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 Andor The Star Ledger the two newspapers of record and notice has been posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building adjacent to the municipal clerk's office roll call Mr Wy here M Martins here Mr B V present M Scott is absent Mr Johnson here Mr mcneel here Mr Graves here M rickets here Mr champy here there being a quorum present this meeting is now declared open at this time I'll entertain a motion for the approval of the minutes from the January 10th meeting Mr chairman I make a motion to approve the minutes of January 10th meeting and dispense with their reading second all in favor I I opposed so moved are there any Communications there are no Communications before we begin tonight's meeting for the benefit of the public I have a few announcements that to make first of off first off the board would like to welcome Miss nades rickets the lady to my left as our newest member Miss rickets was appointed alternate number two effective January 1st 2024 Miss rickets had previously served on the planning board for several years and the board wishes to welcome her and we look forward to working with you throughout the year second Mr Richard graves will be our new alternate number one lastly Mr Anthony Ben NAA will be our new acting chairperson again congratulations congratulations to nades Anthony and Richard continuing with tonight's meeting our first order of business is the adoption of a resolution for calendar number 3426 2155 route22 reality LLC located at 2135 through 2145 and 2155 Route 22 West block 403 Lots 7 and lots 9.01 and this and it was for the alteration and conversion of the showroom to a maintenance center we're going to adopt this resolution board members you've all had a chance to read the resolution are there any board members at this time who would like to comment make changes or modifications to the resolution as it is written hearing none may I have a motion and a second to adopt the resolution Mr chair I move that to the board adopt the resolution as and modified as accurately memorialized in the previous F of this board second motion roll call Mr Johnson yes Mr Graves yes Mr mcneel yes Mr Wy yes Mr champy yes Mr chairman please start please note I was option for that meeting so noted our next order of business is calendar number 3427 grip tight tools located at 1060 Commerce Avenue block 4304 laot 3 and it's for offices a warehouse and Outdoor Storage counselor would you like to begin thank you very much Mr chairman members of the board my name is Stephen merman I am of council to the law firm of jabber bam Warf hick con Wickstrom and sinons I get paid extra to get through all the names in actuality I'm with the off Steve Hal's office uh here in Union and uh we're here tonight uh on behalf of our client griptite tools uh with regard to a very um it's not really an interesting application I'm not going to give you that this is one of the best applications you're going to see this year uh it's a it's a basic application and the reason it's a basic application is because we have a client who've been operating at this location since 2015 and over the last several years has actually kind of outgrown the space as a result of that um some storage uh issues arose with storage uh being uh maintained on the outside unfortunately that required Mr manguso and his crack staff to uh come out and uh examine the property and as a result of that our clients are now here to uh address uh these these issues um we're here today under um a a d variance obviously otherwise this board wouldn't have any jurisdiction but I want to address before we get into anything uh my notice uh with regard to this my notice that we did uh for this uh application was for D1 use variance and the reason it was uh drafted that way was based upon the communications that we received from staff here uh that this was in fact the board of adjustment uh issue and it was a D1 use variants as a result of the recent amendments to your ordinance involving the ciso there is a warehousing component to our application and I'm going to let my planner go through all of this but I just want to deal with this right now uh on the notice issue uh because it it could create uh some questions we did not notice for a D2 variance we notice for D1 variance D1 being a brand new use variance d to being an expansion of existing non-conforming use fact of the matter is we were doing what we're doing now before the ordinance was amended so it technically is a D2 but because we were notified by the municipality that it was going to require a D1 variance we advertised for the D1 variance now I had to actually look up this word earlier tonight the word is subsumed right as opposed to assume but the D2 variance is subsumed basically when you uh issue the notice for the D1 variants and I'll let Mr panula address that if he feels it's a needs to be addressed so with that said uh at this point uh I would like to um call our first witness uh and that is uh unless Mr P you want to address the the issue on the notice now that I have a mic yes uh there was this issue of the D1 D2 I spoke with Mr Mr hail actually I didn't reach Mr merman but uh I think you're covered on the notice because of the more stringent D1 uh I believe technically legally since the warehousing component is there it is a expansion of an existing non-conforming use which makes it permissible it's an easier burden for the applicant as it were so they covered their notice through the more stringent D1 so we'll hear the testimony uh jurisdictionally they're covered I think Mr hail's office as it usually does covered the bases so the notice is Broad enough and inclusive enough to allow the matter to be heard and we'll have the planner address it I'm sure Mr D will be ready to do that um so I don't see a problem going for thank you very much Mr pencil so let me just uh set up the uh the evening's activities we're going to try to run through the testimony as quickly as we can tonight I have with me the applicants representative wed Nala who is the president and CEO of grip TI tools I have with us uh Joe uh uh who's an engineer with eka Associates and in the cleanup position is going to be Alexander Dy of Dy Planning and Development LLC and he will be providing the planning testimony uh for this evening so without further Ado I'd like to call uh Mr niala just for the record to council and the members of the board I did Mark A1 the application as it was submitted uh by Mr hail's office with its supporting details and uh I also marked A2 the eka site plan which included a one-page survey so there's four pages total are collectively marked as A2 the eka site plan with survey so A1 A2 for the record can the witness hear me yes sir I can I'm the board attorney Rob panula can I ask you to just swear or affirm that the testimony you can provide this evening is the truth and the whole truth I swear and for the record just spell your name with your business affiliation sure my name is wed w a l as in Larry i d as in David last name is nakla n a k h l a i Am the CEO of griptide tools thank you sir can you uh give us a very brief overview of what griptite tools does sure uh griptite tools is a is is a brand uh for some Hardware products U that's are imported and distributed to some of our break and motor Hardware Ware stores we've been in business since 2001 and um uh we we have a couple small Brands associated with grip TI tools like Plum te and proera so we we're trying to do our business professionally and we bring a good quality product to our end users uh at this location at 1060 uh Commerce uh what are the hours of operation uh 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and how many employees are on site at any given time uh 13 employees at this moment and uh there are employees that work for griptight tools is that correct correct we we do have a couple of other locations and we have sales people that work offsite from home and in their hometowns so overall you uh employ about 28 people is that correct correct now uh are there any evenings or weekend uh activities at the site uh no so this is Monday through Friday operation correct um the goods that you refer to are these domestic or imported goods uh most of the goods are imported but our customers are all local uh within the United States now amongst the uh uh items that you uh you sell through this uh location do you sell stone blocks and brick items uh that's one of the product line that we carry but they all come created and prepacked and ready to sell right now the um the I've already obviously for the board I already indicated that we had some issues with uh some outdoor storage could you tell the board basically what types of materials are being stored on the outside of the building or were being stored and we are asking permission to store outside the building now sure there is two two categories of that we have some trucks that comes to pick up the stuff and they don't have a lot of time they only give us five minutes because they have other pickups so we have to have the crates outside ready for them to pick it up so sometimes we take it um 7 o'clock in the morning 7:30 and they don't show up in time they come an hour or two hour late so we have those crates waiting to be loaded on the property side uh the second category is is once in a while we we have those crates of stone we take it to the flat bed outside in order for the flat bed to come and pick it up um and the probably 15 20 crates and then the flat bed doesn't show up in time and they end up coming tomorrow um so you know if if um somebody from the township come and look at those crates and they see in the morning uh without fence it so didn't look that pretty for the township and that's what we you know so the the the material that we're talking about that was being stored on the side of the building where we are now proposing to uh put a fence up is that correct correct and uh what is the purpose uh of the fence the purpose of the fence is basically to create a buffer um you know uh so nobody can see what's happening behind the fence it's better visual for the township I think it's going to bring more value if you look at our building it's beautiful and we want to keep it nice and clean and sealed um we don't want somebody to see our forklift driver or you know so it's it's better for the Township from the main the main perspective to make it look better we have an animal hospital in the area and so we want to make it look better and create a buffer right now um grip type tools uh or related entity is actually the owner of the building is that correct um it's a different LLC but I'm the owner I'm the sole owner of it yes right so this you're you're coming here as the owner of the property and the operator of the property and uh and coming to the municipality uh where you have uh been operating now for almost seven years uh and uh the reason you're here uh ultimately is because you want to make sure that the visual uh effect of your uh operation does not have a negative impact upon the surrounding properties is that is that really what what we're here for to do tonight 100% okay I really have no further questions of uh this witness at this time I would reserve my right to ask additional questions based upon any questions from the board or members of the public are there any board members with questions for Mr Nal I I do do have a a question um concerning the employees uh you have 13 and you providing for 10 spots is it the intent that the those employees that don't make it in that lot or actually the seven cuz I guess you have the uh one electronic vehicle and an ADA spot which are reserved so you really have seven so the other six employees will be parking on the street or are you making any other provisions for them to park um some some of the um uh employees are local and about two of them are local so they just one of them walks and the other one take you know um um also we have uh a lot of people don't you know have a day is off not not the 13 employees are not really 13 if you look on average we're probably going to be at uh 11 to 12 employees so people take day off take vacation time um and um additionally I don't know if it would be U permissible um if people can still park behind that fence we going to have a lot of space uh so I don't know if it's going to be allowed that's a question for Mr H but they won't they won't clutter the access in out of that we going to design that fence or or park on the lawn or park in the electronic car charge stations or any adaa spots definitely not we're going to follow the rules and make make sure everybody's complaints any other board members yes Mr chairman you notice uh you said you had pickups randomly each day um what kind of products did they pick up do you deal with any liquid products no it's all Hardware products it's all Hardware products and hardare so there's no IBC totes or anything back there no okay thank you yeah you're welcome are there any other board members that would like to question can I just be clear on the parking aspect is there any retail aspect to your business or is it simply uh warehousing and and truck pickup we only business to business we don't have any walk-in traffic we don't interfere with the public um uh our businesses only with um stores owners that have a resale certificate and you know they will resell the product all the orders come by packs or emails yeah so there's no display area or or welcoming of the public to come in and access to property cuz that that that'll answer for the board's benefit I think some of the parking issues if you can control the employee usage there's less of a concern that the public actually be pulling in and out regularly that doesn't happen is what you're saying sure we're actually don't have any public work at all even our customers don't come to uh the site yep thank you are there any other board members with questions for Mr Nial hearing none are there any members of the public that would like to question the testimony that Mr Nial has giv hearing none Mr merman your next witness thank you at this time I will call Joseph POI appreciate it thank you and if you'd be so kind as to throw the site plan up on the board we'd appreciate that you got that joke go Mr Bodi can I ask you to swear or affirm that the testimony provide to see evening is the truth and the whole truth yes sir and for the record State and spell your name with your business affiliation Joseph Bachi B AI I work for eka associates 328 Park AV Scotch plings New Jersey would you be so kind as to give us the benefit of your educational background has there been any change since you were qualified before this board less than a month ago no change still uh same person license and good standing nothing happen to the license still a uh Mr chairman I I suggest we can note that for the record we'll accept his credentials thank you Mr chairman thank you Mr Pence welcome thank you that's that's half my outline Joe could you could you run through the uh the site plan you prepared the site plan that's up on the board right now and has already been marked as uh A2 for purposes of identification is that correct that is correct sir all right so why don't you uh run through uh start with page one and we could work to page four and then uh we'll uh highlight please the variances that are being requested uh with regard to this application yes sir so uh starting on sheet one uh our basic cover sheet we have the zoning map shown key map schedule General requirements uh touching on the zoning map you'll see the site is bound to the Northeast by I'll zoom in you have a PSG electrical subst substation I always struggle with the touchcreen to the Northeast uh lot two there um with the elementary school parking lot as well a little beyond that uh to the uh Southeast you have Commerce AV uh there's other commercial properties in the area across Commerce uh same goes for the the Southwest there commercial properties you know a lot four 02 and and below that and then uh here to the uh Northwest an existing rail line so just to set the scene of uh of where we are uh get a little more detail I'm going to go to the last sheet sheet one of one the uh the survey just give a little more detail on the site what's existing out there now and you know as Mr remember stated what's you know not not really changing much um so it's an irregularly shaped lot somewhat rectangular with a couple uh twists and turns on the on the um if you notice in this area here um the total area about a little over 49,000 Square fet 1.14 Acres uh Frontage of about 156 ft on Commerce um you have a depth of about 330 ft versus 400 required that's not changing that's an existing variance uh same with the width about 152 linear feet 200's required that's not changing nothing about the lot is changing uh you have a a little over 28,000 foot masonary building on site with uh parking facilities in the front storage on the side here again not planning on changing any of that uh the storage and parking is is a combination of uh mostly asphalt with some concrete areas um you have an existing loading dock in the rear shown here um rear the building rear of the site um that's about it for the existing conditions um you know mostly taken up by the by the building and and asphalt before you move before you move on um the existing loading dock there's nothing that's going proposed relative to that existing loading dot correct correct okay um so uh the um I'll let you move on to what we are proposing now sure uh if you direct your attention to sheet two this is our proposed site plan as you can see you don't see many changes here um the main thing is the proposed fence kind of towards the middle of the site here um it's going to be a chainlink fence with privacy slats uh that's going to provide screening for the existing and you know proposed outdoor storage on site s which would be again in this this area um of the site uh going through some of the the variances there there's you know you guys have a list of of the existing variances uh we are not intensifying any of them except one minor intensification uh offset from the existing build the parking offset from the building it's about 5 and a half ft now you see we're reducing that to 4.9 um for the EV space the reason being is we want to get a proper 24t wide uh Drive Isle here um and with that we're just twisting that spot a little bit getting it you know just about a half a foot closer to the to the building um the other improvements to the site bringing it up to ADA compliance you'll see the Ada space located in the front um and if you see here in the existing condition you actually have a a space kind of in the RightWay so we're pushing that off um so you have zero setback from the from the RightWay currently we're pushing that to uh 2.68 ft in this location offset here 2.11 ft for this parking space here um so while it's still it's an existing variant we're we're trying to make the site you know a little bit better here with that um you have some ballards to protect uh the building and the proposed EV charging station um what other variances do we have uh no increase in impervious coverage no increase in building coverage that's remaining the same uh the front yard existing uh 24.6 fet that's not changing existing variant uh rear yard setback 14.0 feet again that is not changing uh so really engineering wise it boils down to in installation of a fence for screening of the outdoor storage and we're improving the parking let me stop you here for a minute so um and and I'm assuming that uh one member of the board or the like is going to ask us this question so we might as well get it out of the way now how come we're not proposing any of the parking behind the uh the fence itself uh where we're creating the storage area uh well you know we want to maintain you know some flexibility with with the storage moving of materials etc etc so really but there would be sufficient uh room there uh if necessary to to add an additional parking spot or two uh behind there for uh employees specifically that is correct um if if required but the idea behind this basically was to leave as much of the area available for the outdoor storage and not that's correct that's correct and my understanding is the idea you know they not going to have storage 247 filling up that whole area but they they want some flexibility to to move you know their their uh material around all right uh I think that I think that really covers uh the site plans I think I touched on all the variances um I think parking was already discussed uh we have nine physical spaces with one EV credit uh you get 10 that's an increase from Seven uh so while 16 still required again we're we're trying to we're not intensifying the variances and we're we're trying to you know reduce the the intensity of the existing variances you had an opportunity to review the January 10th uh 2024 correspondence from cers engineering and design did you not yes I did I want to specifically draw your attention to um the comments uh related to uh grading and drainage um anything that we're going to be doing on the property in any way affect the existing draining uh drainage uh and storm water management uh no it won't um and we can you know go out and get get grades to to prove that but right now storm water is Flowing nicely offsite sheet flowing to the street as it should and we're not doing anything to stop that there's also a uh requirement at 6.4 the applicant shall submit a lighting plan uh for the parking lot to demonstrate compliance any issue with uh uh providing that as a resolution compliance issue no issue providing that and I'm I'm sure there'll be uh you know no issue providing adequate lighting I have no further questions for this witness I reserve my right to ask additional questions based upon questions from the board Andor the public thank you Mr chairman are there any board members that would like to question the testimony Mr Bachi has given hearing none are there any members of the public that would like to question the testimony that Mr Bachi has given hearing none counselor your next witness thank you Mr chairman at this time I would call Alexander Dy sorry do you swear or affirm that the testimony you provide this evening is the truth and the whole truth I do and for the record State and spell your name with your business affiliation Alexander dowy last name is d oou g h e rty 54 Main Street chadam New Jersey Professional planner for the applicant thank you Mr panula before I ask my witness for his credentials um he has been qualified before this board has there been any change in your qual I know Mr bot was here less than a month ago that's why he was fresh but Mr D has there been any change in your credentials from the last time you were qualified and an expert before this board my license are good and current um yeah we'll accept Mr dar's cred Mr chairman Mr panul thank you for this evening I've uh prepared two exhibit packets a little uh unusual from my normal one but I think it's uh important uh for the board as we discussed um difference between the uh D1 in the D2 the essence of a D2 is site betterment um but nonetheless I think we can satisfy the D1 and get a little more clarity on the warehousing and uh distribution language um but for purposes of um satisfying a uh D2 uh for the board I prepared an exhibit packet kind of where we were and uh you know where we're at now as it relates to the site and let me uh let me just stop you right here these photographs that you're showing us right right now those are not photographs that you took no these these photographs are from the applicant um some years ago when he first uh acquired the property Mr pin what I'd like to do is I'd like to call back the applicant just for purposes of uh verifying we noted for the record that Mr Dy can qualify the exhibit just how many pages total are we'll noted as A3 for the record uh there's there's four slides to this uh I called it the before and after and when you're talking about before and after this is 2015 when the applicant first uh took the property and then the renovations and the like that they've done since they've owned the property correct correct thank you um so for purposes of of of of the these slides as as Council stated um we can see here um there's a very good amount of construction happening uh in the first top uh photos here on slide one and a lot of debris the bottom two are you know reflective I believe of you know the the restrooms and the neon green um this is a it's going to be interesting just do this uh slide two here is uh another set of four photos kind of see the exterior condition of the site um and the top photos the top two photos here it's a pretty weathered and Ted um the bottom two photos you can kind of see some concrete being poured um you can see uh on the bottom uh right here some gentlemen on scaffolding looks like they're doing some electrical and HVAC work um slide three is kind of what's man uh manifested all that hard work um as we kind of see we have a uh fairly beautiful building um I'd like to say is probably the nicest building on Commerce Avenue uh from a curb appeal um a lot of work went into a lot of restoration to kind of bring this uh building back um and you know the top two photos show the exterior conditions um you know the the facade elevations the the panels and and you know the materials used the walkway the grand entrance you know um the grip tight tools Insignia above the door and the bottom two are reflective of I guess what would have been that green restroom into a kind of a modern laboratory system here with the appropriate um uh materials used and then the last slide is is only three um but kind of shows you the lobby conference rooms you know uh some some office chairs and so forth um so so um for sake of uh of this uh slide deck here it's really to kind of show that the applicant as well as the site have come a long way um and certainly um you know in the essence of why we're here the outside storage is certainly not appealing on the corridor though it is allowed um in in the CI Zone it does have regulations about being screened so I think that's where you know how we end ended up here um was some of the outside storage Spilled Out of the uh gate that's existing there now um and then the warehousing conversation kind of came in and the ordinance changed so we're here um but nonetheless I think it's appropriate that we're here gives the the board and the community a little bit better handle of what's was actually at the site um as it relates to the uh um the operations um so with that I'll close this tab and uh I'll open up the uh slide deck um for a little bit more of U site orientation purposes and where we're at uh so if we want to mark this one separately this consists of seven slides slide one is the uh zoning map you kind of see right in the middle here the red circle and the red arrow um it's approximately right where the property is located it's in that uh gray area which is uh reflective uh to the left the legend here of the uh the CI Zone the next slide it's more of a top down aerial view of the site um this is from NJ the EP Geo web properties outlined in red what's interesting to note um is the properties off to the right those are schools um so we do have a a bit of a buffer um with elevation as well as the uh electrical um smaller lot it's all set to the rear it's not our adjacent neighbor but you know we we do have some adequate Separation by way of a additional lot and the large parking lot which you'll see later on but nonetheless it is a uh small portion here that is the CI Zone um that still exists on Commerce Avenue again this is the site um I took myself on January 6 with the Drone visiting the site as you can see we do have some parking up there in the front um as described probably a little bit of overhang by the engineer instead a right of way um took the Drone out we kind of spun it around kind of see U there's a black gate back there with some material so and you have that loading Bay off in the in the back this this structure only has one loading dock as the engineer pointed out um and staging and Equipment um and deliveries um really you know they they they were doing it outside and uh you know so the outside storage component as I stated before is really what brought the attention to the site and the change of the ordinance but um what as you heard the engineer really what we're trying to do here is just put the fence in the front you know remove that um have that screening ability if you will um and keep this drive a open with those vans and box trucks for shipments uh with talking to the applicant um if we can see from a bird's eye view on on Slide Five really the ideal scenario would be just to get a little bit more um storage probably out to where the existing trash cans and enclosed dumpsters are which also should have been uh within an enclosure um so providing the fence up in the front allows us to actually fulfill that obligation by screening the dumpster enclosure um you know they've kind of outgrown that small little storage facility off into the rear the next Slide the last couple slides uh reflective of our neighboring properties you see on the bottom left we do have um I believe it's an electrical station and then we have the large parking lot towards the elementary school going up Commerce Avenue so we do have some adequate spacing and and buffer from you know that elementary school but nonetheless we' like to screen that you know this is a heavily traversed Road Commerce Avenue has become almost a destination location with the elementary school the grocer the TD Bank at the corner you know and the believe it's a CVS or Walgreens um in front of the uh grocer um the last slide here is a four photo slide to kind of give you uh an overall um understanding of the of the built environment top left is a mechanic shop um it's it is what it is um in that in that photo um it's it's an automotive use uh the top right is another uh neighboring property um that exists on Commerce Avenue as well as the bottom left and that bottom right photo shows you the the black roof building there is your uh is your bank um you have I believe it's the CVS um right across Commerce Avenue and I believe it's an Aldi um behind that as well again with the school so Community comes down Commerce Avenue um so we want to Shield the operations and the material that sits outside and and you know come into compliance with that regards um but going to the essence of the variants tonight before before you do that could you just give the board a uh a background in the materials that you reviewed in preparing for your testimony here today certainly I've reviewed the site plan um I've reviewed the uh colier report um I've reviewed the master plan uh extensively and um and with that being said the uh the various ordinances as as it pertains to the CI Zone and the outside storage language and and the definition language for how we Define uh warehousing and distribution you you said something very interesting uh to me earlier uh in in part of our preparation about the extensive nature of the uh uh the master plan here in in Union so I really wish you would uh just reiterate that statement that you made to me about um the ens of nature of this master plan uh it's one of my favorite Master plans it's about 370 Pages there's nothing left un said in that Master Plan um that Master Plan talks a great deal about e-commerce it's fact that's mentioned approximately 19 times throughout the master plan it talks about the commercial corridors it talks about office uses and and so forth um with that being said the master plan recognizes that office uses are kind in this particular setting larger office uses are kind of being adaptively reused used um to provide for commercial industrial manners because they are kind of you know um an element that stands off to itself um as it as I say that there's some there's a on page 58 of the master plan there's a section called challenges and opportunities and in fact they talk about reimagining exist existing sites and structures and I'll quote reimagining how land use should be also um responsive to the broader economic environmental and social trends to promote smart growth development that is sustainable resilient and desirable to Residents consumers and businesses so that again that's kind of hooked into the idea that um the office uses and and the and the larger office uh housing um has seen an Adaptive reuse if you will from a physical standpoint given the rail in the the rail yard in the rear um that rail line it Commerce Avenue historically uh probably has seen uh you know more of a manufacturing and industrial uh face here but I want to note that office use component is allowed in this Zone um with the removal of warehousing and storage um that was just passed recently um I believe in 200 December of 2002 um 22 22 you uh you kind of leave a void in in the language um as I looked in the um the local ordinances uh we defined warehousing and distribution buildings used primar primarily for the receipt storage and distribution of goods and cargo warehousing distribution centers are not open to the public for retail sales that's kind of also what industrial sites are as well uh we did not define Industrial so I went online um to the lawi insider.com the dictionary um version of of law Insider for definitions um pertaining to Industrial uses um and it's they Define it as uh industrial use means the use of land buildings or structures designed for the purpose of manufacturing assembling making prepairing inspecting uh ornamenting finishing treating altering repairing warehousing or storing or adapt adapting for sale uh any Goods substance articles or things or any part thereof and the storage of building and construction equipment and materials um as distinguished from the buying and selling of Commodities and supplying for personal services um so this definition does not include agriculture use industrial use is inherently connected to storing goods and and distributing Goods um as a planner I understand that the temperature of e-commerce and larger distribution centers you know um you know the Amazon warehousing and and you know that in that regards um many municipalities are you know hunkering down and trying to uh um get a bit get a better handle on these larger warehouses and and distribution centers um for e-commerce purposes though your your master plan recognizes e-commerce as an opportunity to adapt and reuse zones and to capitalize on the economic markets but I what I will say is this particular structure doesn't really lend itself to that particular narrative and in fact in your master plan as we talk about eCommerce on page 74 um they actually show you a photo of a distribution center so as a planner and understanding the the uh land use environment I I concur with the municipality to um try to get a better handle on that because there's quite a bit of structures in the municipality the township that could lend itself to um you know some e-commerce distribution and all that Freight and truck and just you know the impact on the road Network and and so forth and just becoming that that that Hub um I will tell you that um when we look at this uh particular structure I don't think that's the case here I think this Zone will lend itself primarily to office use maybe some commercial um because industrial again is inherently hooked to storage and distribution I think as we kind of see how this unfolds over the next couple years as uh just my recommendation that maybe um we Define what e-commerce is and and and prohibit that in the zone um versus just taking out where W housing distribution cuz a lot of manufacturing facilities are going to have that component um we are here for a warehousing and and distribution um variants and I do think we meet the intent of the D1 use variants um as well as D2 which is slight betterment we are cleaning up that site coming into compliance and keeping that Corridor visually appealing it is a uh the intent of the applicant to have a uh aesthetically uh pleasing site as we can see in that top right photo still on the screen and the bottom left photo on the screen um some of these uh existing buildings and Landscape plans here uh you know do complement each other and and you know that is kind of the neighborly way on Commerce Avenue but nonetheless the D1 use variants uh consist of four parts of the medich test um part one is site suitability I believe this site is particularly um um suited for a warehousing um use here by the condition and the context um the condition wise the site was under this ownership uh for nearly a decade as well as historically already been used um as a warehousing and distribution center um um though we don't operate in that narrative um the use does not alter the physical structure in the public realm this is a minor exterior retrofit for a gate for outside storage which is uh permitted within the CI Zone um when I look at the context the proposed use and its location in the context of Commerce Avenue and the street scraping the fabric uh continues the commercial and Industrial massing along the corridor um is is well placed and Well Suited amongst other pre-existing um structures and and uses that will have some of that component this particular property um as I stated before in the context has one Bay so I don't think we really have a high volume of um Freight and distribution leaving in a in a in a warehouse Manner and distribution manner as the applicant stated before uh the hours of operation um they close at 4:30 um they're not open on weekends it's a a fairly modest staff about a dozen employees um so I don't think we have a huge uh uh uh worry as far as intensity and and what a warehousing Distribution Center as we know today uh could can bring um part number two of that four-part test is special reasons um the use in the application promote purpos of land use law their project will promote the general welfare um with a positive Aesthetics um by way of the upgrades to the exterior in screening of outside storage space um in a commercial and Industrial Zone uh we also have an efficient use of land and uh with that being said you know the the product here is is existing um we have the ability to store outside certainly would like to use that um in that capacity as we saw in the previous slide before and after I think the interior of the building is too nice to store things inside that's just my opinion um when we look at the uh the continued invest into the site adds value and quality to the site which is also adds value and quality to surrounding neighborhood and Corridor um this is an opportunity to bring the space more into compliance with the Township's vision for the corridor and to get a better feel for um what type of warehousing is taking place here in distribution um all of that being said we promote the purposes of M valan law purpose a g i and m part three of that is the public impact or known as the negative criteria relief can be granted substantial detriment to the public with the Zone plan um the site impacts uh in my opinion are none as we've heard the engineer testify to we have existing variances those variances remain and in fact we've improved a few of them um the site has operated this way for for many many years um we have um an issue as far as Logistics um that storing and staging you know with that one Bay they prefer to do it outside and unfortunately we need the gate to be a little further up front um to have that in in compliance um the use itself mirrors nicely and enhanc is the already established commercial and Industrial Zone as well as improving the relationship to the nearby school by screening that to all the community members and family members that Traverse up and down that road um with that being said this uh use is limited and its potential to grow um what's behind that gate has to remain behind that gate uh the commercial use U as well I said before is limited to hours of operation 7:30 to 4:30 Monday through Friday as uh discussing with the applicant um and you know is is is limited with Staffing it's just approximately 13 employees for this location part four um of the med test is the Zone plan impact I don't believe this will cause a substantially um adverse effect on the zone and the Integrity Zone and will call for rezone um again in 2022 of December they took out warehousing distribution manufacturing is still allowed here industrial is still allowed here I think this use and the operations fall more in line with that than what we believe Warehouse distribution to be I don't think it's going to erode at that um it's not tenament to a reone uh and part of that is reconciling that with the master plan um and I and I I went through the master plan extensively I would concur that warehousing is encouraged in your master plan taking um action to on the economic markets to bring in e-commerce and distribution is actually also encouraged but it you know that master plan at the same time also talks about being able to Pivot and you know have an ad adapt to the changing environments and so forth so I think the municipality has done that uh in that favor uh to protect the community um as we saw with other municipalities what e-commerce and distribution can do to a community and that fabric um so I would just encourage the municipality as time goes forward to maybe consider what other municipalities do and Define uses specifically and and call those out if it's not prohibit um uh expressed is prohibited uh in in in the in the zone um so so I would I would just encourage to have that um but nonetheless I do think the board can move favorably there will be no substantial detriment to the public or the Zone plan I think this application by adding that gate and improving the uh parking and bringing it into ada8 compliance and the EV we do promote um language in the master plan for sustainable um electrical vehicle economic growth and and and and so forth I think the sary criteria for Relief has been met approval will be warranted under either the D1 or the D the D2 and the D2 being being site betterment not whether the use belongs because it is a pre-existing use I have no further questions for this witness I reserve my right to ask additional questions based upon uh any questions from the board of the public thank you Mr chairman are there any board members that would like to question Mr D's testimony hearing none are there any members of the public that would like to question Mr D's testimony hearing none are there any members of the public that would like to comment on this application or have concerns hearing none counselor would you like to very briefly Mr chairman before he U Mr mcneel in in in the discussion um I didn't hear any any discussion of the existing fence between the storage area and the access road to the uh electronic transmission station back there um is there any intent um to do any improvements on that fence if there is an existing fence uh along that north side there there is no intention to uh work on that area at all right now if uh when the municipality comes out and inspects the property if they feel that uh additional fencing uh should be uh added but certainly will be something that uh the applicant would consider uh but for now we have not had any issues uh in that back fenc in area and the intent is to leave it uh exactly the way it is so there is no existing fence along that that access road when you say access road you mean the the pathway to to the loading dock yes so we're going to have Gates Double Gates and okay on that North Side can we can we bring up a picture of that Alex yeah I can zoom in a little on that right right side see zoom in for you guys are you talking about separating the site from that whole side to prevent any spill over of storage right there's an elevation drop there's like a little retaining wall already built into the side there's retaining wall there the wall is above grave right now that's what you're saying and Joe come on let's let's let's make the record let's make the record no I want I just want to clear I just want to make sure the record's clear for the record I'm recalling Mr B okay to answer the question I'll use Mr D's uh photo here but you can see there's a I'll zoom in even more you can see there's a retaining wall along the side here okay um so that's the area you were referring to yeah and that you know it keeps going up um from the photo I can see see that there looks like a little swell area between the wall and the and the road yeah a little bit of a a a dip here but um yeah you have a I can't confirm the applicant indicated it's it's 8 foot high back there um I can't confirm that at this time but then at least half the of dumpsters that's that's there so correct yeah and then psng has a off fence not that we would want to lean up against that the concern was that maybe that maybe if it was if it was at same elevation that may be some spill over on on the storage yeah I would say that the wall is preventing that okay well I did have a question as well um this dumpster these dumpsters are they going to remain there or are they going to move at some point in time uh they will remain on site they'll be behind the proposed fence um I don't think they're going to remain exactly that location um but that has the exact location hasn't been determined at this time um if you like we could put the location on our during resolution compliance if if we are approved we could put a proposed location on there okay and then the P itself is it is it going to remain open just during the business operation hours and then afterwards they're going to close it off or how is it going to work with the fence yeah off hours it'll be uh closed and locked um it'll be open during business hours and then on you know garbage collection if if garbage is collected earlier they'll leave it open but generally we'll be locked um and closed okay because one of concerns that you guys had was in reference to sometimes people may come and pick up their items after business hours once you guys are closed right yeah so how is that going to work if the gates are closed and the storage is behind there there's obviously going to have to be some adjustment uh to that um and uh it's always a work in progress uh when you have something like this but the idea behind this this fence uh is to screen the storage area from public view so for the most part this fence is going to be closed it's not that there every time they come in during the day they're just going to open up this fence this fence is only going to be open we'll call it a gate more than a fence is only going to be open for the purposes when they need to access that back area whether it's product that's being delivered or product that's leaving the property so it it's not the intent of the applicant to just leave this gate open uh during the course of the day because that actually defeats the purpose behind screening it so the applicant is very aware of that uh that the this gate is to remain closed except when necessary okay I just want to make sure it's on record that we don't run into that same problem where items are being stored outside of this particular gate when the business hours are closed just in the event that let's say someone needs to pick something up after hours and it remains there and they don't pick it up I just want to make sure that doesn't happen yep that's not the intent and they'll have much more room for storage so I don't see why they would have to store anything outside you're saying for a late pickup but yeah that's that's not the intent at all Mr Nial did you want to say something just identify yourself on the record you speak the microphone sure this is W knock again yes um we don't do uh after hours pickup I'm sorry there was a confusion probably you know after the employees leave we're just going to you know close the gate and nobody's going to be on site nobody's going to come and pick up on his own without an existance of uh a loader that's going to load him up so it's only by 4:30 if my employee wanted to stay half an hour if the truck is laate for half an hour he stay there until he load it and then just close the gate and leave okay yeah I mean that and maybe we didn't get clear with that so we just ask a couple more questions uh what we're talking about here are uh for the most part uh the stone products that are actually on pallets the they are pre- palletized they come on the final form they are being loaded as is right so it's a matter of picking up uh the pallet with a front loader and bringing it and putting it into the truck on the truck right it's not a matter that somebody's coming just to pick up small items so that they could take it to their hardware store no usually we deliver that with our vans y okay thank you thank you are there any other board questions yes Mr chairman um a stad of if you are driving down Commerce Avenue will you still be able to see the storage with this retaining wall um I don't know if I'm making myself clear I just you know we have the gate there in the front but if you are driving down comis I'm sure you're still going to be able to see the storage if we don't have a fence on the side is that correct since we're not covering that side it hard to say how how tall the storage might be necessarily um but but I see your your point yeah from this I'm really bad at working this sorry Joe could you just uh give us an idea of on this picture here where the fence line is going to be the gate line uh as it relates to that uh stairway from the building let me uh let me open mine just to confirm but basically in line with that uh stairwell I'm going back to sheet two sorry guys got little swipe fing right that's what I'm trying to do what we need is either smaller fingers so all right I think I got it now but thank you so you see the the fence here so it's right past the the stairwell going back to the photo Joe could you go back to your your your your Cy for a second could you just tell us how many feet from the uh right of way uh to the actual gate SL fence line based upon the this drawing yeah it's um I don't think we have it marked but say roughly 50 to 75 ft closer to 75 from the right away right to the gate so basically there'll be no storage within 75 ft of the front of the of the right of white that's correct um to answer the original question I would say the storage would be I'm not going to say you wouldn't be able to see it at all but you have an elevation change here obviously with the retaining wall um so it would definitely be at least partially obscured coming down uh Commerce from the school side towards the site um my other concern is that you are by a school I mean I mean it probably hasn't happened yet and I hope it wouldn't happen but if children were to ever knowing that you have outside storage if children were to ever get in there for whatever reason and um you know I just having that gate on the side could prevent that if I may Mr chairman I've had an opportunity to discuss some additional fencing with my client if the recommendation is that we uh uh consider putting fencing up along the retaining wall we certainly would uh consider that uh and we would accept that as a condition of approval we would ask however that uh it only be uh for about 10 feet or 15 feet uh to accomplish the um as the U board member indicated to to accomplish stopping the visual as well as making it less of an attractive nuisance for someone to try to enter onto our property from that side so noted Mr panula do you have any comments on that uh no I noted that for the record I mean it's a good point by Miss marttin um and I think I'm clear now as as I'm formulating what I need to for this resolution uh Mr mering can confirm uh the intent here is rather obvious the witnesses did a good job for the board um to get control of this site in essence I mean there was a code issue uh we're calling it outdoor storage we're calling it warehousing I understand now a little bit what cers would probably felt about it being a D1 for the warehousing because the structure itself is not changing at all correct we're not touching the structure that's correct it's a beautiful structure or at least it's it shows well in the exhibits um so that's why this is kind of like an extension in an area of the warehousing um which is fine I I think the proofs as I said at the outset uh that the witness the witnesses the professional especially the planner offer are for the D1 so I think you have enough of a record here to substantiate that uh the condition is noted including the coler's review letter which has some other particulars as well including for lighting and and some other things that are part of what Coles would Norm normally expect and I would note that for the record as well the Cooperative effort that'll be expected to fulfill all those conditions as well or obligations as Colliers has noted them um the real handle here was not only the Aesthetics of the products but the parking and the kind of the mishmash and I think Mr uh mcneel laid the foundation for that or where the employees Park so the resolution that I'm envisioning will reference the control of the site as the witnesses have presented it the fencing it's not only Aesthetics it's the flow people not parking on the grass in the front we've seen that in the past it's been noted and in some of the conversations and the questions um we're just trying to get a hold of that so and it sounds like you've done a good job offering an ability to do that I will add for the board too some of the parking deviations are now waivers they're not even variances anymore that ties into the Township's upgrading of the code they're now our site plan details so that's even a less stringent approach that I think the engineer touched on it in terms of existing they used to be variances now they're waivers to to adjust the the distance of the parking so that's something you can fulfill as a waiver and I've noted that for the record as well thank you Mr pensil are there any other board members with questions or comments or concerns hearing none are there any members of the public with questions comments or concerns hearing none Mr Burman would you like to thank you Su up chairman very again very briefly uh we have uh we believe met our burdens of proof uh relative to both the D1 and D2 variances here that is the most significant part of the application as it relates to the board of adjustment the site plan uh as we have proposed it uh that certainly is also within your jurisdiction under the municipal land use law uh and the purpose of this application uh in a lot of Senses is to deal with the site plan itself it is the intent of this applicant to continue to be a good corporate Citizen and to continue uh to grow both here in Union as well as their other locations the granting of this application will go a long way to assist this business uh in surviving in this extremely difficult the eony and we appreciate the opportunity to appear before the board and ask for this relief thank you Mr chairman thank you Mr merman at this time I believe we can conference this uh Mr benava would you like to begin Ben thank you Mr chairman like Mr merman addressed earlier this is an existing business um I think the main concern here with the board is um the sight appearance I uh as long as the applicant abides by adding that gate or fence what whatever you want to call it to Shield the outdoor storage from the street and also follows through with the parking issues in front of the building I see no negative impact on this application I'm going to vote Yes Mr Johnson I agree with my colleague those two items are very important and I think it's going to be an improvement that the site and we welcome that I will also be voting yes Mr Graves I see no negative impact on the community therefore I will be voting yes Miss Marts I agree with my colleagues I will be voting yes as well Mr mcneel I would also agree with my colle colleagues that there will be no detrimental effects in approving uh this application I do want to commend the professionals on on defending uh the application and I do intend to vote Yes Miss rickets I do also agree with my colleagues and I intend to vote Yes and Mr Wy yes Mr chairman I'm going to vote Yes too because I think it's an enhancement to the area as well as long as he complies with the recommendations from this board I have no problem with it I'll vote Yes as for myself uh the proposed application will allow the business to operate in a more efficient manner and will benefit the applicant rather than negatively impact uh the property therefore I will vote Yes also and I just want to commend the uh Witnesses for their testimony you did an excellent job roll call Mr manguso Mr Wy now you need a motion in a second oh I'm sorry I'm I'm sorry I'm getting ahead of myself I should have may I have a motion in a second Mr chairman I'll move that the board to Grant the variants applicable to this application and that council is directed to prepare resol resolution consistent with the board's decision second now Mr manguso roll call sure Mr Wy yes M Martins yes Mr Venta yes Mr Johnson yes Mr mcneel yes Mr Graves yes Mr champy yes February 14th the resolution of approval on a regular meeting night of the board M Valentine's Day too so I better make it pretty short yeah you better make it a short one very short thank you very much for your time we appreciate it it's cold night I'm glad everybody gets to go home before everything freezes over thank you Mr merman may I have a a motion and a second to adjourn Mr chairman there be no further business coming before the board I move that we adjourn second all in favor opposed so moved