Board raises concerns over development plan

The East Brunswick Planning Board is inching closer to a decision on a developer’s request to remove the age-restriction caveat from a senior housing development.

The applicant for the plan, Arisa Realty Inc., hopes to transition its 90 apartment-style units on Main Street from age-restricted to non-agerestricted housing. At the Aug. 18 meeting of the Planning Board, representatives of the applicant provided their latest round of testimony that would support such a conversion.

The developer is the first in East Brunswick to try to take advantage of a new state law that allows for such conversions. The requirements for converting to a non-age-restricted development hold that the developer has not accepted any deposits for and has not transferred any units within a particular development. The law also requires builders to set aside 20 percent of the units for affordable housing.

Arisa submitted an application last summer seeking to drop the age restrictions on the 90 apartments. It would, however, maintain the age restrictions on 63 single-family homes that are also planned for the site.

The 30.5-acre property at 85 Main St., near the Spotswood border, was formerly home to the Gist Brocades Yeast Production plant. The factory, which was once owned by Anheuser-Busch and manufactured yeast for beer, closed in 1997 and was demolished in 2002. The Township Council changed the zoning on the property in 2002 to enable senior housing.

Arisa received Planning Board approval in 2004 for the residential development, and in 2009 was also given approval for a 13,500- square-foot, one-story commercial building on the same property. This includes a nearly 4,000- square-foot bank with a drive-through.

Before testimony began Aug. 18, Planning Board members raised questions about their ability to make a decision on the application, considering current litigation over unpaid taxes.

According to the applicant’s attorney, Kenneth Pape, Arisa has not paid taxes since the first quarter of 2009, and has become subject to a tax court appeal. Both Pape and Planning Board Attorney Lawrence Sachs said the board could still make a decision on the application, but it cannot pass a resolution until the problem has been resolved.

Following that clarification, engineer Thomas McGrath, representing Arisa, outlined minor changes to the site plan.

McGrath said that since the May 26 hearing, the layout of the buildings and the main driveway has been altered in order to “eliminate confusion for the residents.” He said the development has become more aesthetically pleasing due to the elimination of a visual break between the buildings. However, by making such changes, some buildings are not in compliance with setback requirements.

Traffic engineer Maurice Rached also testified, maintaining that the site would have little impact on traffic and would continue to be safe for pedestrians despite concerns from board members.

“We’ve done a lot of work over the past four weeks, and your professionals have raised a lot of issues with safety and operation,” Rached said. “But I assure you that the plan before you is a better plan.”

Rached spoke about the increased volume of traffic and provided data regarding the increase. In discussing a review by Planning Board engineer Jim Watson, Rached said that although a sizable queue of vehicles will form southbound on Old Stage Road, it would not be extensive enough to impact Route 18 or Bowne-Munro Elementary School on Main Street.

He also noted that the applicant would be redesigning and reconstructing the intersection of Old Stage Road, Main Street and the impending application’s driveway, equipping the traffic signal with vehicle detection capabilities that will help move traffic along.

“The signal will have a much more efficient

“The signal will have a much more efficient operation,” Rached said.

However, many board members were concerned that the traffic study was not conducted during a time when school was in session, and believed the combined traffic would have more of an impact on the roads when school and afterschool activities let out.

Board members were also concerned about a potential increase in business at the Gasland service station, which some believe is not equipped to deal with an influx of vehicles.

“The gas station will double in business,” board member Richard Klein said. “I think that’s something to be concerned about. Those additional cars are not in the calculations, and all of the vehicles from the gas station now exit on Old Stage Road and Main Street.”

However, Pape emphasized that the applicant is not required to account for the traffic increase. Since the application was already approved, he said, the conversion statute assumes that the roads could safely handle any additional traffic.

Despite this point, the applicant agreed to conduct another traffic study during September, so that the full traffic impact of the school and the gas station could be monitored.

Some board members were also concerned that the only pedestrian crosswalk would be at the traffic light at Old Stage Road and Main Street.

Board member Laurence Braverman said there were no pedestrian walkways from Garfield Avenue to Taft Place, and suggested that additional crosswalks be considered, especially with the school in close proximity.

But Rached said that such crosswalks are known as “uncontrolled crosswalks,” and they would not be as safe as putting in a walkway at a traffic signal.

“When you allow such crossings, you can’t guarantee that no one else will start crossing at different points in different directions,” he said. “We’d be giving pedestrians a false sense of security.”

Braverman persisted, and Rached said that while he does not recommend such an addition, he would be willing to discuss it further with the applicant.

Watson agreed.

“I would encourage pedestrian traffic to stay on the property development side until the intersection,” he said. “I doubt the county would allow an unregulated crosswalk at Taft Place or any other street without a signal.”

Following Rached’s testimony, a West Virginia rail safety expert was brought in to speak about the site’s planned railroad crossing. Currently, the railroad crossing is not in compliance with national and state standards, and is considered unsafe, Rached said.

Rached noted that the applicant has been in contact with Conrail, and the railroad company has drafted an agreement with Arisa specifying a variety of conditions. He said that, if approved, the developer would be revamping the crossing and outfitting it with signage, pavement markers and an active signal system.

“The intersection will be one of the safest available since we are putting in newly designed signals and the best safety equipment,” Rached said.

Expert Danny Gilbert elaborated on the railroad crossing and its safety. He said the last person injured at the crossing was a 38- year-old male in 2007, and that the crossing would be safe for those who would reside in the apartment complex.

“The conclusion that came up was that there could be a crossing and it would be safe, based upon the low train volume and the low speed at which each train travels,” Gilbert said.

He also noted that the traffic would be relatively low — 800 vehicles in and out per day — compared to most crossings he has studied, which produce 3,000 to 4,000 vehicles per day.

Gilbert advised that if the site is approved, township police should patrol the area and educate residents on the dangers of trespassing. But board members were concerned that the precautions would not be enough.

“No disrespect to the railroad expert, but this railroad is already here and something new is coming in that wasn’t here before,” board member Jay Weiner said, suggesting crossing guards or extra fencing. “Children, in all likelihood, would be walkers to school and would have to cross the tracks. There’s no way to prevent children from entering the track area.”

Gilbert said it would be unlikely that any injuries or fatalities would occur at the crossing.

“There’s a much greater danger with all highway traffic than railroad traffic. I feel it is reliably safe, and of course any type of additional safeguards would help, but I think what will really make an impact is if children are taken aside and explained the dangers,” Gilbert said. “That would help more than crossing guards and fences. Anything could happen, but with the right engineering, education and police presence, I think it could be completely safe.”

Arisa Realty is scheduled to return to the board Sept. 29.

Similar proposals to remove age restrictions as per the state statute have been popping up around the county. Since late last year, applications have been brought before land use boards in Helmetta, Old Bridge and Sayreville, all of which denied the requests. Kaplan Cos., the firm seeking conversions in Sayreville and Helmetta, has appealed both towns’ decisions. The court has ruled in its favor in Sayreville, but decided against the builder in the Helmetta case.