e e e e e good good evening and welcome to tonight's meeting of the zoning Board of adjustment of the township of Union which is being held pursuant to the open public meeting law c231 laws of New Jersey dated 1975 notice of this meeting was advertised in the local Source Endor The Star Ledger the two newspapers of record a notice has been posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building adjacent to the municipal clerk's office roll call Mr Wy here Miss Martins here Mr bent deega here Scott here Mr Johnson here Mr mcneel here Mr Graves here M rickets is absent and Mr Champion here there being a quorum present this meeting is now declared open at this time I'd like to entertain a motion for the approval of the minutes from November 15th January 24th and April the 10th may I have a motion in a second Mr chairman I moved at the meeting minutes of November 15 2023 January 24th 2024 and April 10th 202020 2024 be approved as written and dispensed with your reading second a motion all in favor I I opposed so moved Mr mangusu at this time are there any Communications uh there are no Communications Mr chairman hearing none our first order our first and only order of business this evening we only have one case is calendar number 3431 Ukrainian Evangelical Assemblies of God DBA Living World Church church located at 2208 Stanley Terrace block 5504 lot 17 18 and 22.01 and it concerns the overnight truck parking which is not permitted use in the CI Zone counselor would you like to begin yes good evening Mr chairman and board memb Steven hail representing the applicant training Church uh great to see you all again and thank you for uh hearing us this evening I did have an opportunity to speak to council and and Anthony and just by way of background uh we we are in the process of revising our plans uh cers Phil Hatter wanted some additional storm water calculations and and the like we did submit some a couple of weeks ago he has not yet had a chance to review that and said he wouldn't be able to do that uh by today in addition speaking to pastor and the representatives of the church we're actually going to remove a number of the parking spaces and replace that with additional buffering to the residential area so uh so uh we didn't bring along our our engineer or our uh planners tonight because we'll cover that at the next hearing what I would then shortly I'll call upon uh Pastor Nick to tell us a little bit about the church and why this development is important to the viability of the church and and the ability to continue to fund uh important projects not only for the church but for the community uh and I as uh Mr chairman you indicated we're here before this board for the variance well I think we're going to eliminate the variance for the buffer because we're going to have well more than the 10 10 feet I noted in the coler's review we're here because the ordinance doesn't permit overnight truck parking but it is in the CI commercial industrial Zone and I just want to point out and I know you have uh the colar review in your Council but just want to point out what's permitted in the CI Zone because uh what we're looking for here in and of itself would be permitted but for the restriction on overnight parking and and I think it's important to note in in section I don't want to sound too much like a lawyer but section 170 uh 902 talks about the purpose of this Zone the CI Zone and it says the purpose of this article is to emit large lots and buildings for the operation of industrial office warehousing distribution manufacturing and similar businesses that generate considerable vehicle traffic require large indoor spaces Andor produce otherwise undesirable externalities in essence what they're saying we're putting this in a Zone where it's not going to impact let's say downtown and the like and then if you also look at what's permitted in the zone and again we're looking at basically uh storage area for trucks containers and the like what's permitted and again we're I guess my point is and our planners will cover this when we go through our testimony is what we're looking to do here is much less intense than other permitted uses in the zone and among them are Manufacturing Research Laboratories warehousing and distribution center car services indoor and outdoor recreation uh fitness centers indoor agriculture places of assembly which obviously is great because that the church is permitted there uh public buildings public parking garages public parks self storage facilities and interestingly outdoor storage is in fact permitted in this zone so all of these items Community facilities public utility buildings um so and then conditional uses are automobile Auto uh repair garages car washes cannabis cultivation centers so all these are items that are either permitted or conditionally permitted and again my point is to show that we're here before this board for the variance for the overnight parking and we feel that the buffering that we're providing and the fact that uh what will be generated by way of vehicles coming and going from the site is certainly much less intense than let's say a 247 manufacturing facility or or a recre an outdoor recreation facility and again uh it's interesting that outdoor storage is permitted but overnight parking of trucks is not so but regardless of that that's that's a little bit of the background and what and Pastor will explain it in more detail but what uh the church owns the property it's hasn't it's back there it it abuts Route 78 and by the ability to develop this property and lease it out it will again provide the ability to church to gain funds for it uh I mean I guess if they could sell it and have somebody build a a manufacturing facility back there but I think when you hear what uh Pastor has to say about what the church does and how this will help facilitate uh the stability of the church and and one of the key factors they do in the area is the food Pantry which has been an important part of of uh both the the area and the township of Union so enough of my uh intro and if there's no preliminary questions I'd like to call upon Pastor n uh just for the record Council I did Mark A1 the application it was submitted since we're starting tonight uh an A2 is the site plan of edex group uh revised through February 9 2020 24 consisting of five sheets so A1 and A2 for the record uh I'll just comment as the board attorney that uh Mr Hill gave a summary obviously we're not starting testimony from legal planning tonight but there is no doubt that they are here specifically for the overnight truck uh aspect which is expressly not permitted so that there's no misunderstanding I mean Mr hail kind of summarize I think his anticipated testimony from his planner but there's no doubt legally that the applicant is rightfully here tonight in need of D1 variant relief so just so everybody's clear right um if I can ask the witness to did you have something to add Steve yeah no I'm fine with that certainly we've had spoken about it many times um if I can ask the witness to raise your right hand and swear or affirm that the testimony you provide this evening is the truth and the whole truth yes sir and for the record State and spell your name with your affiliation so Nicholas Billo uh Pastor Nicholas Billo and I c h o l a s last name b a d i l l o all right so uh Pastor Nick first of all give your affiliation with the church and then if you could move on to a little bit of the background of church yeah and then we can touch on what this project means to the church thank you everybody for having us here tonight it's an honor to serve the community uh here uh I am no stranger I grew up on Galloping Hill Road uh right across the street you know from Lehigh Avenue my entire life for 30 years uh I was blessed to live right on the corner of uh Galloping Hill Lehigh ryale Place right there and so this area means a lot to my heart uh from Little League you know from playing in you know in Roso Park little league and uh partnering with the Union Township and many different ways um this is home and so I'm not here tonight as someone who doesn't know our area um and uh I'm excited to share a little bit about how we uh came to do church together in this area so 1973 uh actually 197 1 uh the group of Ukrainian uh families who had been congregating in two buildings in norc which had started in New York in 1941 they came together they sold their buildings in norc and they bought the current building 2208 Stanley Terrace uh and and all the property 2206 uh they bought all that 1971 by 1973 they opened the building to be a church they the ground floor used to have dirt in the bottom and uh the second floor is where they wound up making their Sanctuary uh for many years and uh for those of you that are lifelong residents you remember you know that was a very heavy Slavic area and uh they really did a great ministry especially through the 80s until the stock market fell in the early in the 90s when that happened many of them moved down to North Carolina into the Carolina areas leaving them with just very few members uh to kind of make it and uh one of the pastors uh who just moved down to Texas who had been there from the beginning helping construct the building uh he just moved in his retirement um really did an amazing job of just giving us and and handing passing us the Baton so how did I get there I've Been A Min youth pastor since I was at 18 19 years old uh and when I had the privilege to come back and do ministry here right after college uh starting at the age of 21 22 right here I coached at Rosel Park High School I'm an athletic director uh at a at Timothy Christian School in Piscataway um I love youth I love our kids I love all generations and uh I kind of brought that attitude in heart from Christ back here um uh one of the members even sitting here tonight approached me as I was youth pastoring at a church in Scotch Plains and said hey you know our church is down to about 253 people and we want God to do what he has always had planned in this region uh through uh the Ukrainian Evangelical Assemblies of God Church 2015 we kind of grabbed hands my wife and I uh came over here and we partnered with them uh and the families many of which are here today some of which uh everyone you see here with us today and many of which were young children uh you know way back then uh some who've lived on property you know uh as as handlers and and handlers as uh in the parentage and the places we have there and uh since 1985 um so we did not come in uh you know to do anything other than take the Baton uh we did that really well together and so from 2015 to 17 one of the biggest things we pointed out was we needed to let the Union Township residents know that all are welcome uh the Ukrainian Evangelical Assemblies of God really pigeon holds us to Slavic people in nature and then it kind of puts us in a place where even as a denomination the Assemblies of God um they weren't really either right they weren't only fully Ukrainian there was a lot of Argentinian families there there was many different uh e ethnicities represented in cultures there and so in that year so in those two years from 2015 to 2017 we worked to change the name to The Living Word Church when we did that um we have now seen in the seven years of being Living Word Church uh this past Easter we had we had 1223 people uh with us that on Sunday on this past Easter Sunday we average about 740 people per Sunday right now um and 407 of them at least that's just me being very honest with you about our records 407 of those that have actually given their information and you all know you don't like to give your information to everywhere you go uh but we have 407 individuals that live in Union that attend Living Word Church regularly uh some are here tonight represent representative of that um and honestly this is just the beginning one of the beautiful things that we did was to make sure that in the Baton passing that we kept going what was really impacting the community most and that was the food pantry since 1993 through the uh opportunities together with this community and the the hillside Food Bank you know and uh stop and shop and Walmart uh we have partnered with them now to Supply weekly uh you know we have monthly distributions but there are daily opportunities for people to get food clothing care uh this past year 2023 we served 5,000 uh We've served 5,000 people individuals uh documented sent in with names addresses to the food uh to basically the governing body you know that we get all the grants from and some of the help from to be able to do that but you and I all know that you know it's never enough people need it especially with the rising food costs and stuff like that and so uh since 199 3 in 2015 we took that baton we've been continuing to expand upon that uh throughout covid we were one of the only people that stayed open our our families uh a couple individuals here tonight uh that that run our facility and run our pantry um and get to see every single time the needs of these you know the people and everything um and I just want to say that you know it's a it's it's a blessing to partner I remember calling over to the town uh or in uh direct messaging through social media during Co and saying hey can we please get the word out together there are people who need and we are being told at least that we are one of the one of the only food pantries handing out food how can we do this together in the Union Township social media posted up what we were doing um and that was you know some Partnerships there if you don't mind so that I don't become Pastor Nick too long on you tonight I'm going to read a little bit of what I prepared for you if that's okay um the our goal to impact the community uh is something we take very seriously it was the goal of UE AG in 1973 and is still the goal of Living Word Church today since the early '90s our church has been a polling station for elections every single year uh except last year because of a flood that caused us to lose the downstairs of our building for a long period of time one of our pipes bursted on the second floor and came down and we lost our entire bottom floor and it took a lot longer to fix that on top of that we value you know the ability to do what we need to do as a growing Church to fix it all uh and we were unable to accommodate this year you know uh and we look forward if given the opportunity to repartner again this election season with the town uh to be a polling station like we've been uh you know one of one of the members told me since 1988 uh 1990 that we've been doing that and so um that was just one example of of one way we that we've partnered and look forward to continue partnering uh the food pantry explained many of that but one fun part is the Nora Gardens residents right the 62 and overhome corner of Stanley Terrace and Bernett um many of the individuals sitting here tonight in front of you uh hand deliver food uh to any member in that in inside of the apartments that need it every month uh we prepare them we put name tags on them and we deliver them as they re as they ask us and we bring it up the street and we make sure that they don't have to come many of them can't and so we bring it to them uh as a church and it is an honor you know once again to partner with our community in many different ways I explained to you during covid the opportunities that we afforded and we're very thankful for that um upon attending the Interfaith group here in town uh with uh with Police director Chris Connelly Chris Donnelly and Kevin Woodbridge uh Woodridge uh it's been an honor to partner with them with all different faiths uh to see how we can better serve Union whether it's something as simple as parking uh or as simple as helping be a younger pastor and you know um and being able to meet the chaplain of the police department the fire department and be able to be a resource and to be a part of that if they would allow me to at some point um and th those are just some of the examples of the blessing from that uh We've partnered with the Union Police Department we've hired the jobs in blue and we have a contract with them uh that they would be with us each week on Sunday uh as I said to you uh uh detective iell could probably tell you uh during Easter uh the exact volume that was there uh and while we won't see that necessarily every week that volume uh it's still a nice volume of people and we enjoy the partnership with the with the town in that way to see our police officers there uh serving on Sunday uh and we get to bless the town and them as well um and so that's just something that that I wanted to share with you so that you can continue to see uh that that we are here we this is our desire we're not a church that's looking for the big Warehouse in one of these random cities in New Jersey like most of the churches like us that have grown if we can be honest I don't know how versed everyone is in in in um in church development but many of them have either bought multiple multiple buildings and campuses uh or they've just gone out to the farther parts of New Jersey um and just built these huge churches um our church is growing and with that growing Church comes with a lot of costs we have an aging building we have a food pantry that meets out of a garage and a building that quite frankly we're spending thousands of dollars monthly to fix and upkeep uh we just replaced our air conditioner system uh you know this past year to the tune of $775,000 um and I just want you to know that this is not you know what this this is is just us being creative and responsible and being a good Steward of our land we want to do what's right and that's why we're here uh we want to do what we could with our land and we want to we we're blessed uh to a church that has no debt um you know but we don't have uh millions of dollars sitting anywhere either you know we want to serve this community and when we put our our heads together as a community this was one idea um before we brought this to you and in the Years prior this was basically an overgrown brush area with down trees and people would be going back there to do mischievous things uh you know let your mind run that was happening uh the police would be called because there'd be cars back there lights and things happening uh and when we cleared everything out there when we did it when when we started taking care of the land the residents were very thankful and I think that's probably a testimony tonight that you can see we have a resident who has a business on our property uh and we have a great relationship with him and his business um the residents around us we've you know when a tree had fallen and they told us and made us aware of something that happened we made sure that we took care of it we sent the tree company to help them or we compensated them because it's our property and it's our responsibility and so we take that responsibility very serious seriously and tonight I just want to say thank you um and I thank you that you know in this day and age many churches are closing their doors uh if I can be honest with you as a young Minister I'll be 40 years old in a few weeks um you know many churches many pastors stop doing what they're doing and when you look around at the list of counselors and people who you know counselors have weight lists uh you know longer than you could imagine and our heart and our desire truthfully is to be an asset to this community is to be here and to do whatever we can for as long as we can and I thank you for considering this um and telling us what we can do with our property in that way so that we can be a blessing to the community and have the resources to do it for not just a few years uh but for generations to come thank you all all right Pastor Nick just a couple of specific questions with respect to this property I know the board has the plans the church is basically on the corner on Stanley Terrace and this is in the back of that property you've indicated it was uh not well maintained and and this would so tell us a little bit about uh what you envision for this I know we will have more detailed operation but basically further clearing that area and having it be parking for let's say a company taking uh product or containers and like just just very briefly by way back so just being there every day just being in the area we have mberry metal right across the street we're great friends we we serve with them they're they have 75 plus employees 100 employees who need access to the the pantry that we help as well um and we park we use their a lot we have a great relationship uh with them so we park there all week at night Sundays um and so with seeing all the traffic the normal traffic that comes through that area it just seemed for us to make sense to to see what we could do uh with what's already there and what it basically looks like is when you pull into our lot right the church building is there and then as you've seen on the the the property there are two buildings that are not ours on our property basically uh I believe his I don't know on the roadway going yeah so there's an there's an easement there's just a simple roadway that goes through the middle and the gentleman that owns it you know we've built great relationships with him and uh and as we've cared for our property we've helped him care for his and so what we really just envisioned was being able to create space on the left side I know there's smaller parking spots which seem more on the resident side but that's what's going to be removed right um we have already put in um I don't know remember how many I believe it's 15 or more I don't want to exaggerate uh but they're however evenly spaced we could we planted about about a year and a half ago our bves you know that are already they've been growing we're over a year into it so that there would nice be a nice natural buffer uh and that was what um what Steve said that we would continue to build on whatever whatever is what we should do we will do to make sure that it looks nice for the residents um and they were thankful for that the residents you know um they're very thankful that we cleaned it up and make it nice so we're looking to keep everything on the opposite side right which is where PNG is basically there right that's all backing up to 78 yeah backing up to 7 and against everything there's a water area over there which in the plans right as part of our our uh what I understand what we're working towards is a a a very nice natural water what's the proper term I think it's a deten bio detention Basin yeah like a bio retention Basin right we're we're you know upon approval we will build that we will eat the cost to build that so that everything is proper and the drainage is proper and and all that stuff there you know and uh so we would be parking on that side and then there you know they would be leaving out there and the beauty for us as a church honestly is that they don't they're not going to be on the weekends they're they're they're willing to work inside of the confines of 7 to 7 which is the town's recommended hours um you know they not there's no hazardous materials they're not working on these trucks you know uh in our lot um the trailer that's proposed in there is as simple as you can imagine they have a dispatcher they have a secretary you know working uh and they would they will have access to our building for bathrooms during the day um and they will be able to utilize that for simple you know operations to be able to tell the trucks to come in and out the trucks are leaving one time and they are coming back one time there are 30 trucks in the fleet there are 15 trucks that he's that the owner has said to me numerous times there's right now today today right 7 to 10 on average trucks leave between 7:00 a.m. and 10 a.m. on on a regular day and then they come back at the end of the day once there so that's it's about 80% of the volume leaves between the first 3 hours of the day uh so this is not an In-N-Out this is not uh for lack of a better term like an Amazon where they're coming back to our place to get packages and go this is leave in the morning at some point go to the port pick up something go take it wherever it's supposed to go when they're done with their day from the port they come back and they Park these trucks there um so that's pretty much the extent of the usage um and once again just being in that area um it's not different than what I see all day you know in a very healthy way uh on that side of town okay and then as you indicated I know Mr deck is working on a a revised landscape plan yes a buffering plan that uh and board sees on the on the plan there's a a series of vehicles that are lined up or parking spaces on and you pull in on the right they will be eliminated and that area will be expanded for landscape and buffering to the residents yes sir yes we we are willing to do whatever it is on that side that's asked to make sure that the proper trees and once again in good faith we we already took that cost you know and we've already planted you know if someone wants to see it they could see the amount of trees that are planted they're they're I don't know how to say babies I'm not a a a specialist in this area but you know they're they're visible the gaps are visible but we're willing to fill them in if that's what's being asked and any any drainage or requirements as you've indicated that would be recommended by uh colar engineering uh you would agree to implement 100% yes we want to do it right we have a neighbor and we have multiple neighbors meaning PSG being the one it would affect and then the other gentleman who owns the two buildings you know we we work already to make sure because with the area the way it is uh and so once again yes we want to be a good Steward of the land we will do it properly okay and then uh if ultimately when we present the more detailed plan or planning that you would agree that the the the Restriction I know you don't want them to interfere with services on the weekend correct that the the uh hours limitation would be uh not include the ability to operate on the weekends 100% yeah we've had that's been a requirement for us we we have too many people we have too many services we have too many things that we do and we don't uh we didn't want to do any of this at the expense um you know of of what you know of what would happen so okay great uh I have no further preliminary questions of Pastor Nick at this time obviously we're going to be back with operational detailed operational testimony our engineer and our planners but certainly uh if there's any preliminary questions for uh I just would add Mr hail it's kind of tricky we're kind of procedurally advancing this a little differently than we normally would uh Mr chairman certainly I think that the opportunity since the witness has been sworn for questions is the next step um but I would just caution that you know while admirable there's no doubt that what your services and you're providing through the church is unquestionably thank you uh admirable and and I commend you 100% as I'm sure any board member sitting here would do as any member in the public here tonight would do there's no doubt about that I as the lawyer have to be careful and I'll mention to you because this is what the board is inclined to ask you specifically about the use and until Mr hail asked you about the site in particular with the trucks that's really what we're here to discuss so it is in the record you know you were able to offer the uh comments about the church and as I said that that my accommodations uh I can't overstate that to you it really is wonderful um but I think the questions Mr chairman for the board should focus on the use of the site um and that's the way we'll move the hearing going forward it just makes sense to do that because otherwise we could be here you can't from a land use perspective factor in the appreciation and the likeness of the applicant to do something on the site what the board has to focus on what I as their lawyer have to advise them is to focus on the use that's proposed for the site in a land use context so we have to be careful with that I as their lawyer have to be careful with that so I just want the board to be clear and just so the public understands uh that's where the questions I think and this record will go from here I don't want to hear nor do I think it would be appropriate to start commenting on the food bank and what they did during Co and and other things it's in the record and and as I said my compliments no doubt and and perhaps just one thing that I may not have focused on and I appreciate Mr P's comments the the fact that you're looking to do this what is the relationship between the church and this and I know we've talked about it's it's a mechanism to get income to help sustain the goals and missions of the church 100% uh you're not tied into the business other than that will be a tenant just briefly explain how how this operation yeah ties into the church yeah I think and and please course correct me if I go off um I think the purpose here is understanding that financially right the there's churches are only sustained by by giving right is that the route we're we're talking here is that how you want me to explain a little bit like and this so the relationship is income basic inome we have we are we are sustained by donations whether it's food or dollars we are suain by that right if someone if we want to meet the needs of counseling if we want to meet the needs of food whatever the listed item might be we need to have the revenue to do it uh as a very fast growing church right we are just trying to understand we've been we hold value to the idea that you have to be a good Steward of what you have first and then follow the lord and the rest of it so we're just trying to be a good Steward of what we have and understand because just as Steve said before a lot of this is permitted it seems to be the overnight parking part is the part we're trying to get and so the relationship is is we're trying to uh use what we have to better the community to have the resources oursel to do what we have in vision and you know like the um the gentlem mentioned like you know I'm not going to get into all those things because that's not appropriate to the case but but we in in the umbrella there's a lot that I can explain to you we can do in the community um you know through opportunities to use our proper the way it is permiss the way the way it is permitted you know in whatever way and that's that's what we're seeking through this is you know permission to do it to do something the right way or to be at least led the right way so okay thank you well even that was part of my point though Pastor Nick and yes sir Council was if you were here seeking an approval to use the site for religious purposes that would be first and foremost factually relevant to what the board would consider tonight you're past that point you're there operating at as a church yes sir that detail as it relates to truck overnight parking yep really is far the field that's why I made the point I did I want to make sure they understood the funding part I get you got to fund your services and your existence and all the power to you I hope you sustain yourself in that regard but just so the board is clear again uh it really is the truck overnight parking and use of that part of the site that we're going to try to focus on okay nothing further right now okay at this time I'm going to open it up for questions from the board at this time are there any board members that would like to question Pastor Nick and remember focus on the use that the applicant is requesting it is to park overnight a series of trucks which is not permitted at this time in the CI Zone I do I do have a question Mr mcne P um I believe I heard uh the statement that they you know hazardous material yes sir uh stored on on the property um I also heard that the trucks will leave and come back um so is it the intent not to have any containers stored overnight uh example truck goes out right can't get to location so you got to come back correct that will happen yes we we they will have containers on them uh they're not allowed to open them is is what I've uh come to learn in the industry those are sealed when you get them from the port they're sealed and unless you are the final destination there is no opening them but in contractual obligations they do not pick up hazardous materials at all you have to have certain certifications and trucks to do that and they don't have that they're not a company that deals with uh even uh yes so I'll stick to the point that they W yes so will there be any concerns with security um since this is an open area um and now you have containers with content in them that can bring in a bad element because there any concern or any provisions um to address that we would be happy to consider any recommendations that the town might make we work closely with the the jobs in blue and we also work closely with um uh private company like uh for example they use like the sord certifications and stuff like that so uh we do have for our services like for our youth and stuff we whenever the building are in operational with kids or something we have certified security there you know and we have them in a car or walking around our campus uh and so uh much of the week uh including during food pantry distribution nights uh and all of our services we do have uh armed security whether from Union or certified uh individuals there we'd be happy to consider that further uh one of the measures that is already there is the is that there there's a gate so it's a locked gate that it would be behind um there's no Barb Wire or anything like that um but to be simple from before this was a really terrible area before um this was an area that attracted uh mischievous prior um and we have not encountered any problems uh even just you know just with with our property um we did we did even apply to the government for one of those uh one of the grants security grants that's offered um to try to do that so we budgeted uh about $15,000 this year to increase our capacity with cameras so we have cameras outdoor right now and indoor um and we you know every year we try to make sure uh because of that you know because of the area we're in that we continue to harden our Target and one last question is concerning the the trucks I mean we all own Vehicles we know things have a tendency to break down they have a tendency to have oils and things leak yes sir um how can you assure this board that you know the third party will not you know lift the truck up on a Jack and drop the oil pan and start doing those type of routine maintenance yes sir um which is common yes any homeowner that's got a driveway I you assure this board that that won't happen uh on this property the way I see it uh properties that we rent out and you know the way I see it is similar to leasing my apartment to somebody you know do I I cannot guarantee you that they would not do something foolish but what I can guarantee you is that we have properly put together legal contracts with them explaining that it is not permissible to do that um including the hazardous waste and stuff like that uh these you know changing you know even changing a tire you know nothing like that is allowed back there they have to get it towed out appropriately um and if something was to happen right which could happen anywhere uh if something was to happen if the truck broke a line or something happens they are responsible as per the legal documents that we've drafted in in hopes of securing um you know this and the affirmative at some point um in the letter of interest that we have you know we uh We've made it very clear through legal uh jargon that that that there are consequences and that they are responsible you know for the cleanup uh we did get a and obviously you'll hear this from our engineer who's way smarter at this than me but he they we did do soil tests and we submitted we submitted all of that already you know in uh right am I proper to say that we we have we we've done those tests uh to make sure that what we're working with now is good um and be happy to you know uh within those agreements from what I'm understanding it's natural when they were to leave to retest and you know or at certain points to retest to hold them accountable to make sure that nothing has happened like that even if they tried to hide it uh they would be held responsible and we would REM remedy it just as any other business would properly yeah and I guess one other thing to add they inight distance walking distance from where you are so if there were violations of of the lease and rual vers they're going to be watching and we have cameras we have outdoor cameras pointed in that direction uh Pastor nick uh I have a quick question for you as the zoning officer yes sir uh just so you know I don't vot I I I I have a question as the zoning officer you mentioned that these containers are locked and that if they do come to the site because they couldn't get to their destination on time yes sir they're locked and secured yes sir and nobody can get them so we don't know what's in them correct yeah I mean I would be happy to ask the current uh the perspective tenant I would be happy to ask them you know on average or if they could provide us a material list of what's commonly there uh like I said before I think what's common for them is there's there's uh there segments of the business right so hazardous would be one example of a segment uh and so whatever they pick up is X material um Fair yeah so that's that would be now that's fair I would also answer your question really quickly just the same way as as previous can it be broken into I mean yeah I mean of course it could um but we're going to do everything we can to help make sure between the gate the cameras the presence of just the common people you know and and everything that we try do our best to limit that understood um I guess I was leaning more towards the line of you know let's just say God forbid caught on fire yes my fire department has to fight that and if they don't know what's in it and there's some hazardous material and they're going in blind not knowing what in there mhm I mean that that kind of would be a concern now could it happen yes would it happen who knows probably not but there's always God forbid that one case so I just would want to I want to have the safety of my fire department if they're going to go out there and we don't know what's in here especially if it's hazardous material and they go to put something let's say on that they go to put it out with water and it requires foam you know yes that that would be my concern just just thank you I think I mean first of all we have two great Union firefighters right in our congregations one's here tonight even uh very thankful for our Union fire our fire department um we did get a report back from them as far as the review there and that report only suggested that we just keep the lane so that if something did happens that the spacing was appropriate so that we could respond approp that they could respond appropriately um I also think the blessing of how we've planned this out and you'll see it in the adjustments that you'll receive is that the way we have put them away from the residences when we said hey God forbid something happened in one of these containers who are we affecting Nick right we're talking about we're talking about land we're not talking about houses uh we're talking about this you know the the retention bio retention Basin we're talking about more area um that's still ours um you know and then obviously the backside of psng which is only open space um so the blessing of kind of trying to find a nice balance here is putting it where we're proposing it uh currently proposed but also with the removal of the shorter spots I think it would also help you know satisfy that and to your point yes they did they fire department did have no comment but that's why this board's here and sometimes they ask questions or I'll ask a question uh and then the fire department gets like noted and you know then they'll say oh oh yeah we didn't think about cuz you know they didn't think about it thank you thank you Mr chairman yes Mr Johnson I have a couple of questions Pastor Nick as a past Church council president from a local church I applaud what you're doing at your church I think it's very commendable uh the questions I have um unfortunately are not related to that do you know um are these all going to be gas vehicles or 60 Vehicles going to be bringing these trailers back and forth are they all gas are there any diesel or any electric vehicles uh I'm not a mechanic I would be happy to ask that question I don't have that answer tonight but we'll certainly not it and get that I don't believe any of them are electric vehicles and I'm confident that whatever a normal truck would be is what they have um well the reason I'm asking about the diesel is because sometimes even in the winter they have to run them sometimes all night or they have to start them up early with and when it's cold um so is there anybody going to be there to monitor that yeah I mean we are we are we will be continuing through the cameras and through you know check-ins and and obviously when you when you give somebody a legal document and ask them to sign it um you know your hope is that they stick within those confines and was there anybody going to be there to to monitor that I mean your cameras may not pick up sound if they're running a truck all night or sure if it's if one of the vehicles happens to be a refrigerated vehicle and they're running refrigerator you know compressors for the refrigerated part if is that possible or not possible well I think in anything right there's always possibilities um I think our job in a contract is to make sure that we put boundaries and we put you know uh um legal language that helps them understand there's consequences just like anything else to to not staying within the boundaries we've asked we've made it clear that 7 to7 is the business hours uh We've made it clear in those ways that this is the you know for a perspective tenant this is what we're looking from you uh and if you cannot adhere to that don't even bother there's just too many in there's too many people looking you know for uh we have a lot of opportunities uh you know to to execute this and we are going to hold someone to the highest standard uh as per it and just to answer your question in regards to not being able see people the cameras nowadays are very very great not only do we have access right in our phones uh for these cameras uh but cameras do show us who's coming in and out uh We've caught people illegally dumping on our property because of these cameras you know that that that's a you know everyone sees a church and they think it's vacant and they see the land back there you know and so uh we have uh stopped people from doing things that we even don't want them to do as a result of the technology that we've invested in uh to keep our our facilities secure um once again even with the refrigeration and the diesel uh the different types of trucks um two things one you'll see in the adjustment it's not 60 it's 30 uh it's going to be 30 trucks it's not going to be 60 Vehicles anymore uh we have made sure and made it clear that we lowered that standards by removing the parking spots that we spoke about which would be next to uh the residence closest to the residence those 15 are now going to be removed and then there's 15 that kind of go let's call it 60% up the wall the 78 wall going towards the residences those 15 shorter spots as you'll see them on your drawings those are being removed so the 30 spots have now brought this down to 30 so the volume is half of what we originally were looking to do and once again the space back there can handle it uh that's not the question here right it's more about how do we be a good Steward and we be good neighbors and uh and how do we be a good Steward of our town and if if the volume uh is something that we needed to to be uh mindful of I I I hope that our actions of reducing that by 50 % you know will speak to our willingness and flexibility all right you also said that the gates are going to be locked yes sir right what happens when the truck coming back hits a traffic jam as we know a lot about those around here yeah and doesn't get back before 7:00 and once they come in at 8 or 9 or 10 o'clock at night yeah I mean what from what we're talking about in that in that spot I mean we all live in this area right I've had the train going past my house on galing Hill Road for for 30 plus years you know um and so uh when we talk about disturbance right could it happen yeah let's not lie to each other of course a truck can come back a little later randomly because what's to prevent him from parking on the street or parking next in your lot the dispatcher in the nature of this business the dispatcher is the last one to leave every day so well the business would close at S as per their hours of recommendation right but if we're going to be responsible and get that truck back you know uh I I I don't want to lie to you you know what I'm saying I want to be reasonable yes of course traffic can happen and these situations can be there and so the responsib thing would be just to communicate how they've communicated to me they work because I've asked this question and that's the dispatcher the dispatcher stays till the last person comes right they they lock up at night they're the last person you know uh and the trucks are being told we work from 7:00 to 700 get back but in the case once again just like other examples we've given tonight you know in the case that something does not work out as per you know we would be seeing this happen and if it's happening regularly we have a problem right because that's not what the contract says thank you Mr chairman thank you Mr chairman I have a question Mr benna good evening uh Pastor nick uh you mentioned that the trucking company does most of their work going to the port yes sir um and let's assume major the truck route majority of it it's going to come out of the church make a left go up Bernette Avenue get right on to 78 Which is less than a mile yes sir in an event that there's you know a detour mhm um the next route would probably be Route 22 yes sir which means they'd have to travel down Stanley Terrace M to ston to Oakland yes sir you know traveling through residential areas mhm um you know we just got to take that into consideration I agree um you know there always is detours you know accidents on 78 they shut that entrance down so I just wanted to bring that up as a point yeah I think what's great about that right and I'm not I'm not an engineer on this side but I from what my studies and our realators even have shown us you know the voxa right we're all talking about Trucking routes all three of those streets are Trucking routes so I know that this is not new to anybody on that side um I'm sure that the trucks the couple trucks that come into Mulberry metal daily right to drop off you know uh what they're doing there right they're one of three companies left in America that do what they do um and so you know when you think about uh the trucks coming in and out I see them go that way and so I'm confident that they have to get somewhere and they whether it's going up Oakland or whatever the designated route is and as I've asked a few times you know please if there is a recommended route uh we can make this a part of our agreements you know and what we do if that's what is appropriate you know we can very simply say hey the these are the ways out you know it's it's 78 it's the left left and get on left left right and get on 78 or it's the it's going down that way we also have the opportunity to go down towards Irvington you know which is not necessarily affected by us here um you know which I do see them make those different turns um and so I would be leaning on the guidance of any professionals including yourselves on recommended routs out of our area um we know that they're there because they happen already in our Zone regularly all right my second question to is um are you taking away from church parking with with with these trucks parked in the back no the blessing of building relationships with our neighbors has been mberry metal uh we use their lot uh and so all of their their main area their big parking spots um we use that and to be a good Steward once again of our own facility we do three services every Sunday uh and so we preach we do worship we do everything three times uh to accommodate appropriately the amount of people that come through um and we've done that since covid uh we started our second service because of space uh because of covid you know and then the third one was not because of uh Co it was because we were out of space appropriately and uh because of that parking lot uh and to be honest with you we didn't need it when I first got permission 2015 I introduced myself to dick dick been there since that place I believe you know uh opened uh he's an older gentleman um and he just looked at me like a son and he said hey he's like I love what you're doing here's a key yeah you can you can use our lot and 2015 we didn't need that lot he gave it to me and he gave me that key to use it um I joke with him all the time I said hey we would we would love your Warehouse one day and he said don't pray for my business to close so I said no no no we will not do that I said maybe just a piece of it we can use if we grow and uh you know for the food pantry and more and uh you know so yeah so that's so we would be taking away no parking from church right now uh we do not need that to do what we do each and every week yeah no further questions thank you thank you any other board members that would like to question Pastor Nick I have a quick question for Mr ha yeah uh Mr Hil did you represent box the warehouse on Union Avenue not boxed I represented uh well the reason why I'm asking is because I believe that um there was in their resolution there was a a truck truck route truck route for that yeah and that they weren't allowed to go when they went down to Oakland so it was Bridge development that I box was a 10 and yeah so I I would defer to that because we got to keep that in mind too if that was if they do decide to go up Oakland Avenue there was a there that was put on that U Warehouse okay so just yeah we can also talk we might want to look into that to the police department on truck Roots too I appreciate that any other board questions hearing none Mr Hill again we have no further Witnesses this evening and perhaps we could pick a date to come back uh and continue with our with our presentation technically you should ask the public if anybody here has questions relative to the truck parking use at the facility not with the church services if there's any only only on the testimony given not General comments either yeah no General comments are there any members of the public that would like to ask will will the witness I assume the pastor would be available on the return date anyway we have to swear you back in certainly yes sir and we'll certainly wave any time constraints to confront I mean once again as I stated earlier Mr Hae this is a unique approach a lot of the information from the pastor by way of direct testimony really wasn't that he was asking well we'll work with the town or we trying to back into the approval and I assume your professionals will be the ones in a position that are going to offer the testimony correct to fill those voids it's not necessarily as you know it's difficult to try to have a D1 use approval based on trying to pigeon hole certain things that might come up might not come up Etc so and this is why this was very helpful getting questions about security truck routes safety uh all very important because they but the plan formally has been amended to 30 spots is that that's the site match that at this point I I Mr deck is working on that site yeah I haven't seen that yet nor his cers correct nor has the board correct but the testimony is that this site is no longer going to permit Vehicles Beyond 30 trucks that's what's being proposed that's correct correct that's correct sir yes I just want to be clear on that so that's a formal amendment that has to be done in writing to back it up so well a Revis plan will be submitted to this board and to be reviewed by the board professionals uh including cers and fire and police so I would at least suggest allowing some time to to digest that process sure as it were I mean I don't want to I mean I I I understand the you know the sensibility of of wanting to earn money for your good fortunes you know for your for your good deeds but as I said from a land use perspective it's it's cold and and to the point unfortunately so sure I don't want to see like the bad guy in the room but I think it just makes sense to make sure we cover all these luse aspects and I I'm sure Steve wouldn't disagree in terms of that has to be done unfortunately you we're in a a situation of land use approval here so I don't know what date you have in mind I have May 22nd June 5th I have actually 22nd looks because I think we're back here on the 15th on the other one we don't want to when is Memorial Day is that the following Monday or the Monday on that week 27th is Memorial day Monday the 27th 7 7 Memorial Day Monday is the hearing date May 22nd sounds good give us time to have the plans revised you go I'm saying is that okay you're not going away or anything no no that looks good I hate having my phone out but check my calendar that's a little bit more than a okay yeah May 22 we're good we got May 22nd and June 5th Mr chairman I think you have the board consider uh adjourning this matter on a motion in a second the applicant is wave time constraints the application has been formally amended there's going to be subsequent uh plans to support that Amendment and they'd like to do without further notice so we can make the Public Announcement tonight to May 22nd at 7:30 in this room a motion in a second or roll call I think would be appropriate great okay board member members can I have a motion in a second to adjourn tonight's case and we're going to reschedule it for May 22nd without notice can I have a motion and a second uh Mr chairman I like to make a motion to adjourn calendar number 3431 Ukrainian evangelica Assemblies of God Living World Church 2208 Stanley Terrace block 5504 lot 178 and 20 2.01 um let's move it to May 22nd second of motion roll call Mr Wy yes M Martins yes Mr bent Vega yes Scott yes Mr Johnson yes Mr mcneel yes Mr champy yes well thank you very much for your time this evening and see you shortly can I have a motion to adjourn just so the Public's clear I think you should make anoun Mr chairman just so the Public's clear that there is no further notice for this if you got a 200t mailing you're not going to get another one nor newspaper publication the matter is carried until May 22nd at 7:30 in this room the uh hearing will be continued chairman there being no further business coming before the board this evening I move rejourn all in favor I I opposed so moved this meeting is now adjourned for