e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e okay good evening everyone the time is 6:05 this is the township of Springfield Board of adjustment meeting for June 18th 2024 adequate notice of this meeting has been given in accordance with the Sunshine Law notice was published on December 13th in the Star Ledger one of the official newspapers for the township of Springfield for the year 2023 and posted in the Annex Building on December 14th 2023 can we please stand to salute the flag to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all can we please have a roll call Mr Steven Hawkin here Mr Michael wex here Mr Steven fenal Mr Raj a sahada Miss Marin apparo here miss Ana doson here Vice chair Mark Cunningham and chairwoman Jody Cohen here we have a quorum thank you all right the first order of business is the resolutions that are up for memorialization the first is application 202 24-7 30 Mohawk Drive block 2102 Lot 10 have the members of the board have an opportunity to review the resolution are there any questions or comments if there are none is there a motion to adopt I'll move second Mr Hawkin yes Vice chair Cunningham yes Mr wxin obain Mr Fen bound no and chair Cohen yes motion passes second resolution for adoption is application 2024-25 Short Hills Avenue block 608 Lot 10 has every board member had an opportunity to review and are there questions or comments if there are none is there a motion to adopt I'll move Mr Hawkin yes Mr Fen bound yes and vice chair Cunningham yes sorry and chair Cohen yes motion passes thank you uh the next order of business is a hearing you oh sure we could do that first um so share Alliance which is application 2024-25 church Mall blocks 202 and 208 Lots 23 and 3 this is an application for preliminary final site plan for use variants that application will not be heard this evening so if you are here on that application we are informing you now that that application will not be heard this evening we do not have a date when the next hearing on that application will take place and Ju Just So the record is clear that's a typo it's not 2024 D 10 it's application 2024 D2 thank you thank you Bruce okay we are going to move on to the hearing portion um of the agenda and I'm going to turn this over to our attorney to walk every member of the board through the process thank you um there has been scheduled before the board today a hearing to determine uh whether a member's absences are excused or if not um then statutorily he would automatically be off the board um there are two uh laws which are in play here one is State Statute 48 colon -12.1 which is a general statutory section which deals with members of all boards uh appointed by municipalities and counties for that matter and and in relevant part what a seat shall be deemed vacant whenever a member without being excused by a majority of the authorized members of such body fails to attend and participate in meetings of such body for a period of eight consecutive weeks or for four consecutive regular meetings and I'll come back to that when we talk about the the local ordinance um at the conclusion of such period the board um May determine whether they are excused absences and the board May refuse to excuse only with respect with effect ex with respect to those fairs to attend that are due to legitimate illness um and then by ordinance uh there may be uh a lowering absentee threshold by the municipality so that's a state statute which controls except for that last section about the threshold um there is a local ordinance um section 2- 69 removal for absenteeism had lengthy discussions with about this section with the township attorney because in many ways it conflicts with the state statute in which case by law the state statute controls um but one thing that the State the local ordinance does in accordance with 40a colon -12.1 which I just read parts to you sets the Threshold at three consecutive meetings rather than four which is authorized by the state statute um the local ordinance also provides and this is not contrary though it's in addition to the state statute upon request of the member to be removed a hearing will be held to determine whether the absences were excusable and that's the purpose of the meeting tonight for the board members to determine whether the absences are or not excusable if the three absences are not then it's an automatic removal from the board um you've each been provided with um the the um documentation if you will it's three emails from um Mr sad um concerning uh his missing of three meetings and there's also a chart Which documents uh attendance and indicates that he did Miss three meetings in a row um unless the board members have any questions um then I think it would be appropriate to allow the member to uh address the board um on his own behalf should I be sworn first or no you should be sworn you swear or you swear or affirm to tell the truth I swear and you state your full name and address for the record please Raj um I would like to depart from stating my address given the the the climate of this community um you live within I live within Spring Township Springfield I've lived within Springfield for 11 years thank you um so uh I'll I'll go and address the absent the absences the three consecutive absences and I'll go in reverse chronological order and two of them not three two um the board at least the board secretary and Council has notied of them and now that they have the emails they have notice of them as well but everyone's going to hear last month which is May um the reason I was I was not here is because one of my children um who had a recital I don't know if that's the right word but it was at Dayton that was the same evening as the zoning board meeting so if there was any other parents who were here were there at that recital for um for the middle schools I'm sorry for the the Later Elementary Schools um you may have seen me there the month before um that was May uh you may have heard Mr Bergen uh in that the share Alliance application that was supposed to be heard today was put off my office at the time was representing the share Alliance and I did not want my appearance at all at the meeting to in any way shape or form influence any member of this board uh from uh any any kind of decision it otherwise may have objectively made so that was the only I believe use variance that was on the agenda at that time um hence why um I elected as As a matter of safety and as a matter of just precaution not attending that meeting and then the first uh of the earliest of those that's the March meeting um I was not in attendance because one of my other children um thankfully is a is a pretty good soccer player um and that was tryy out season um and I had to take him to a try out for a very very high level uh Club so those are the three stated reasons for my absences the latter two chronologically um the board is aware of the first one now the board is aware of um this transparently is a pretextual hearing um no objective board would remove someone for any of those three absences let alad all three of them um there there is a Witch Hunt that is ongoing in this Township um I am proudly of Palestinian descent I've been to Palestine I know what Palestine looks like excuse me th this this is a it's a pretextual hearing and I would like to state that this is a witch hut stated that but I know you want to I know and I respect your position I'm a lawyer too you want to try to limit the scope of the discussion this is the real reason why we're having this uh outrageous hearing you're done unless you let me continue would you like me to continue on that grounds no I think it's inappropriate the question here is the three absences and whether the board finds reasons to be sufficient to to excuse them that's yeah that's the stated reason not the real reason thank you okay I'm going to turn it to the board for any questions so I just want to put it on the record that [Music] um we as a board um have not been able to get enough members to hear certain applications so I actually rose raised the issue of attendance um prior to any thing that any topic that you're raising at this hearing um with our attorney um and so that's how the discussion started um we did not have a quarum last meeting we had issues with quarum the meeting before an attendance I think is important when you do these volunteer positions even if you have to recuse yourself from the matter that your office is representing you could still appear for all other applications and then remove yourself at the time that the recusal occurs so I just want to put that on the record um any board members again have any questions or have any statements that they would like to put on the record yeah Bruce could you just Define again what an absence is there a definition what an excused and not excused absence is I'm sorry I just there there is no definition um what the what the state statute says um the board May refuse to exercise only with respect to those failures to attend participate which are not due the legitimate illness meaning it's sort of in the reverse but illness is the only reason that the board must except it doesn't mean it has to be only Illness but in as much as uh there there's no claim of illness here that's that's not the issue so it's really up to this the board members here to determine whether they think the absences were excusable and again it it reaches the threshold being three in a row beyond that there can be absences but three in a row is what um triggers the state statute if you want to make a statement I I was trying to help um it's the ordinance not the statute but do that as a I have a question uh is it possible to say that if he misses another meeting then then we can kind of address anything I I don't think the law provides for that okay the the issue is here whether the board wishes to excuse the aanes if you do then um in as much as the members here then it would only kick in again if there were three more consecutive absences if you determin not to excuse the absences then um the law automatically deems the seat to be vacant thank sorry Mr Bergen I didn't hear the last part of that if if the board does not deem the absences to be excusable then the law deems the seat to be vacant automatically [Music] my question is um my recollection is last year sitting next to Mr Mr seday for a year I don't remember I don't remember whether there was a pattern of nonappearance during that past year or the year before is there any such record that would illuminate that I'll testify to it so generally I I only miss meetings when um I'm overseas or um there is some meaningful event for one of my children which is rare like not not practice I'm a consequential try out or recyle or illness which I can't even remember being ABS in for no generally I am here rain SLE [Music] ocean are there any other questions from the board are we going to walk through each of them and vote whether they're excused or not excused are we going to vote on whether all three are excused how do you think that we should proceed here C can I asked a question about the April 11th uh the correspondence it says that um Raj asked um if he should come because he has a a client that's going to be here and your response was no need for you to sit out the whole meeting but you should leave the room during the conflict matter matter but then he doesn't come is that considered unexcused or excused like how does that you had asked for him to come but he was there other I was just curious as to how that's um interpret it just to complete that record um I also indicated just out of an overabundance of caution and I think I put over in parenthesis um I will not attend the meeting and I believe at that meeting and um please don't told me to this but I believe that there were no other use variances on at that time and I believe that even that application uh was carried I mean it was carried it's has it's carried to today and it's carried to a date to be determined I'll leave the answer to your question too the power that it seems like based on the law it's excused if it's an illness and it's not excused otherwise okay I think what Mr Bergen said um is that it's automatically excused if it's a and I'm quoting one of the laws a legitimate illness everything else is up to the board how do you propose that we proceed are we going to look at these individually or as a whole I I think that's up to the board if um someone can make a motion either yay nay um or or as any or all of them and then the board will vote I'm sorry we did review that as well okay so I'm going to propose that we walk through each one individually and we can move either as an excused absence or as an unexcused absence so the first one I'm looking at is the March meeting which would be the TR soccer tryouts is there a motion either way you want to give the board a five minute break can a five minute break so they can like sure if the Board needs time do you want to digest the information that you've received and we could take five minutes just to be clear this isn't what the reason was then that's what I have in front of me I know you testified says I was in a a to 10 this isn't really what we're looking at it's a testimony correct I didn't hear what you said this says I was unable to attend just using this one you testified there was a different reason why you didn't come I don't think there was any reason set forth in that not different reason there was no reason the march with a March hearing right there was no hearing expressed there was no reason expressed excuse me there was no reason asked Oh I thought he I thought you testified something differently minutes ago no no I I certainly did not testify something differently so the March meeting uh in the email I miss law the board the board secretary asked for confirmation as to whether we can attend um I am pretty responsive to that um when and that time I indicated I could not attend um the reasons were never asked of me until um this board this this meeting was taking place that's why I miss the march here okay the April meeting was the soccer trials no the March meeting was the soccer triout the April meeting was the share Alliance application well that's what I'm saying so you testified the reason why you missed March was the soccer TR correct yes that's what I'm trying to look and can we get clarification for the April meeting then sure that was the share Alliance application uh my my office represented the share Alliance I don't know if you were here when they first appeared for I'm going I think it was an appeal of Mr disco's decision um and once they I think realized that an appeal wasn't option they withdrew their appeal and engage my office in the rest of we no longer represent them for the what it's worth thank you do you have another spouse that can go to these soccer events and such so I have three children we are already outnumbered we play zone at home um I am thankfully uh assigned to one While My bride is double teamed um so uh no and even for I can't believe I have to explain this but very often on Tuesdays there's uh practice my son is at practice now whenever he has practice again or anything inconsequential someone else can take it we thankfully have a good large support system not for something consequential okay we're going to go one at a time I'm going to start we'll go with the order in which they were addressed so we're going to start backwards the May meeting it's been put on the record that board member sad de needed to attend his daughter's recital I to attended that but I came to the meeting first for an hour because it did not start until an hour after the meeting started so I'm going to move that that is not excused based on the statute I would like to ask a question before the motion is heard um what um instrument did your child play or or the like I got there before it even started okay he plays the trumpet all right so he was the band was after the orchestra my daughter plays the violin I was there for that too okay is there a second if there is not a second is there a motion chair I would I would note that in the absence of a motion to excuse then the um absence is unexcused okay so we're either going to vote that a motion that it's excused and if we do not great so for the main meeting is there a motion that is excused absence I'm confused uh what am I voting what am I voting on The the May meeting the request for an excused absence for the from the May meeting so a yes vote means well there hasn't been a motion yet so there's nothing to vote on but a yes vote means what and a no vote means what it depends what the motion is oh okay so there's no motion to address correct so we're asking to make a motion that the May was unexcusable that no that it was excused excusable the the the starting point is that it's excus not excused not excus and this Board needs to determine if they wish to excuse any of the three absences okay is there a motion to excuse the May absence seeing none it is unexcused okay is there a motion to excuse the April absence where the board member did not attend because he needed to recu exuse himself from the share Alliance application I'll move that motion to excuse the absence is there a second none and the March meeting where the member stated that he had to attend a consequential try out for his son's soccer I'll move to excuse that one is there a second seeing none based on the lack of action by the board to determine one or more of the absences or excused they are considered by Statute and ordinance unexcused and the seat is now automatically vacon next order of business are the applications this evening the first application that we're going to call is application good evening everyone good evening how are you doing well um so I had come to the meeting last before we begin if I can just swear you in please oh sure do you swear or affirm to tell the truth I do I swear please State your full name give us your home address hosta bot and 117 Mapes Avenue thank you springi okay tell us a little bit about what you're looking to do and your reasons for doing so please yes so I'm brand new homeowner and uh first time uh I installed the shed not know I swear I did not know that I needed a permit so um I found out later uh after putting the shed that somebody in the community reached out to the town hall and complained so um currently the shed is 3 feet from the property line on both sides and uh I I didn't know the ordinance is for five so so I'm asking for an an excuse I I you know I walked around the neighborhood uh several times there's these sheds literally on the like on the property line uh on the fence so there's like barely any room so there sheds all over that are and with 5T um if you think about it uh it it just looks hideous and smack almost in the middle of my yard it it's not aesthetic Ally pleasing I don't think anybody would want to put a shed and lose all that ground you know in the backyard space so that's that's one and uh second is I'm I'm trying to put a patio uh uh like a p patio so just me and my family can have like a little backyard space or hangouts cookouts whatever so and uh I know there was a water mitigation plan that was also uh proposed as well and the contractor has been addressed and told thank you members of the board do you have any questions for the applicant I do are there any windows or doors on the sides that are facing that are three feet away no in the shed no it's just a solid wall on those sides yeah it's it's and it's an by10 shed and the base is uh it's a cement base so uh yeah it's just a very common shed I can show you a picture if you'd like the other question I have is there's there's fences between the shed and your property and your neighbors right yes how is there enough space to go in there clean it out and Serv very easily I I can put my lawn mower through so it's a 20 21 or 22 inch deck on the lawn mower so it goes right through pain it and maintain absolutely yeah I do just for the record as you're looking for it on your phone we're going to um call this picture A1 um Mr bot you can can you um make a hard copy of that or or even electronic copy and send it to the board secretary so it can be in the record and and I if other board members want to see it and probably should just hold it up so the public can see because it's part of the record and to answer your question I do not have a picture that is more on the left but the left is just the rest of the yard it there's is there a reason then that the shed could not be moved couple of feet over it it's cemented in uh that's that's the only reason I uh can't do it and uh like I addressed earlier if I move the shed two feet over it kind of comes almost middle of the property which looks very weird um all my neighbors have their sheds very much to the side and uh it you know that that was just for aesthetic purposes um and there's plenty of room and I'm you know happy to show you the picture again if you want but uh there's plenty of room on the back and on the side of it the main reason is you don't want to reement I'm sorry so the main reason is you do not wish to reement re submit in other words to to move the shed to move the shed and have to put more cement or concrete or whatever it is yeah at the different location correct yeah Madam chair I just want to let you know that I uploaded um his picture to the Google Drive so anybody who has access and wants to see the picture is under his application thank you thanks you're going for variants for the shed and for lot coverage for the patio patio correct our town engineer have any input on you see any uh any negative impact on the neighbors or seems like your your sketch is that the scale at 500 feet because that's no it's seems a lot it it seems like it's a lot bigger than what you sketched it's GNA be about close to 500 square feet um I obviously did not do it to scale um but 500 feet is probably is is a substantial this doesn't look 500 house is 40 any other questions any members of the public have any questions for the applicant questions for the applicant we'll open it for comment on the application give us one second okay any members of the public have any questions for the applicant none okay yes we're going to open it up to public comment yes please come forward we're just going to swear you in okay I'm Maria Rodriguez 114 Mapes do do you I'm sorry do you swear or affirm to tell the truth yes are you both going to test ify yes yeah then please raise your hand hand up do you swear or affirm to test to tell the truth yes do you swear or affirm to tell the truth tell the truth okay please state your name Alfredo Rodriguez into the microphone Alfredo rodrig your address 121 May 7 thank you okay so my parents live next to K's house they're literally butt up they have no absolutely no issues with the shed they can't see the shed because of the fence really so it doesn't it doesn't bother them at all um we have they have a shed and it's people have sheds so um they're great neighbors they just had a little baby can you talk into the microph they just had a baby just two weeks ago uh little Dev so they're new to the neighborhood and you know we just want them to feel comfortable and the shed has no bearing on me I live across the street um but we're very close neighbors and friends and it's I don't I don't you know it's I don't want to lose him as my neighbor and I want anybody else come set the house and and move out they're not going anywhere thank you very much thank you people like me have talk louder people behind me they got a sh right against my fence so what's a big deal people didn't got nothing else to do tell you the truth okay don't get yourself you should thank you thank you thank you make sure you cancel the whole thing because I'm going to lose them any other members of the public wish to speak hello do you swear or affirm to tell the truth yes please State your full name and give your home address uh Abraham Fernandez 118 mates AV Springfield New Jersey thank you uh so we're here in support of with Kay um I love this town I felt very com in this town um I just want him to feel that same comfort that I have Jennifer thank you for the V for my property um yes so we're just here in support I think this is a great town great environment uh there was a little snag with somebody uh ratting him out on a property line issue or a shed I think it's a little ridiculous um but just hoping uh we can get the right solution here tonight and uh we could be going home with a variance that's approved um thank you thank you thank you very much chair chairwoman may I just uh was there any water uh water issue on the on the uh patio issue and the patio portion of the uh application that when you when you went by that you looked at no they they have conceptual design asress because I didn't see anything on these submissions sub on June oh and you've reviewed it and you feel it's accepted and assuming it's done as proposed you don't have a problem okay any other members of the public Bo okay I am in favor of the application I think that the applicant um as Mr disco pointed out will mitigate uh any water issues and um I would Grant I would move to Grant the application subject to standard language concerning Reno correct does that mean that the uh that there's a caveat on the U on the motion such that the the water issue be addressed yes yes yes to it must be approved by the township engineer yes but that'll that'll be on paper with it will be yes as a condition make a motion or did you um I made a motion I will second it with the caveat that the dryw design be approved by the engineer chair Cohen yes Mr Hawkin yes Mr wxin yes Mr fanbound yes Miss naporano Miss doson and vice chair Cunningham yes motion passes thank you very much good [Laughter] luck very nice to see all right the next application up this evening is application 2024 d104 really 14 Pit Road Block 1801 lot 38 this is a request for a side yard front yard Varian is for an addition on the home do you swear or affirm to tell the truth I do please State your full name and your home address Robert Anthony prisner 14 Pit Road in Springfield New Jersey thank you very much do you have an expert who's going to testify or um my architect's here if you have any technical questions but on on okay unless there's any kind of that's why I have them just for technical purposes but basically what we're trying to do is do a uh a fourth bedroom over the existing dining room we're not looking to expand out or any no can levers or anything like that um my daughter is getting older she's in high school now she wants to get um you know she wants her own room I have a small bedroom for my son he's turning 10 so we're kind of going to shift everybody around to build a master bedroom um you know how girls can be when they want their own bathroom in their bed in their bedroom so um that's one of the other reasons and also my in-laws they come and stay with us and right now they basically sleep on the couch cuz I don't have any other room to put them into so I have a pull out sofa but you know 70 years old man and woman kind of have a rough night on the uh sleeper sofa so that's really it so there's no expansion other than vertical yep correct okay can you just go through the variances that you're requesting uh side variance and and for the front because it's 7. uh six on the side and it's I think it needs to be eight 7.8 7.8 so yeah there's two inches on the side there and then there's um the front variance uh I think it needs to be 30 and it's 20 21.2 21.2 correct are you just going for a vertical intensification of there no no change in the footprint of any kind nope any other questions questions from the board the materials that you're going to use are going to match the existing correct home correct yes I'm a contractor myself so I mean I I we do pretty good work so we'll make sure everything is looks good is there an original plan for the home I'm looking at the plans now I see the revised plan but I don't um um is there an original yes have that AG A5 thank you correct any further questions from the members of the board none okay I'm going to open it up to members of the public do you have any questions for are there any members of the public I have any questions for the applicant seeing none are there any members of the public who wish to be heard on this application seeing none okay I'm in favor of granting the relief that has been requested this evening second that motion I move to approve okay can I just add add something yes I think that it's an aesthetic Improvement to the front of the house and I I think it's uh an improvement on the streets yes good okay we have a motion on the floor no we have a second too yes okay we're going we're voting Cher Cohen yes Mr Fen bound yes Mr Hawkin yes Mr wxin yes Miss naano Miss doson yes and vice chair Cunningham yes motion passes thank you congratulations that would be now what that's now yeah about five minutes oh yes okay the time is um I don't know what the time is 6:55 we're going to take a five minute break thank you e e e e e e e e e e y we're good okay the time is 7 o' we are back on the record and we are going to call application 20241 this is Performance Mazda 2 111 Route 22 East block 3801 Lot 4 this is a request for preliminary and final site plan D3 variant and bulk variant is for a car dealership good evening how are you good evening M chair board members great to see you all and thank you for your continued service um we were here this evening uh and if you recall we were here a couple of years ago and Kevin bought the uh vacant building that is just to the east of uh the the former Fortune offs uh so uh he purchased that building and is planning on in accordance with the approvals do the the renovations to that building uh unfortunately Fortune offs closed they didn't renew their lease and Kevin saw the opportunity and purchase that property next door uh we're before this board because similar with our previous application there's a requirement that auto dealerships be 5 Acres this is less than five acres but we're going to have our proofs as far as the conditional use so the use is conditionally permitted again we we seek the conditional use variance um I do want to thank uh the the two mics uh Michael disco and Michael mrea for sending their reports actually on Father's Day morning they sent them over and we sent them out to our team so thank you for your efforts and Jen I know Jen was away but Bruce and Jen also communicated and uh provided us with with tonight's agenda uh so again uh I'll let uh Mr Deano and and our site engineer and planner explain in more detail but essentially uh there's going to be no change in the footprint of the building it's going to be uh the game plan is essentially uh to relocate at least uh temp when I say temporarily relocate to the fortune office location do the operation that's being done at the building to the just to the East and when that building is done they will both serve as a new car dealership with the ancillary used car service and the like so uh it uh uh and there will be a Synergy between the two the the gate there used to be a gate uh between the two properties there's a fence there now the gate will be reinstalled because there's no access to the rear of this property to the street behind so the actually the deliveries will occur on the adjacent property with the car carrier so they're not obviously they can't stop out on Route 22 or make make the entrance in the front and the layout is as will we explained on the site plan uh visitor parking um in front vehicle display and then service and employee parking to the rear so uh the building will be and I think you brought the rendering forgot the okay the building will be uh uh restuck OED and painted to to match the the rendering that was provided at the previous hearing uh couple of years ago for the the existing facility so that that's an overview of the application and uh if there's no preliminary questions i' figured I'd have uh Kevin talk first take us through a little bit about his ownership of the property so I'd like to call upon Kevin D Piano do you swear or affirm to tell the truth I do please State your full name spell your last name give us your uh business address Kevin D Piano Capital di p o 111 route22 Springfield New Jersey okay thank you so mpano just I know you were here a couple of years ago just get the board a little background on your your car dealership business uh your acquisition of the originally the property to the East and now the acquisition of the for property so I do want to apologize to the board that our construction has not started yet on the property to the east um there is a little issue with some contamination that happened from I guess General Electric many years ago and we're in negotiations with them trying to get them to take responsibility for it from what I understand this has been ongoing for many years so our construction kind of got moved back a little bit but we're if we're getting to a resolve one way or the other because I need to build this building um so the if you recall when I um got for lack of a better term the tent approved to open up temporarily it was supposed to be for a limited period of time well now that I see what's going on with General Electric and and you know the need for more permanent um um uh way of doing business and for safety reasons when they go to tear down the other building because as you recall we're going to build a brand new building not just remodel what's there um I had an opportunity because fortuno did not renew their lease they moved out and the gentleman who owns the building next door sold me the building so I thought it better that we move into a more permanent home for now while the other property um uh gets demolished and and built and eventually the sites will when the new building is built will move out of this site into the other site and the buildings will will work in conjunction with each other for all of our operations sales service and uh and you pre-own cost and generally touch on by the way this these aren't your only locations you've got a footprint yes we uh we have another location uh on Route One in Woodbridge we have uh we meaning me I have uh five locations on Route 10 between uh ceds and and Randol New Jersey and four locations on Route 23 so tell us a little bit about generally hours of operation number of employees and and the general layout I know that Rob is here to explain that more detail but if you could just give or So currently we have uh six employees on site um it's going to when we move into if we are allowed to move into the fortun building the number of employees will go up to 12 um the hours of operation will not change from what we testified to at the original which are sales is open from 9:00 a.m. in the morning till 8:00 P p.m at night and service is open from 7:30 in the morning till 600 PM how many days a week uh five days a week for sales and service on the six meaning Saturday we're open from 9:00 to 6:00 for sales and 7:30 to 4: for service all right and then um just generally uh the layout of the parking and it'll be explained more the plan but overview of the parking how it's going to be laid out and is there sufficient parking for employees and customers of the site yes so if if the members of the board recall back when this used to be 24-Hour Fitness they used to rent the rear parking lot of this and that's what if you look on our original site plan it had a gate that entered the rear parking they used to have uh customers park there and then I after 24-Hour Fitness had moved out or whatever they did um the back of this property was released to Tesla and they put a gate in on the other side and Tesla was parking back there the way this will operate for us is we're going to move our employees to park in the rear of 99 during construction and 111 will be used for display and customer parking is along the front of the building just as if you were going to walk into uh fortunoff to buy an article at fortunoff and then the I also want you to confirm because this is one of the conditions that was highlighted both mrco and mr's report that this will function as new car with ancillary for the used yes it'll both buildings will will uh be inclusive of new car sales used car sales and service and the sale of parts um the reason why we can't combine the Deeds to make one piece of property they're owned in two different companies that I have and they're financed with two different banks so trying to get these people to agree it just never works out and as far as I touched on it briefly with the uh delivery of the vehicles uh how is how is that done now and will be in the future now and in the future the deliveries are done off Diamond Road they come in off Diamond Road into our rear entrance of 99 and they Park the trailer there they unload and then they pull out either back onto diamond or they pull straight through and enter on to Route 22 and then with respect to the facade of the building touch on that the facade of the building it'll actually be a mirror image of not quite a mirror image because it won't be as nice as the new building but it'll be a black and white if everybody remembers what the other building supposed to look like it'll be black and white and it'll look exactly like the new operation so there'll be a Synergy between the local okay and then um I know there was a comment with respect to landcaping site is pretty much paved I know other locations you want to have a looking facade which you're put on uh what what do you do as far as enhancing Landscaping well we'll move our existing Landscaping like we did in front of the temporary facility over to that side as well and then after the site is fully developed we'll do some sort of low-lying planting along the highway it's very tough to keep things alive there because when they plow the snow the way the property is situated it's right up on the highway so any snow that comes off of the state plow usually covers the cars and it's very difficult but low some low L low Ling plants will will or should survive and then you've had an opportunity I know we give them in detail the reports both the board engineer disco and the board planner Mr any problem complying with any of those terms and conditions not at all I hope everybody's been satisfied with our actions so far since we got our last approvals I have no further preliminary questions thank you members of the board any questions I have a couple questions um do you need any any sign special approvals or as that could be another submission um no we we actually have a a request our engineer and planner will touch on the sign and and now that you're open next door what do you do for service um right now so we've been using um the rear of the old building for some light service and the rest of the service has been going back and forth to Wayne New Jersey back and forth and it's creating a detriment to the customers and things of that and and so this the development of 111 are you going to put a service department in there yes okay any other questions from board members okay um any questions from our professionals yeah I just is there going to be a gate opening between the two sites I see Steve touched on it yes could you describe the existing gate to proposed gate the old the old gate that was there before we put up our fence before I acquired this property was a rolling gate uh I guess it was about 15 or 18 ft wide when the gym used to park there and when Tesla park there and we're just going to replace what was there and that's in the rear of the building at 111 it's in the rear of 111 and the side of 99 questions yeah just just that I believe the testimony was that they're going to they agree with their reports and they're going to provide additional documents that address these comments such as like you describ the architecture um what you described it's not labeled on a plan so you're going to get updated PL showing the architecture the improvements the gate the connection between the properties essentially all the testimony tonight that it's described on a plan yes sir is there anyone from the public who have any questions for the witness thank you thanks thank you i' like like to call upon Robert Costa you swear or affirm to tell the truth I do please State your your full name your business address absolutely uh the name is Robert Lewis Costa COA 325 South River Street in pinac New Jersey I know you were here in October of 2022 time I actually had more hair Yes Yes mine wasn't as corre but uh if you could briefly give the board your credentials you'll be wearing a hat both as professional engineer and professional planner yes okay uh professional engineer 34 702 in New Jersey Professional planner 4639 currently the the town engineer in Riveredge New Jersey the land use engineer in riverge New Jersey City of Anglewood the planning board engineer go to the land use engineer do work for the county of Bergen and I think I said this earlier Madam chair and members of the board as I'm getting closer to death I'm actually doing expert cases in court and having some fun with that but other than that nothing has changed my license I leave her in standing because I just paid them they actually they actually give you these things when you pay it's unbelievable any objections to qualifying this witness as an expert in engineering and an expert in planning none you may proceed thank you very much all right Mr Costa uh if you could take the board through uh existing conditions and what's proposed by way of improvements and I you have mounted uh board I don't believe the color version was submitted so perhaps we can uh Mark that is A1 uh Mr Bergen and just what what's the title in the lower right hand corner Rob if you can just identify give it give that a title thank you and a non-color version was submitted this is just thank you okay yes A1 with today's date 18 if you combine literally oh sure trying to keep my voice up thank you sorry about that so basically if you combine the two properties it's going to get very close to the requirement in your in your code which is it's under H and that would be under your conditional uses specific requirements um under 35- 41.2 and that would be H that the minimum size must be 5 Acres so basically everything would be the same um you heard what Kevin testified earlier currently there's the temporary tent temporary tent was going to be there construct the building take down the temporary tent and and go into the site as the opportunity arose itself you heard earlier he purchased a the property when it came available now the idea is to get rid of the temporary fence move the business temporarily into this location then move it out of this location I believe if I'm saying it incorrectly when the new facility is constructed and built then once that's moved out then come back over to this site and then obviously do the improvements that that we're discussing so the parking all of the parking Stripes will be changed um um everything on the site basically Remains the Same certainly willing to do a landscape plan and we'll submit that to your board professionals but everything else that that went with the first application is nearly identical to this application the only caveat being because of there's two separate entities that own it he cannot consolidate the entire parcel into one so technically you obviously need a variance but this site will not oper operate independently from the other one so in the event um he decides to sell a portion of it it's still going to be one side as one Mazda if that goes away it'll never act on its own Accord under this 1.43 Acres if you understand what I'm saying even though technically it's not combined but realistically it is combined so we need a variance but we're getting very close if you add in the other lot in that number and if you can take the board through I I don't know if Madam chair if you understand exactly what I'm saying what I'm saying is if you grant this variance you're not granting a variance to put a Mazda dealership strictly on this particular lot it's going to act in accordance with the other lot together as one and that includes obviously delies right so it'll never be separate so I'm just trying to give confidence to the board where we would need a variance because of the because of the size itself of the 1.4 acres because five is required but in reality this piece is going to work in conjunction with the other piece so you're getting close to the 5 acre requirements and it'll never be separated take us through [Music] so absolutely no problem so in the in the front would be display area this along the building front would actually be the visitor and the handicap ADA requirements on the rear of the property would be obviously the service area we're proposing a ramp because of the great difference between the existing uh parking lot and the actual first floor of the building you'll have a ramp to get inside the building um the refu area will be in this location all of the these parking spaces that I'm actually looking at will be restriped according I believe there's 58 parking spaces currently on the site with this scenario there'll be 66 parking spaces where 90 are required based on the size of the building the building is not being expanded so there's no additional square footage on the outside the only change again is the ramp because of the gr difference to get inside the building so it would come in off a diamond as it as it does today there would be a connection between the two properties and basically the gr difference between the two are very close so it looks as if there's a drop curb out there when I went out there this afternoon so at some point it was definitely movement between the 90 99 side right 99 and the 111 side so right now there's a guide rail because that was that was part the original approval when we came here in 22 and then uh um same sign that was approved in 22 would be the same here it's the Mazda logo same dimensions same so the only difference is we're we're proposing it at the easterly corner in the front obviously at the entry um identical to what we what we stated earlier we originally in the 22 application it's the same exact sign and that would be on page four of I believe four of four on the upper right hand corner now in addition to the additional use variants uh there's a number of existing conditions uh if you could just Briefly summarize absolutely again we're not we're not dealing with a clean slate obviously it's an existing building and based on the existing conditions of the building and the survey um there's existing conditions so the sidey yard 25 ft is required in the zone existing condition is 19.8 um on the other side yard same thing 25 FTS required it's 19.8 um the rear yard's 50 ft we meet that 142 ft parking again as I stated earlier 90 parking spaces are required based on the square footage and if you look to the middle of the page uh the requirement under 35- 23.2 a one space for every 200 squ ft of gross floor area and when you do the arithmetic rough 18,000 ft divided by 290 is actually required excuse me um based on 58 that exist today with the restriping we get to 68 parking spaces um or I'm sorry 66 and then because of the EVS you get a credit for two parking spaces and I know you've worked on quite a few of the car dealerships you know the ordinance requires the one space 200 correct B your experience as a professional plan or professional engineer is parking adequate I know that absolutely yeah there's no question between let's say standard retail and car dealership um certainly much much less valuee again most of it is Service uh for the most part most of the ones I'm doing now I'm actually working on a site in hackin sack for for Toyota uh and the big thing now is everything is Service uh with the cars because of the U I guess the sophistication with the computer systems and whatnot so there's more of that as far as service but the actual sales speaking to Kevin earlier he would like more people to buy more cars because he told me the inventory he has right now but in reality it's you're not it's not a high volume it's not a a shop right or a Whole Foods it's not the gym it's not it's not even close to that so in anything it's probably much less of an impact than what was there previously and from a engineering and planning standpoint no and again it just it falls under a D3 because of the uh conditional use so I think I stated this back in 22 and I'm I would hope they concur um the bar is set lower under the Coventry um in Westwood under that lawsuit since the bar is lower because the governing body thought about having this use on these produ properties the only caveat being the limitation of the 5 Acres that's required and because of that technically it's a permitted use if you meet the conditions obviously we can't miss meet the conditions because of the geometry but again based on the area based on what's Happening next door based on Tesla based on Nissan based on Autoland this is where the community wants this obviously to happen there's going to be no negative impact in my uh in my opinion to any of the adjacent Property Owners thank you members of the board do you have any questions for the witness none question for you purpose of this yeah the purpose okay the purpose of the the variances to for the use the conditional use of the property the fact that it's being used symbiotically with the existing property that's already been granted I guess my question also too for you Bruce is it would not be a a conditional use variance for it self standing on its own it is a conditional use variance standing on its own which is what we here for tonight right I'm saying is this is 1.4 and the adjacent property is I believe 3.5 so to combine so if you combine them the issue is you can't he you physically he cannot physically combine them at this today because you have two different ownerships and two different financing right um on the properties but but as as far as the the overall look when this is all complete it's going to look like a car dealership on 5 Acres of property which then would meet the conditions yeah I don't I kind of I think along where you are my understanding is what they're asking for will not if they sell off I'm going confus 99 was the original yeah they sell off 99 it can't stand alone we'd have to that it that we' have to condition that that's correct it depends what the board does the the suggestion from from the applicants expert is that the two of them will be operating together if this board could just grant the conditional use variance on this lot separately which case oops they would be free to only use one lot or the other but we can condition could condition that if they wish to sell off one of the lots that they would need to come back to this board for for a new that's essentially a new conditional use variance for the pet left right I thinkk that's what you were asking too so this couldn't become a Ferrari dealer on the next thing or I can't get in and out of those what I'm trying to say to the board is microphone Ste mic need to take the microphone I apologize sorry sorry about that it's for the recording I understand I apologize um but again just for the board because again cars are coming off a diamond this has no access to that other than through 99 so they have to work in conjunction otherwise it's a completely different application and it in my opinion it has to right now it has to work together the only thing you're going to have a phase one phase two because you need to move the tent get the operation where fortunoff was construct the building take the the operation out of the fortune off renovate the fortune off and then put everything together and at the end of the day it'll have you'll have a nice very nice looking aesthetically pleasing dealership on Route 22 East that I again I just was more concerned with the fact that doing the conditional use for the smaller piece of fil land that if you sold off the mean part that hey we could still have operated dealership here because it is granted under the variance so that's what I would we yeah put the condition on it that's why you got these two gentlemen to craft an ordinance resolution I'm sorry resolution I [Music] apologize where are the vehicles stored I think we touched on that in the first application but where will they be stored again wait it'll be display display up front the parking SPAC is up front if you need the actual number I got to walk over there um and then in the rear again this will be service and there'll be some there'll be employee parking but the majority of it I believe is in the rear of the of 99 and then obviously during construction there's going to there's going to be some Logistics the good news is Kevin's building a if anybody's gone up 23 it's almost completed he's building a new Mazda dealership on Route 23 almost complete um probably within end of July say August so if anybody's gone up there and taking a look at the building you'll see the quality you'll see what's going on there and at the end of the at the end of the uh construction on this you're going to have a very goodlook uh structure and it again logistically he owns other places so if he's got to move inventory around it'll be moved around it's not going to be a nuisance to the community [Music] so can we put a condition that cars have to only be parked in designated spots on the uh I think that's what we did last time can't be same typ okay we don't want to have like trippled up right actually has a copy of the resolution I read earlier just to refresh my memory but that's what I would that we would repeat that any other questions from our board members okay I'm going to turn it to our professionals sure um can you please provide some testimony on the four variant es related to the sign the freestanding sign that are identified on your plans use this one absolutely so on the on the actual signage and again it's on page 44 um the requirement is area 75 Square ft we're proposing 78 8.75 uh we're proposing the sign depth of 2 feet 2.08 ft the support structure 78.75 we're at 8446 and the sidey yard 25 ft we're at 22 and again where this is it's within the existing Island that's on site so work but that's why the 22 ft instead of 25 otherwise we have to start re reconfig figuring the driveway the entry coming into the site um the other Varian is again are Dom Minimus in my opinion and actually what I stated earlier the board actually it's the same exact sign that was approved on the adjacent property nothing's different so it's but the adjacent property is substantially larger this one's a lot smaller I was just curious somebody these variances um from 75 ft to 70 is that six or 7 7 I think it's 78 three square feet doesn't seems like they could be they could be eliminated what's going I don't understand the language on the on your plans regarding the proposed sign freestanding sign on 99 or the adjacent one and how that sign moved here is there another sign going back up on the other property I didn't understand the idea was that sign was going to move to this property and then that this sign would move back to that property but again based on the discussion this afternoon and also touch on I know exactly youed dealers excuse me um so initially our the sign that we proposed is first of all the size of the sign is dictated To Us by the manufacturer they they they go to an outside Sign Company not a local one it's a national company just like a Burger King or McDonald's and the m has to be a certain size and whatnot so they only make certain size signs and you get the catalog and you pick ideally it's it's meant to you're picking something close enough to what doesn't need a variance so this was the closest size sign that we can get to something that wouldn't need a variance so the same sign that was going to go in front of the 99 is the same sign that's going to take the place of the old Fortune off sign for Mazda then when we move to 99 that sign comes over to 99 so your goal is not to have two signs no not not at this time excuse me you said that these signs are prefabricated at like a certain size so what's the size I guess below the one that you this is the smallest sign this is the smallest one okay if you come up to Wayne the and what they do is they do a traffic study and it's supposed to what dictates the size or the the way the sign is positioned is if there's angles in the road how you're approaching so you see it Weighing on Route 23 the road looks like it goes straight but if you get far enough back the road actually curves this way so the sign they they have up there is almost 100 square ft so it's much wider and it's filled in between the the posts this only has the top portion is filled in thank you another question for the engineer um I don't see the gate that you described or testified to on the plans when you add the gate to the plans and the cars are the car carriers are parked on 99 will the movement of the cars between the two properties require an elimination of any parking spaces on either one of the two properties I'm sorry they no and maybe you could just sorry identify on A1 take mic if you see on the planet is depiction drop curb on both sides that was actually the connection but the gate was removed so it's a solid fence so under this we'd have to modify the plan to show a gate to get access back and forth but it's actually almost at the same grade to to Traverse both properties but again we'll revise the plans accordingly um do resolution compliance to make sure that what we set on the record tonight actually gets on the plans your professionals will certainly review it um in conjunction with obviously the attorneys and the and the board to vet this to make sure that what we said is what goes on the plan so it could gets done in the future is that a two-way movement between the two properties well well technically it would be it's it would only be for employees moving vehicles but it wouldn't be for the public so it be the gate would be shut when they have to move Vehicles back and forth obviously the gate opens up but it wouldn't be for for customers or or the the public to to go back and forth in between the two properties with the vehicles thank you welcome I think your testimony was that there will be some parking of vehicles correct me if I'm wrong but there'll be a movement between the two properties just one I'm thinking out loud do does there need to be any designated walkways for people walking between the two properties so they could go back and forth to the revised plan yeah I'm not sure where we could possibly we could do that or at least put a maybe a stripe crosswalk or or some signage this way just to demarcate where people where employees would go back and forth between the two sides and then lighting between are you going to provide a lighting plan for lighting we're going to use the existing lighting um unless again we can certainly do a lighting plan based on the adjacent property that was approved we could match that Lighting on this s but right now we want to use the existing lighting obviously do the renovation on 99 the adjacent property finish that and again then move this over to to that new building and then start the renovation on the on the old Fortune off on this site so you don't for see upgrading or changing or new lighting plan I'm going to make him do it but he's he doesn't like to spend money we we know that we we we we all know that but we'll I'll make him do it so everything it's got to look obviously like one site so the buildings have to match the architecture has to match the site has to match Landscaping will be um put on the plans and certainly you'll vet it and certainly the board will vet it and we will do lighting just a couple of simple things uh in comment8 I said the fate of the gate to lot two should be discussed this was the Tesla is that going to remain or will that be the one that goes between Tesla and thiser that be eliminated there plans uh call for the restriping of parking spaces is there any intent to pave or seal coat prior to the the restri right now we'll seal coat and then I would imagine once all of the construction is done I would imagine it would probably be a Mill and pave at that point and then restriped is there any um involvement of do for Access permit we're going to have to look into that there might there might be a requirement but again that would be a condition of the approval any Transformer proposed on this site no um there was a comment my last comment was about the sanitary sore connection to Diamond on the original property which later discovered that probably hasn't realized yet but that may require some yeah the adjacent property tried to do a a sore tie in manholes were sanitary uh and then I think I'm not sure if it was Mr cunning Mr Hawk about the parking in the spaces we had mentioned no stack parking should be permitted and what we have at the Tesla site is that they are parking in nonstraight spaces so whatever condition was in the original one that you want to have I would certainly encourage that to to control the freefor all of of car dealership parking outside of designated appr first let's add that as a condition please I have one other question about I understand how your cars are going to be delivered from from the next Road what about deliveries for your car parts and the different things that are going is that is that going to come in and around the building and then go back yes uh our parts are delivered by much smaller Vehicles than not delivered by tractor trailer they're delivered by box trucks and if you look on the plan I believe on the there's a loading Zone on the Westerly side of the building see where it says proposed Parts delivery yes just thinking about the right truck coming through and around right not big trucks no it's they're they're small box trucks you do any body work or painting or anything in these building can you answer out loud oh sorry uh no I don't thank you Mike you said you're good I'm good um okay I'm going to open it up to the public are there any members of the public who have any questions for this witness none thank you [Music] we have no further Witnesses at this time obviously the two witnesses that appeared this evening are here if there's further questions from the board and if there's no public comment I just briefly sum up okay thank you Steve give us we're going to open it for public comment but first I want to hear if our professionals have any comments that they want to give the board on the application the only comments I had if there's a motion I have several conditions that Bruce May ener R and if he doesn't I will add to it okay same same comment just with the primary one being the motion tying the two properties together this property will operate as a dealer car dealership only as it's tied to the adjacent property and including all of the testimony that was put on the record tonight which was quite a bit that should be captured that would be captured and tied to as a condition of the any approval should the board vote favorably yes in addition to addressing the missing items or additional information that's requested in our reports thank you okay so before we deliberate I'm going to open it up to the public are there any members of the public who wish to speak on this application none okay um members of the board I am in favor of granting the site plan application the request for the D3 variant the bulk variances in order for this um construction or fit out maybe of the existing building um for the Mazda dealership I do not think that it will cause any detriment to any of the adjacent properties um I I think for the reasons that were set on the record we can grant it um but I would like if there is a motion that we hear from our professionals to make sure that um every condition uh that we discussed this evening is included in the resolution make a motion with professional you want me to I'll give you what I have what you got you can tell me what I missed um first condition is that the the use variance for this property is subject to it being used in conjunction with um the 99 the dealership next door um second parking will take place only in line spaces um I'm not 100% sure if this was requested do we want to is there a required walkway Mark between the two buildings is that yes yes okay um and then um final plan PL to be submitted for approval by the township incorporating any changes made tonight and incorporating any missing items per the expert reports that's what I have and that could include the walkway the seal coating the gate addition sorry what was it the walkway that you mentioned the seal coating okay the additional landscaping and Lighting this could all be as an umbrella site plan revision condition however you you know as long as they're mentioned the gates the linkages however you want to say that did you say something about yeah it's really for the first one so they'll have to adjust first yeah also the removal of the the gates and the signs you know that there was uh there was only going to be one sign because we're moving it to the second property that um that's set forth in the application but if you want I'll put it in the resolution already that they're not going to when they do the second build you're not going to put a I do I do recall seeing that in the application that they're going to move the sign and the only other thing if you feel it's important that no painting or the body body that sometimes throws it into but I'm comfortable relying on the record however you want to it's up to the boardy apologize for one item with respect to the lighting the request would be that yes ultimately this building is going to be new lighting and all that but while it's in its quote unquote temporary stage while they're renovating the other one then they'll come back when they renovate the fortuneo building and do the lighting and all the landscaping and all of that have no problem that okay yeah just want to clarify that thingk Mike did you have any conditions that you wanted to add I I think they've covered it with their comment that they'll they've agreed to address all of our comments in our project review reports because I don't think we that would address the stucco the the finishing of the architecturals the colors there's a lot of testimony none of that is on the plans but they had the overall arching comment because it's in our review letters that they're going to submit revised documents on they testified to stucco our report uh uh requests all four sides of the building elevations to be treated to the same level of AR architectural design interest and building materials so by agreeing to that that is covered um they testified that the car carriers will only Park on 99 um and all deliveries will be made between those two properties there's no car carriers trying to get onto this site they testified to a black and white color similar to the new building I don't know if that is that was a testimony um no stack parking Mike already stated as well as parking within all the striped areas only and that's all I have in addition all of that's covered in my letter so if you were just they said that they would agree to the letter so I don't know if you need that make that an additional condition or not I think I think it's covered by the language y okay and we have a catchall for state agency approvals okay yes is going to receive new fa on the front but the sides will be uh painted to match that same color in the it's it's side that's really not visible that our report suggest that all four sides because all four sides of the building are visible right highly visible so we recommended not just doing the front facade and then having a block wall on the sides in the rear especially as you have customers in public wall walking and traversing between the two and the testimony that they would satisfy that in our and that's why we asked for the updated architecturals we can submit an architectural plan for their review I think we can do nice colors on on the building to match the front sorry currently the building is not bare cinder block on the back three sides it's it's cinder block with stule over it so the stco is going to be changed by being painted to the colors of a black and white like the Mazda building next door not sure if that satisfies um I yeah it's already been stuck we're just changing the color our comment was that all four sides are treated to the same level of architectural interest because of the visibility I understand and use of building materials and colors will you agree to that to match all building materials and colors for all four sides of the building yes but I think there a matter of interpretation because the front gets new stucco because we're creating different holes but the sides are already stucked all you can do is use stucco paint you can't stco on top of stco on top of stco it'll just fall off the building we can supply rendering it'll look exactly the new building has the same thing they use stucco paint across a parged wall parge parged walls just it's cement put over the top of cinder block to make it smooth need a detail H need a detail yeah that's fine we submit that that's fine okay so we will have a submission for the architectural detail and sorry for interrup if there's a need to revisit it because the condition it's not satisfying the condition then we'll revisit it and we'll have to come back here yes Mr H you're okay with that okay okay I'll second oh was there a motion oh you did okay it's been a while thank you okay so we have a motion in a second Vice chair Cunningham yes Mr Hawkin yes Mr wex yes Mr FB yes M Neo yes M daon yes and yes motion thank you have a great evening thank you very much always a pleasure have a great night thank you very much um sorry is there a motion to adjourn so uh all in favor all right I I I have a great night everyone