Following a lengthy public hearing on Tuesday night of an application submitted by Birchas Chaim to construct a child care center on Vine Avenue with a capacity for 572 children, Lakewood Township's Planning Board tabled the application over insufficient parking concerns.
The Board did not address the deed restriction on the property which precludes the developers from seeking variances - which their application does seek.
The site location is on Vine Avenue and Mermaid Avenue, between the existing Birchas Chaim yeshiva building as Mesivta Nezer Hatorah.
The parcel currently contains open space with some wooded areas. The open area on the northwestern portion of the property contains some street trees, vinyl fencing, volleyball nets, and benches.
Application #SP-2576 seeks approval for construction of a two-story daycare building with a basement. The architectural plans depict that all 3 floors will be utilized by the child care center.
Mermaid Avenue is currently paved approximately 100 feet from Vine Avenue. This application proposes to extend Mermaid Avenue an additional 300 feet. Importantly, the developers are seeking a design waiver from extending Mermaid Avenue to Vermont Avenue which the Township is planning to pave and could thus be used as an additional accessway to relieve congestion in this area.
The proposed parking area consists of ninety-seven 97 off-street spaces. Ingress into the site will be provided from 2 proposed driveways located along Vine Avenue and Mermaid Avenue. An exit driveway is proposed on Mermaid Avenue.
The traffic study claims that only 50 staff members will be on site at any one point. However, based on a review of the architectural plans, the Board Engineer has indicated that the State Daycare Standards require 82 off-street parking spaces just for the employees. The Board Engineer is recommending that the Board require additional off-street parking be required and require the extension of Mermaid Avenue to Vermont Avene "to address the proposed turnover for drop-offs and pick-ups," noting that "there does not appear to be a future opportunity for this proposed street connection."
The utility plan is incomplete and does not provide an easement for the existing pump station which will remain onsite.
The application seeks variances for Maximum Building Height and Maximum Wall Signage Area, in addition to design waivers regarding completion of the proposed improvements for the entire length of Mermaid Avenue; from providing street lighting along the proposed Mermaid Avenue extension; from proposing improvements along the Vermont Avenue frontage; from providing street trees along the project frontages; and for providing a proposed driveway with a width less than 20 feet for the ingress located along Vine Avenue.
The Lakewood Fire District has rejected the plans, saying that the property requires a minimum access road width of 20 feet which must be maintained consistently throughout, and that 25 feet must be the minimum inside turning radius for a fire apparatus access road. Accordingly, the Board Engineer is recommending that the Board require the proposed driveway for the ingress located along Vine Avenue to be widened to at least 20 feet.
The Board Engineer has also recommended that the Board deny the requested design waivers from extending Mermaid Avenue to Vermont Avenue as "there does not appear to be a future opportunity for this proposed street connection."
In addition, the Board Engineer is recommending that street trees be proposed along all frontages that will not remain wooded.
Importantly, the Board Engineer is recommending that the Board deny the waiver from providing street lighting along the proposed Mermaid Avenue extension.
The Board Engineer did not take any position as to the requested design waiver from improving Vermont Avenue.
The Board Engineer is also recommending that the proposed building and parking lot be moved southward. This will eliminate conflicts with easements, landscaping, lights, and other proposed site improvements without creating any variances.
Additionally, the Board Engineer is recommending that the proposed building and southwest section of parking lot with the ADA stalls be shifted eastward to align the drive aisles. The developers are opposed to this proposal.
The Board Engineer is further dissatisfied with the number of soil logs which have been provided, as well as with the landscaping plans and the Tree Protection Management Plan.
The Statement of Operations indicates that the proposed regular hours will be 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, with staggered arrivals from 8:15 AM to 9:30 AM and staggered dismissals from 3:00 PM to 5:15 PM.
Neighbors have raised considerable exceptions to the Traffic Study prepared by McDonough & Rea Associates, Inc, which claims that most drops offs and pick ups will be 2-3 children per vehicle.
The traffic study claims that 572 children will only generate 212 vehicular trips.
Importantly, the traffic study did not analyze the impact of traffic to the adjacent intersections of Oak Street and Vine Avenue or Chestnut Street and Vermont Avenue. Nor did it analyze traffic which would be generated by Menachem Gutfreund's proposed child care center further north on Vine Avenue.
An additional concern brought up by the neighborhood is that the Township sold this property with a specific deed restriction that any future development comply with all Township ordinances and standards; whereas this application seeks numerous deviations therefrom.
Of major concern is that the developers of this application attempted to conceal this deed restriction by showing the Planning Board staff a deed restriction for a different property and assuring them "the deed restriction is actually on that other property," when in reality there are deed restrictions on both properties.
The Board did not address the deed restriction issue.
However, the Board did push for additional parking and for paving Mermaid Avenue to Vermont Avenue.
Board member Eli Rennert went so far as to call the traffic study "a bunch of baloney." Attorney Adam Pfeffer responded "our traffic expert is an expert in his field."
Seeing the Board's continued pushback against the application, Mr. Pfeffer requested to carry the application to September 24 to give them a chance to revise the plans to address the Board's concerns.
This massive site plan further highlights why, as previously reported here on FAA News, the Township Committee's cheerful vacation of Grand Avenue was an absolutely awful idea.
Once the northern portion of Vermont Avenue is paved, Grand Avenue could have provided an additional connection between Vine Avenue and Vermont Avenue, further easing congestion in this area.
Despite being asked this question by numerous neighbors, the Township Committee simply didn't see any reason to maintain this grid.
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