township committee is that what what's that they to go the township committee yeah again there's there's case out there there was a case uh South Brunswick tennis Associates sounds right South Brunswick tennis Associates where there was I think it was a Dunkin Donuts actually down in Kendall Park and what they said was the planning board said we have too much traffic in this area and we have this Dunkin Donuts now even though it's a permitted use and it's going to throw more traffic into the area we can't take it so we're going to deny it and it went up to the appell division the appell division said dun Donuts was a permitted use and you have to review it as a permitted use and if there are traffic issues caused as a result of approving that Dunkin Donuts well that's up to the township governing body to solve because they said it was a permitted use there so the only thing again that we could deal with is this particular application because we were to deny this by saying hey there's too much traffic in this area and this is going to add more trucks and Mr Flynn were to file a prerogative R action and we'd end up in 100 in County Superior Court I'd have a judge reverse that and we'd be right back here again I understand that it's just that that road River Road it's really I don't see where it's really expandable one side you got the river and the other side you got personal profit you can only ask him questions on what he testified about okay you have anything else I don't have much to add again we as stated by board counsel pretty cogently we're a permitted use we're not requesting any variances we comply with and will comply with all of your Township ordinances we said that we would comply with all of your professional consultants's opinions changes to plans Etc so we would be looking for a favorable determination this evening and you will work with Mr Troutman oh absolutely okay I'm going to ask for a motion to approve uh for Flemington Industrial Park the preliminary and final site plan application second Michelle that was you correct yes chairman Mr Edward gettings yes Miss Robin Fatu yes Mr Scott McDade yes Mr Dennis conanan yes Miss Judy djn Domenico yes Miss Michelle kakiri yes Mr James Miller yes okay thank you thank you thank you for your consideration tonight we're going to take a break for 10 minutes we also have to change uh reporters thank you for your time this evening and then we'll uh pick up with the next public hear okay we're back in session and it's I got three three night meetings this yeah yeah it's quite the ready hi okay I think we're good to go thanks for uh your patience this evening no thank you for sticking around and we are going to try and the best application for you in the shortest amount of time possible giving you all the information that you need um good evening Mr chair members of the board professionals my name is Carrick kazinski I'm with the law finale Yos line and I'm here representing the applicant f f Greek development in u the property located as you know two Foster lane block 27 blot 3.03 it's an approximate 5 acre vacant parcel in that I2 industrial district we've been talking about all um the owner of the property Flemington concrete products and what we're proposing tonight is a construction of a 53 ,13 foot building on the property which will be utilized as one of your permitted manufacturing uses in that zone along with some accessory storage office and employee parking as I said the manufacturing use is permitted in the I2 Zone and the building will be utilized by a tenant that we've already identified which is good for you and we'll be able to provide you a little more information name of that tenant is Blue Sky uh I'm not going to go into a great detail but I do want to outline the record the relief that we're asking for we need preliminary and final major site plan approval and we need variances in designed waivers from the following minimum front yard building setback we have 100 feet required 51.6 and 62.2 N proposed minimum front yard setback to the proposed concrete pad that you'll see on the plans again 100 ft required 6.5 ft proposed you have a minimum front yard setback to the water services enclosure so three of the same type of setback variances just for different structures there same 100t requirement 48.5 ft proposed we have a minimum front yard setback variance to the Transformer Pad shown on the plans again 100 ft required 70 ft proposed minimum rear yard building set back we've about 100 ft required and 69.17 ft proposed uh we have a maximum hard surface coverage variant 40% is permitted and we are proposing slightly more than that at 42. 64% next we have a parking variance that we're asking for and this is going to be a little bit different from what your professionals have seen so far there was a question that came up during your planners report as to what that what we called a break room was going to be utiliz that is that going to be office or is that going to be part of the manufacturer we went back to the drawing board and what we've done we have revised architectural plans we'll show you tonight that just C calls this a 3000t office pleas which is a little larger than the 1500 break room plus the 500 office that was previously proposed I'm going to call my architect a little out of order than I usually would so we can explain to you what that's going to be but what that translates into is a parking requirement of 76 spaces and we are still providing the proposed 37 which will include an EV space which there's some Bank parking in there too and we'll provide you with that testimony as well we need a design waiver from screening the parking areas from the street and AD joining properties uh you'll hear some testimony uh with regard to that as well as some addressing of um the Landscape Architects comments in his letter uh we need a variance from the maximum horizontal foot candles five is permitted and we have a Max of 1.26 just for the culac area here's some test on that uh we need a variance or design waiver from the minimum foot candle illumination and ratio uh we're proposing 0.25 and a ratio of 4:1 is permitted I'm sorry a minimum of 0.25 and a ratio of 4:1 is permitted we are proposing a minimum of 0.5 and a 3.2 to1 ratio and then the last thing that we need is a variance for the fence location as all fences and walls must be located within in the property line and we have a split rail fence that we're proposing directly on the property L uh all the signage that we're proposing is going to be compliant and we're going to as I indicated have testimony as to all of those issues to present to you um I have plan tonight I have five witnesses available I have Rich creder who is a member of the owner of the property he'll testify as to generalities and with regard to the property as well as information with regard to the tenant I have Miss Crystal Edgars from enp who is our engineer I have Stephen chick who's the architect I have uh Chris and I'm totally going to butcher his name paragoni perago sorry uh he's going to be our our traffic engineer again to the extent we need some traffic testimony for the permitted use and then I also have John Hansen he's from enp also and he will be our project planner um just based upon the testimony that I heard at the last hearing I just want to put on the rec with the ease of the board the reports that we have received and what we will address uh either by way of indicating that we will comply with everything or indicate how we cannot or give our explanations um we do have the planers report uh that was dated most recently the revision of March 10th which revised her original report of February 10th uh we have Mr Morgan Thomas's landscape report dated March 26th uh we have the engineers report the second version which was dated March 22nd and that revises his original report of February 9th and we have Jay's traffic engineering report dated February 8th in addition there were those more minor review letters uh we had the County planning boards up dated September 12 2023 Two Fire Department reports one dated January 8th and one March 4th both of this year two environmental commission reports one January 16th and W March 19th of this year uh we have the rcmas report that's dated March 8th 2024 we never received that first report that was dated January 2nd I had asked for a copy I asked the RTM as well I don't know if there was anything in there that was important and I'm sure that'll probably come up in in discussion but the only one we ever received was the one from March 8th um there were two historic committee memos one dated January 8th and one dated March 12th of this year and then a DPW report dated March 11th so EXC you rece mention we we I'm I'm just miss kazinski we also have we I'm just telling you we have an executive session on affordable housing this evening so yeah so well unlucky you because I'm not sure how far you're you're going to get because at some point I'm sure the chair is going to say that we we need to adjourn to address that particularly significant issue so that's that's Mr getting's call not that's going to take forever before anything really happen so well we just like to get through as much as we can we do appreciate I know you had a lot of you have you have five witnesses so I imagine at some point we're we're going to be coming back again but let's see let's see we um unless the board has any questions to start out with I'd like to uh call Mr P yeah why don't I I'm I'm gonna I'm GNA State for the the record that I swore all of our board professionals tonight and they remain under oath as as they will for the rest of the year so um why don't you have your Witnesses give their names and their their titles and then I will swear them so that way the reporter has that individually yeah just give your names and titles Richard crater the Imaging member of flemingon concrete products who who's next okay and I'm assuming you're the planner if everybody can just come up to the microphone oh okay we have five I knew we had Parago p e r e g o y traffic engineer okay Crystal Edgars egg egg Lake the food ERS um the site civil engineer John Hansen hn senen vice president of enp hybridge New Jersey Professional plan okay all five of you would raise your right hand do all of you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth or otherwise affirm so help you God yes you're all sworn tonight [Music] great great okay Mr creder you've given your name you've spelled it for the record um I'm going to let you testify I know we talked about a couple things I'd like to have you hit there's been a couple questions from the board's engineer and planner and landscape architect but why don't you testify and excuse me if I interrupt you as you go right please do so Richard crater CR t r uh I little background on me the uh grew up my entire adult life in Ren Township when three different residents start off over at timberwick um back in the old life 80s development years ago and now I'm over by the um um uh the uh Johanna Farms is where I live now so have a few companies within the township the one is over on 202 uh great south of the um the fudge shop uh that's crater Vault it's a 100 plus year old business five generation family business my brother and I that run that business and owns that uh currently and then the Flemington concrete products and Flemington Granite you also see that sign on two two you may have noticed that's also us uh back in 2009 uh through expansion and growth we ended up uh de acquiring and developing the property that we're talking about today uh the initial property was five Foster lane this is two foster which is right adjacent to it uh the site over where the concrete plant is uh does a pre-cast concrete it's also a Class B recycling center for concrete so waste concrete's brought in we reprocess that resell it as RCA as an environmental green product and that's done actually M only one the township and one of only two within the county uh over on that property that property also has a rail siding uh Keen banga uh his family's been around for over 100 years in hunon County uh the through a relationship with him uh we work to put a siding on for our property at five Foster uh that we utilize for materials coming in and going out some of our products that we ship outside the immediate area the through the relationship with Kean I was introduced to Robert and Gino um arati uh it's a family business they own Blue Sky uh Blue Sky produces DF which is a um a diesel exhaust fluid uh may not know what that is and I didn't know what it is until I started having to buy it about 10 years ago [Music] she has a conflict so she's going to step down she realizes as a result of this witness she has a a conflict so we'll be stepping down okay thank you thank you for informing me of that you have ear well be great come get you so with two properties one that they own in Carterette and one they lease uh the lease is up the the uh landlord's going to construct something else on that property hence they started looking for a new piece of property that has rail access uh rail access is very limited not just in in our County but throughout the state uh and this property particular through the relationship with Keane and that I've had with him he approached us and introduced me to the U Botti family um so you will be using the rail siding the there will be a rail siding constructed at two Foster lane on this prop there was I'm asking because there was some back and forth on y I have real siding on on the five Foster there will be rail siding on the two foster okay thank you the uh um DF is used for diesel trucks uh what they do is they actually blend it with a deionized water so they actually the um um they water it down uh so it can be used to the right percentage and that percentage is 32.5% uh diluted down so it can be distributed and used within uh trucks our vehicles or diesel equipment the Blue Sky operations I'll touch on then I'll also touch on more of the rail service and explanation of of how that works the operating hours for Blue Sky a single shift Monday through Friday with some occasional Saturdays uh starting at 6:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m. the M employees are going to be in the uh 7 range initially and go up to 8 to 10 as a total number of employees for the site uh the waste generated garbage are going to be two small dumpsters uh two cubic yard dumpsters uh one for trash and one for recycling there's not a lot of trash generated on the site uh with pickup times of one time no more than twice a week for that trash removal however if there is more found to be necessary it will be arranged in connection with use proper the types of trucks that they'll have on the site are considered class seven and class eight box Andor tanker trucks these are primarily trucks that are straight trucks not tractor trailer uh where it's you know one unit tandem axles in the rear endoor lift axle and then also a front axle that's primarily the trucks that they'll have on site uh they'll load in the AM go out for the entire day and then come back uh not many of the trucks will be coming back or if any will be coming back and loading throughout the day it's one time in one time out and then back for loading uh in that afternoon or the next day about how many trucks per day the total trucks per day initially is going to be around five to six and they could go up to a Max of 10 and that includes all loads that would be coming into the facility going out uh endoor deliveries if it's a um like a bulk delivery coming in of of boxes or containers uh that does not include the garbage and does not include like a FedEx or other delivery along those lines the uh the rail service the rail Service as I mentioned uh Keen banga with Black River and Western railroad uh the freight services will be via a 60-ft rail tanker um that will be um with a spur and a siding that will be constructed parallel to the existing track between the track and the proposed building that will all be within uh Mr banga right away and on the rail side the current rail service operates uh three days per week uh between Three Bridges and ringos uh the top speed of the train is 10 miles per hour and the service hour is between 7: am and midafternoon uh additional runs uh beyond the three will not be needed to supply the site so no additional rail traffic would be added for this for this site so even if this site were not to be developed as we're proposing to this Ford those rail uh trips would still be uring that's correct the uh on the rail are going to be the the deaf liquid that liquid would be uh pumped off the rail car and into the building and Andor the storage tanks that are on the property all the pumping equipment will be on within the right away of the railroad and that was it oh there is a uh a lease with um Blue Sky there'll be a 15-year lease with two fiveyear options and just for the record who was the person from Blue Sky that related this information to you uh both Robert uh and Gino Robert the son Gino the father and I've been to their facilities and what's their last name the it's AR b s e TTI okay and just to or at the board again you own the property directly adjacent to the proposed uh development that's area yes so you and you operate from there on a regular basis correct and you would be able to oversee and and uh maintain as required by your lease and and take care of whatever might be necessary in connection with that property absolutely uh okay I just want to now hit some comments within the reports uh that we identified before of the board professionals can I I'm sorry can I interrupt with a quick question absolutely please because it jumps off the page at you that there's 20 tanks is that all def no the the uh the tanks will be a combination of Def and water so part of their process really and why it's classified as manufacturing as opposed to a warehouse is because they're actually uh uh blending water with the material the def uh and and uh diluting it so it'll be a combination is it flammable no there's it's it's as was mentioned earlier with DOT or EPA it's completely unregulated uh you know look at I no there no the raw material is not the raw material comes in at 50% and they're diluting it down to um 32.5% so the tankers are be bring in a concentrate that's correct blending operation which that's right part of that part of that blending will be to uh dilute it and then I guess they go through some other testing with it but there's no other chemical process that's added to it it's really just adding that deionized water to [Music] it there's there's no there's no n there's no nitrogen brought in the the concentrate is the UR is the Ura that yeah but they're diluting you know from the 50 to 32 and a half% so it's all so the def that's being brought into the site has already been diluted to the 50% yes so the the uh some of the process that I witnessed myself is in some cases they bring in pellets completely dried and then they have to go through a whole entire hydration process to bring it up to to the 32 and a half% so this is in a a less concentrated form from a dried pellet uh but they need to I guess and have a trans do they Transportation I guess you at the final site is where you put the final delution in with the ionized water there's no poets on this site where so at one where the site where they're at part of what they've they've done is they've used pellets which are completely you know I guess void of any liquid and they have to completely hydrate it uh the it's not an economical way to do it hence their search for Rail and rail brings in Array diluted to a 50% and then they're doing that taking it further to 32.5% and distributing from there and doing it that way would utilize less water correct they were bringing it in uh yeah less absolutely yeah is there anything that's vented from this process when they combine those uh well there's no pellets in this process at all and the process that um they're just diluting it you know and I there's no venting there's no you know I've been through their facilities and it's you know there's no odor there's mean you heard earlier this evening there's an issue not with you yeah but with h odor that has been out there for years and years well I liveed by joah farm so I can attest to that too there too there too we with that too is there a reason why those containers are outside and not within the building for storage I just uh you know there's no why can't be out from the exposed to the elements from their perspective uh and I think at the same time was just to save interior space for uh for racking or storage uh and deionizing the water there are tanks inside but I think it was just excess storage outside anybody else I had a couple other things I wanted to go through yeah we got to throw it out to the public okay um okay so we talked about that um let's talk a little bit about some of the comments from in the reports we talked about uh you did provide some testimony with regard to the uh General comment number one within the board Engineers report concerning the operations of Blue Sky um did you have the opportunity to read the report from the landscape architect wait a minut wait wait hold on we just referenced two reports I don't know which one you want to look at yeah you're going to have him talk about engineering issues no no so I'm sorry I'm talking quickly and I need to slow down he's already testified with regard to General comment number one in the engineers Report with regard to the operations of the tenant now I wanted to move on because that's really the only item in the engineers report uh actually no you know what let's stay with that item number one item number seven in the engineers report um there was a question with regard to pedestrian bicycle and other vehicular movement within the site could you just uh give the board a little bit of information with regard to uh any of those types of of movements there isn't so Foster lane comes to a culdesac end the end of the culdesac is the entrance to the concrete facility uh and then the main entrance uh for for uh this new site will also be at the end of that uh by the CAC there is no there is no there's no pedestrian bicycle movement within that area it goes nowhere the only pedestrian movement would be from the vehicles inside or you know as required by the operations around the site corre uh there was another comment comment 14 within the engineers report this is with regards to the proposed access gate could you just explain how that's going to work I c l have a gate that uh we close at night in the evening just so if there is someone that comes down to that area they're not thinking it's a a driveth through and they can drive through our premises that's the same thought behind this having a gate there um that to uh stop any um Wanderers from wandering in okay so there was a question as to whether or not truck operators would have to get out of their vehicle open and close the gate that just remains open during operating hours yeah so the assume the first person that came in for the day uh and the last person for the afternoon or evening would end up opening or closing the gate thank you I think that was all the questions that you could answer from the engineers report um I do want to talk about uh the Landscape Architects report um did you have the opportunity to review that yes and is there anything in there that you uh would like to the board to consider any particular item that you do not agree with the the main consideration would be the top soil depth uh The Depths ranging from 12 to 18 inches of top soil uh within the planning areas and just for the board's edification that's item 7A um it talks about 7A bullet point5 bless from my own personal experience and some experience in doing some other construction work top so it could be very fluffy and I would just be concerned that the uh you know through rain or wind erosion it would just blow it around uh one of the things that we will be doing is periodically putting up putting down mulch in the spring so uh we like to reduce that to six inches if we can and with the consideration that we bring some mulch down um within those beds and I think I think that's and I agree with you you have islands and parking lot don't so that doesn't apply at all the only place I would like to have that's [Music] fine great um going to address the office area and the planners report any other comments you have to Bo no thank you again okay just hold on one second Taylor do we have anybody online from the there are still a few there are there are still a few members online well if any of the folks who have joined us online this evening or if we have others who are in the room uh have any questions on Mr crater's testimony now would be the time to speak up good thank you thank you well I'm going to speak up if everybody could please just a reminder to speak into the microphone because I I can't hear some of you and I'm only 26 let me let me do this shortcut things are there any members of the public here or or you all with the applicant all the app all the okay thanks that makes it easy you don't know about online right we have to ask about online but we now know no members of the public that's true Mr chair as I indicated I'm going to go out of order just a little bit because we do have that change to the office square footage uh typically I would have the engineer and then the architect testify um but I would like to have Mr chick uh testify uh with regard to um this this change and we do have an exhibit um that would be item um hold on one two three four five six it would be the sixth item should be the sixth item on that proposed drainage area nope uh site floor plan and elevations stated 327 of course you're going to uh tell us who Mr chick is in qualif absolutely I just wanted put that up there and let her get get that going um okay uh Mr chick could you please give the board the benefit of your uh education experience and qualification um so Steve chick pre-construction director with um f Creek development Inc um I uh I'm a professional engineer um have been since 2020 um and I graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology as a mechanical engineer in 2011 I'm sorry I was was qualifying you as the architect okay everybody us apologize okay um so what we have up on the screen right now um is a document entitled site plan floor plan and elevations dated March 27 2024 um and we would like to mark that as exhibit A1 and was that prepared by your office it was and uh did I properly identify exactly what that uh is identified as to the board um yes so the the change that we made on the location stays the same you can see the office located in the top left corner um we increased it from 2,000 square ft to 3,000 ft the main reason the employee count does not change um That Remains the Same so the required parking that the tenant needs remains unchanged um so all this U requires is just a change in the amount of relief that the variants U that we're seeking um that just increases that distance U the reason why we're increasing the square footage is because the tenant went back and saw greater need for items like file storage and less of a need for a break room area so the 1500 SQ foot break room area that was originally indicated seemed um in excess of the actual employees that are going to be working in the warehouse area so we reconfigured the space based on what work best for them okay thank you and our engineer will go a little more into the uh parking aspects of this and how it is affected by this change um the other thing I would just like you to indicate for the board did you have the opportunity to review the uh letter from the um Fire official I did okay and is there anything in there that we will not be able to comply with no we will be complying with the entire letter okay specifically the two letters were the same the only change from the first to the second letter that I saw was the addition of another private hydrant and that's not an issue that is not um unless the board has any questions um I don't have any other questions for Mr CH no I think we're good we do need to is anybody who's joined us online have any questions for Mr chck no okay thank you okay um and at this point I'd like to call our engineer uh Miss Edgars hi she's really going to get into the specifics of this application and tell you what this is really all about I apologize in advance so first could you please give the board the benefit of your education and experience pleas sure um I am a professional civil engineer in the state of New Jersey also licensed in New York my licenses are both uh valid and current I have a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in civil engineer ing from New Jersey Institute of Technology um I've been licensed since 2007 I've not had the pleasure of testifying in front of this board until tonight um but I have testified in front of many boards in New Jersey and New York and your license is in good standing yes and you were accepted as an expert in the field of civil engineering before each one of the boards that you've testified to yes I'd like to present her as an exp thank you thank you okay okay I'm just gonna let you go um are you just tell me what it's labeled order oh we changed the architect so his was last right okay so it should be the first one and then we'll just go straight through them it was just that we changed the order tonight so the first exhibit as it's being pulled up is just going to be a neighborhood exhibit uh kind of citing where the where the site is and this was previously provided to the board in connection with the application so we can mark it if you like Mr we've had it before we don't need any more um it's it's an exhibit it's not a plan so I would call it a one is it something that was submitted to the professional that was not what I had okay I'm sorry yeah no I would call this usually entire plan put up there so the board could see it but that's that's fine that was my mistake I do have handouts and copies of each one so we'll mark that then as A2 A2 okay thanks uh so the site is located at two Foster Lane in Flemington it contains 5.3 Acres or 27,9 44 square feet of unimproved land the ground cover is uh a metalik mix of grass and brush which is mowed regularly uh the site is irregularly shaped as you can see on the screen uh it's bordered on the north and west by Foster lane on the south by the Black River and Western Branch of the Northfolk Southern Railroad and on the east by the Flemington concrete facility um it's located in the I2 major industrial district uh in this District the proposed use of manufacturing and additional use of office are both permitted um the accessory uses of off- street parking loading unloading signs fences facilities for employees such as break rooms screened and fenc outdoor storage and other uses and structures customarily incidental to the permitted use are permitted accessory uses uh the surrounding neighborhood is generally industrial and light industrial um I guess if we can go to the next page okay so that one just so we'll have it for the record we're marking that is A2 and that is labeled blue sky at Foster site location yep and this is going to be A3 uh which is a site rendering um I think this may Zooms in it zooms in a little and maybe better illustrates how the site is bordered on the west and the north by Foster lane uh the site contains a long irregular front yard on the north and west sides of the site um and combined with the irregular shape created by the rail on the south side of the site that creates a uh small and irregularly shaped building envelope and significant yard encumbrances on the site the applicant is proposing a 54,1 3 squ foot building the predominant building use will be 51,1 3qu ft of manufacturing and additionally 300,000 not 300 3,000 square feet of the building will be used for related office space um the site is also proposed to contain accessory off Street passenger vehicle and trailer parking loading births the 20f or mentioned screened and fenced storage tanks for water uh Ura and Def uh one screened and fence refuge and recycling enclosure signs fences above and below grade utility structures storm Water Management areas lighting and Landscaping um due to the irregular shape of the site the applicant is requesting variances from schedule one of the township Land Development ordinance for the principal building from the front and rear yard setbacks um these have changed ever so slightly um from what Miss kazinski said in the opening so I'll just read them into the record thank you the proposed front yard setback is on the north side of the site is going to be is proposed to be 51 feet the proposed front yard setback on the west side of the site is 62 feet these are both variances from the 100t front yard setback requirement the proposed rear yard setback on the south side of the site is 65 ft which is a variance from the required 100t rear yard setback um additionally my understanding of the ordinance and um you know with understanding that there's a couple different ways to read it um my understanding is that the ordinance defines all structures on non-residential lots to be principal structures and that the definition of structure is pretty Broad includes curb it includes pavement um fences and and other things uh so we are requesting a lot of variances um for the additional structures beyond the main building um that is shown on the next two exhibits which I'd like to Mark as A4 and A5 okay so A4 will be the drainage and utility plan and A5 is the site that scan didn't come out terrific but uh hopefully your photoc copies came out a little bit better uh the Yello highlighted items on this sheet and the next sheet uh are the items that I understand to require variances for yards setback uh if any of those do not require variances we're very happy to not have those variances um microne if I could I believe you alluding to one of my my comments or discussions earlier yes um you can see on the bulk table they also have the primary building and then also a zero which is referring to I'm presuming the the pavement the pavement there's further discussion I don't think it it's warranted now but it's it just hasn't been ranted for a zero yard setback for pavement um in the past that that has not been uh interpreted that way um and I would I would believe that a variance would not be required for zero zero foot setback for P for pavement otherwise any any development in the township would need that variance that sounds great to me um uh one other uh item I'd like to update from uh the opening is that the uh fence that was referred to as being on the property line has been moved to be 0.9 foot setback from the side yard property line seem like the right decision yes okay so um if we can go back to exhibits please back yes please so we're going back to a sorry the one that was just up the rendering I'm not seeing the sighting on any of these um that it's not a rail sighting it's it's not proposed as part of this application and I will discuss that it's not proposed that's what I asked before that that it is it is part of its application that I just the so uh I'll go ahead and talk about it now so the um it is anticipated that in the future there will be a rail siding added um but that will be fully located within the black and Western Rail lot uh that is adjacent to the site it will not be on the site what we've what we've done is proposed three uh PVC pipes for the product to be unloaded once that siding and the pertinent equipment is constructed um but at this time it's not part of this application we we're having some dialogue here could you just go back to A2 just so we we set the record sure that would be the same that was one that was just up yeah no the the first one yeah just just just so we have this in the transcript this one okay y A2 this would be two foster we were looking at five Foster and just proximity of what your exis oh you don't oh you don't have this on on the screen no we do have it I just it keeps blacking out oh okay there's a we're just trying to understand the properties in that we we just want to set the record as to what is all around that I mean I think most of us know okay so you have this yellow hatched area which is where the tenant's going to be okay yes and then to the um to the east there is a complex is that's that's the concrete right yes that's okay and then to the north off Foster there is a a drive in a building what is what is that bio yes what is that the um Richard do you want to come to microphone sorry and just for the record that's Mr creeder that's Tes yeah yeah that was constructed when the they were uh John and Emirate were the original owners of the property and that's we work with them to develop the site uh and um that was put in back in 2009 2010 um they a property owner there that's fine and then there's a black the Black River Western is is to the the south of these and then and then below where it says Black River and Western in writing there's an area what is that area there there he owns the property between the rail and uh that South part of petley okay and what is is there a building or something there now no there's okay and then it looks like to the um isn't that the asphalt plant yes yeah that's well as you keep on going east yes you got the stola plant that's further east yes we probably going to talk about the variances and why they're Justified and that the uses around it and then to the left there's a looks like there's a farm that used to be the old um yards uh Butcher and now there's other things a couple trucks yes we aware okay I just I just wanted to set your that this is not a per se residential neighborhood with respect to these variances that's correct there you go okay thank AB correct and we will certainly have our planner cover that in much more detail okay so if you can go to the next one next one a right there A3 183 okay um so we are proposing a total of 37 passenger vehicle parking spaces uh 18 of which are proposed to be banked and one of which is the credit for electric V the additional vehicle the additional parking space credit for electrical vehicle charging spaces as Allowed by New Jersey Code chapter 40 colon 55 D- 6620 the building tenant is proposing to have 10 employees uh with the remaining eight spaces available for site visitors uh the tenant has stated that 18 spaces proposed for the immediate construction will be sufficient for their needs the applicant is requesting a parking variance to propose a total of 37 banked and non- banked parking spaces in lie of the 76 spaces that are required by section 296-155 of the ordinance for a combination of 3,000 squ feet of office and 51,1 103 feet of manufacturing okay if we can just put on the record that 3,000 SQ foot of office at one space per thousand square feet uh I'm sorry four spaces per thousand square feet um the office would require 12 spaces and then the rest of the manufacturing would require 64 is that correct that is correct the reason why we are only proposing 37 spaces again including the one space uh that counts twice because of the electric vehicle charging so 36 uh to potentially be eventually constructed um is to be good stewards of the RT muua uh allocation to the site which is three equivalent dwelling units edus which is the same as 900 gallons per day of sanitary sewage flow from the site um njac 714 A- 23.3 prescribes 25 gallons per day per employee for manufacturing uh and other uses and 25 gallons per day per employee 36 employees will equate to the allocated 900 gallons per day therefore we're requesting to cap the number of passenger vehicles able to park on site even in the future at 36 assuming one employee per vehicle which I think is reasonable uh as noted in the board Engineers letter the banked parking area is not shown as graded on our current plans but we will revise the plans to grade out that area uh there are no immediate plans for the construction of the banked parking and Associated sidewalk uh there is a sidewalk associated with it but that's banked as well um those those banked features are accounted for in the storm water but I'll get to that in a minute um the current tenant does not need the spaces and as you heard they are uh entering into a long-term lease 15 years plus two fiveyear renewals uh so not proposing to construct those in the near future I'd just like to at this point because it seems to make sense just indicate for the record um Mr vella's letter dated March 22nd did have as an attachment the January 23rd 2024 letter from the RT muua that did indicate that three edus for total gallons per day of 900 um has been allocated and exists for this property so that would be consistent uh with Mr Edgar's testimony uh continuing on our pavement Journey um a total of six loading births are proposed up against the building there uh where five births are required for a combination of 3,000 squ ft of office which is one birth and 51,1 3 Square F feet of manufacturing which is four births um additionally nine parking stalls are proposed in the truck court on the east side of the building um for the parking of delivery trucks and trailers not passenger vehicles um signage will be provided as requested by the board engineer for the two southernmost spaces that have limited maneuver room and can only be accessed by smaller delivery vehicles um now that we've talked about all the Hardscape on site uh the applicant is Seeking a variance from schedule one of the township Land Development ordinance for impervious cover at the site we are proposing and this is uh this is again a change from the intro 97,3 47 Square ft or 44.9% in previous cover whereas 87,134 per is allowed the 44.9% proposed uh impious cover includes the banked parking and Associated banked sidewalk move on to the now Infamous tanks uh the tanks will be approximately 12 feet tall and approximately 12 feet in diameter uh each tank will store up to 12,500 gallons of water Ura or de none of these substances is on the list of environmental hazardous substances at njac 7 colon 1G nor on the New Jersey Community right to know list of hazardous substances therefore secondary containment is not required around the storage tank area would a spill plan be required no uh bards however are a great idea and those will be added around the screening fence as suggested in the boort engineer letter to provide add additional protection uh of the tank area against potential vehicle strikes uh one Monument sign two directional signs and one building mounted sign are proposed as part of the application uh the monument sign if you're looking at the exhibit on the screen uh over on the West Side you can see a little white rectangle that's not the sign but there's a little black rectangle even smaller just below that that's the monument sign there's also an even smaller sign uh in that same vicinity which is the directional sign and there's also a directional sign on the North side uh just before the culdesac uh signage on site will comply with Article 19 of the township land use development Land Development ordinance uh a gate is proposed at the entrance of the truck Court to prevent vehicles from entering or exiting the truck Court outside of business hours the gate will be manually opened at the beginning of business hours and manually closed at the end of business hours and will remain open in between truck drivers will not need to exit their vehicles to open or close the gate a trash enclosure can we just stay on that for one second just it seems pretty clear but I just want to get it on the record can we just go through how the trucks are going to enter the site and then what their options are for where they go and and where they're going to go from there certainly so the directional signage is to direct uh passenger vehicles into the passenger vehicle parking lot and to direct trucks to continue driving around to the culdesac uh and enter the truck Court uh off of the culdesac through that driveway um the plan set does include include uh truck turning plan to address some of the concerns that had come up on the prior application about trucks Crossing center lines and things like that um so the trucks don't do that so essentially all the traffic to this proposed development will enter the site and go to the left is that accurate uh to the left the the the all vehicles will come in on fost Lane yep passenger vehicles will make a right into the passenger vehicle parking area I'm sorry I'm accessing it I'm looking at this and thinking the access is at the bottom left the access that's why I wanted for the record so everyone understands if we could just Orient where they're coming in and what their options are for which way they can go sure trucks uh really will only have one option um they should not be making the turn into the passenger vehicle parking area we have signage to prevent that also the um curb radii are not amenable uh the driveway width is not amenable to trucks making that maneuver um so they will continue along Foster lane until they get to the culdesac bulb and then they will make a right turn into the truck court and again we have signage directing them to do such okay okay um trash enclosure um Mr crater did speak about that um but to reemphasize it will contain two two two cubic yard dumpsters one for recyclables and one for refu uh the dumpsters will be emptied weekly under a contract with a licensed hauler the refu area the dumpster enclosure is near the tanks just to the east of them at the end of the truck Court uh the applicant is proposing to construct three product pipes in the plan set they are called out as Steam and product pipes but we've since learned that the steam is not coming out of the building I'll get to that in a second uh so these pipes will only um be used for bringing Ura from the rail cars eventually into the building for use in the manufacturing process um the pipes will be 3in schedule 80 PVC buried with 42 in of cover and Will are proposed to be capped one foot from the rear property line for the time being um the pipes are proposed in anticipation of a future Improvement to the black R Black River and Western Rail that will allow Ura to be delivered by rail car at that time the Ura will be pumped from the rail car into the building through the PVC PVC pipes uh no product will exit the building through those pipes and nothing will be discharged uh to the to the ground or or otherwise through those pipes at the time of plan preparation we understood the steam might have been coming from the building but uh I Now understand that the steam will be generated if and as needed by the by a future structure within the rail the purpose of the steam being in the wintertime in New Jersey uh liquids may become solid um in a rail car and so it may need to be heated up so that it can be pumped but all of that take place under a separ separate application on The Rail lot um the site is encumbered by a 65 foot wide jcpnl easement in the rear yard adjacent to the rear property line up against the railroad the easement deed language uh my understanding of it allows for the types of improvements that we are showing there uh to be constructed uh and the applicant has been coordinating with jcpnl uh regarding the proposed improvements within their easement so the those improvements are the proposed Basin on what I'll call the southeast corner of the site on the east side but the southern of the two basins over there uh the three pipes that we just talked about and then you can see that there's an existing Basin already in the easement uh on the West Side uh speaking of that Basin uh additionally at the rear of the property located within the Western portion of the jcpnl easement uh the site is encumbered by a drainage and con conservation easement in favor of the township uh for the purpose of the existing storm water basin which provides storm water management for runoff from the Western portion of Foster lane so in 2009 when this site was subdivided uh that Basin was constructed to take ENT treat runoff from that Western leg of foster um the property owner for this site uh Mr creeder and his company is responsible for maintenance of that Basin um I've observed the Basin and appears to be in good working condition uh Mr creder also reports that it is it doesn't sit full of water it empties out quickly um the project proposes grading and storm water pipes within the drainage and conservation easement uh my reading of that easement makes me understand that those types of improvements are allowed within that easement um I'm not aware of any additional Township approvals besides this um board to be allowed to construct those in that easement um and again the same property owner who is already responsible for maintenance of that Basin and the associated drainage pipes uh will be responsible for maintenance of installation and maintenance of the pipes near it uh so it's in his best interest to take good care of all of that um okay let's go on a storm water journey together shall we um I think the we're looking for for exhibits A6 and seven so those another one [Music] down one more down one Mar existing drainage area map and A7 isos dra area yes okay so what number is this this is A6 I promise a7's the last one um okay this is just to kind of give a regional idea of how storm waterers working in the area um for the northern roughly quarter of the site so that's marked as a up on the screen little blue a um runoff from that area flows north uh and into Foster lane and then that Northern leg of Foster lane also all of that flows north uh through existing storm Water Management measures on block 27 uh lot 30.01 and then into the Bush kill Brook and ultimately to the South Branch of the Ron River uh we refer to this as drainage area a um and generally if we were to flip back and forth which I'm not going to ask you to do because the computer's being crazy um but generally in the proposed condition the same thing happens uh but drainage area a is greatly reduced in size and therefore the flows are significantly less um the proposed 210 and 100-year hydrographs for that drainage area um are below the existing hydrographs at all points and therefore storm water management in that area is compliant with njac 78 um next I will talk about about drainage area d as marked up there um storm water which is on the east side storm water from a small portion at the very east side of the site flows to the east uh across block 27 lot 30.02 which is the Flemington concrete site and then enters the Bush kill Brook before it crosses the black the Black River and Western Railroad and ultimately into the Ron River um again similarly to drainage area a the two 10 and 100y year hydrographs for this area in the proposed condition are less than the existing hydrographs in all case at all points in time and therefore quality uh quantity is compliant with njac c78 storm water from the remainder of the site from the Western portion of Foster lane and from an existing offsite area west of Foster Lane flows through various existing and proposed storm water management measures then to a wetland Swale uh near the property's boundary with the black and River Black River and Western lot you can see that Wetland Swale um indicated with a dashed black line it's it's not the squiggly black line that runs through the whole site that's a soil line but just at the property line uh it's kind of a almost rectangular shape up there um so then once it goes through that Wetland Swale um it flows under the Black River and Western Rail in an existing Culvert and then East toward a lower reach of the Bush kill Brook and ultimately into the Ron River um the area that is further west of the western leg of Foster lane we refer to as the 2009 drainage area um just because it came from the 2009 subdivision storm water report um so that's marked up there it includes that existing Basin uh and then the remainder of that the then there's drainage area B which is immediately above the existing Basin on the screen immediately north of it that flows into the Basin in the existing and the it flows into the existing Basin in the existing and proposed condition uh and then all of that routes to that covert that goes underneath of the rail so it's all kind of connected uh and then drainage area C is the bulk of the site and that flows Overland into that Wetland Swale and then in the Culver underneath the rail um just a couple quick notes on the Wetland that's there we have received an Loi from the D for that Wetland confirming the location as shown on the plans and confirming that it is ordinary resource value and does not have uh an Associated transition area and that was provided to the uh engineer correct I don't think we've submitted that yet we're still showing that as open do have a copy of it here [Music] anyone just because of because of Mr Bard's comments before we're going to call this for this evening when you're done with the storm water management so and we were we were thinking I was just conferring with committee woman for two that on the 10th we have two very small applications a minor subdivision and a site plan waiver for a security fence installation you think maybe we get them in as three yeah can you do April 10th April 10th that's their next meeting because those those two should not be long in front of you okay um wait wait hold on let's see is that is that good with you counil um I have another standing meeting that night which is where I we're supposed to be tonight but I don't know what's going to be on that and uh I can also see if my partner's available so if you don't mind I'd like to keep it on datee and try and make magic all right so we'll so that's a yes yes we'll carry it to April 10th without need for further notice or advertisement and that would be great I know I I feel your pain I you do I know you do I'm out three nice is week and then I'm always juggling with other stuff too so you can't be in two places in one night unfortunately you check your time what are our meetings in May oh so uh I assumed May would be if if you couldn't I would if she can't make it would May 8th yeah definely I mean if you can't make it on the 10th we'll carry it to the eth I'll make it I'll make it all right what El was asking us if they needed a Time extension yeah yeah I knew that's where you were going you the end May May 16 May 14 I me we can no he's talking about when we have side you know what when I send a copy of the Alli I'll give an extension through the end of May that's fine um okay uh so we are not proposing any disturbance or filling of the Wetland um the well and sale is in good vegetated condition uh and is adequate to uh continue accepting storm water flow uh I will note that there will not be an increase in the concentrated flow in the Swale uh because we are reducing Peak flows to this area so that we can meet storm water quantity management requirements um so from that Wetland uh or in conjunction with that Wetland there is also a a ditch um that flows there's a there's a head wall that Outlets two pipes one from the 2009 existing Basin and one from a wetland complex uh immediately west of Foster lane kind of in line with that with that Wetland Swale and with that uh existing Basin on our site so those two pipes out letting uh there is a a small ditch there it is man-made it is shown as proposed on the 2009 subdivision plans uh and it drains approximately 34 Acres uh because it is man-made and drains less than 50 acres it is not jurisdictional under the flood Hazard area regulations at njac 713 and no flood Hazard area permits are required from njd um as requested in the board Engineers letter we analyze the Culvert under the rail to confirm it has capacity for the existing and proposed flows without backing water up to the proposed building uh the Culvert invert elevation is 121.9 in the navd88 datam uh in the proposed condition for the current 100-year storm precipitation we have calculated that the flow through the Culvert would back up into the Swale the well and Swale and onto the surrounded vegetating surrounding veget ated area to Elevation 126.70 year rainfall event that's pretty big um the proposed finish floor elevation of the building is 1 34.9 providing more than 5et of free board during the 100e storm Save Me Maybe save you some trouble does does this comply with the storm water regulations I'm cool I apologize I was just trying to hit all the testimony in the letter no no no I I mean we we wish we normally got such detail most of the people that come in here and hardly touch at all but do you do you agree that Eng that was good rest of you guys it's fine know just to summarize for with all joking aside Mr BL we did have some questions regarding some of the storm water and Miss Edgar I think the testimony is great uh and I think all we really need is some of that summarized Into the Storm Water Report I we're good sounds great we'll take care of it and I did just remember she was testifying and I looked I think that that meeting that night is canell chair gone so that actually oh so you're good on the 10 that's good all right keep it going um okay so Carri to April 10 thank you for even indulging us with this well let's are you done with her testimony um we were ending at the storm water yeah oh okay so she's still I'm happy to keep going no no no because I'm was saying if you were done then you know we would see if the public had questions but if you're not that's good I back on and I think most importantly I think there are some items that we want to address that were uh in the engineers report okay so then we have your your planners coming in and you know what it if the board is so inclined now that we have a little bit of time it might even be helpful if I could prepare a response letter addressing those items and even whatever you want to do to help speed this along work stre we'll do that um the only question I would have is the other person I have left is my planner after the engineer anything else that the board might want to hear based upon well it's your it's your application you have variances so I seem you need a planner yes was there anyone else you were going to call or not I have a traffic engineer that's available um again based on the last Mr Troutman you don't think we need traffic do you you're you're going to look at the templates on the culdesac yes okay no so he's got to look at the templat so we make sure you supply him with that just want to make sure we have everything that you're think you're need they put it in the pl okay you're good yes all right um planner and and finish all right thank you thanks thank you I have a quick question not Rel I have a quick question not related to I have a motion to go into ex session