Planning Board

MINUTES PLANNING BOARD OF THE BOROUGH OF MADISON SPECIAL MEETING OCTOBER 27, 2016 A special meeting of the Planning Board of the Borough of Madison was held on the 27th day of October 2016 at 7:30 P.M., in the Court Room, Hartley Dodge Memorial, 50 Kings Road, Madison, NJ. The meeting was called to order by Planning Board Chairman, Steve Tombalakian Mr. Tombalakian requested the reading of the Public Meeting Notice. Ms. Boardman read the following statement in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act. “Let the minutes reflect that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided in the following manner: At the reorganization meeting of the Board held on January 5, 2016, the Board by Resolution adopted a schedule of meetings. On January 6, 2016, a copy of the schedule of meetings was posted at the bulletin board at the entrance to the Hartley Dodge Memorial, was sent to the Madison Eagle and the Daily Record, and filed with the Borough Clerk all in accordance with the “Open Public Meetings Act”. The following roll call was recorded: Present: Steve Tombalakian, George Limbach, Jeff Gertler, Mayor Robert Conley arrived at 8:25pm, Astri Baillie, Michael Kopas, Peter Flemming arrived at 7:39pm, and Tom Lewis Excused: John Forte Absent: None Also Present: Frank Russo, Board Engineer Susan Blickstein, Board Planner Vince Loughlin, Planning Board Attorney Frances Boardman, Board Secretary Approval of Minutes: Copies of the minutes of the October 4, 2016 regular meeting were distributed to all Board members for their review prior to this meeting. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Mr. Lewis, seconded by Ms. Baillie. A voice vote of “aye” was heard by all eligible voting members and recorded. Copies of the minutes of the October 4, 2016 Executive Session were distributed to all Board members for their review prior to this meeting. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Mr. Kopas, seconded by Ms. Baillie. A voice vote of “aye” was heard by all eligible voting members and recorded. Comments by the Public: Mr. Tombalakian opened the floor to the public for anyone that wished to be heard on any matter not on this evening’s agenda. Seeing no one he closed that portion of the meeting. RESOLUTIONS FOR MEMORIALIZATION – None NEW BUSINESS – CASE NO. P 16-006 Preliminary and Final Site Plan with Variances Giralda Farms RE, LLC 5 Giralda Farms Block: 3202, Lots: 5 & 8 A transcript of this hearing is being prepared by Toni Acquaro of Veritext. A brief summary was given to the Board by Mr. Nicholas Racioppi, Jr. This application consists of Preliminary and Final Site Plan Approval with variances to add parking for 5 Giralda Farms. The applicant, proposes to construct a new parking garage with 400 spaces and additional surface parking for the existing office building (130 additional surface spaces in two locations) as well as the child care center (20 surface spaces east of the existing circular drive). Related landscaping, lighting and storm-water management improvements are also proposed. Upon completion of the proposed improvements, the site will contain a total of 1,841 total parking spaces, which is an increase of 530 spaces. No expansion of the existing corporate office building is proposed. The application requires variances for impervious coverage, minimum parking space dimensions, minimum driveway width, and required bicycle parking. With the exception of an access easement/driveway connection on Lot 8, all proposed improvements are proposed on Lot 5. 1 Planning Board October 27, 2016 Mr. Joe J. Bergstein, 1 Meadowlands Plaza, Suite 803, Rutherford, New Jersey was sworn in as the first witness. Mr. Bergstein stated that he is President of Lincoln Equities Group who purchased the property 5 Giralda Farms three years ago. In those three years a tenant was sought for the site. Prospective tenants are seeking an increase in employees per square foot, and a need for increased parking. Lincoln Equities feels that the design before the Board this evening is consistent with the goals of Giralda Farms. Mr. Bergstein stated that this project will exceed 100 million dollars in improvements and become the headquarters for Allergan Pharmaceuticals, and it is estimated that 1800 employees will be based at the site. Mr. Lewis asked what the number of employees was for the previous tenant of the site. Mr. Bergstein believes that the number of employees for American Home Products was 1200. Mr. Tombalakian asked the Board and its professionals if they had any further questions of Mr. Bergstein, seeing none he closed that portion of the hearing. He then opened the floor to the public for questions; seeing none that portion of the hearing was closed. Mr. Bryan Waisnor, Langan Engineering, 300 Kimball Drive, Parsippany, was sworn in and accepted as an expert witness. The following exhibits were marked: Exhibit A-1: Site Plan, dated 10/27/2016 prepared by Langan Engineering Exhibit A-2: Overall Site Plan lasted revised date 9/26/2016 prepared by Langan Engineering Exhibit A-3: Site Plan Revision Overlay dated October 27, 2016 prepared by Langan Exhibit A-4: Site Plan North dated October 27, 2016 prepared by Langan Engineering Mr. Waisnor gave a brief summary of the site, stating that the site is located in the PCD-O (Planned Commercial Development Zone) encompassing 50 acres. The site contains an office building structure, a three story parking garage and a childcare center. The applicant is looking to construct a parking garage which will create an additional 394 spaces, 37 proposed parking spaces to the existing visitors parking area and 20 proposed parking spaces at the child care center. Mr. Waisnor advised the Board that no new driveways would be constructed on Dodge Drive or Loantaka Way. Ordinance 49-2016 which was adopted by the Mayor and Council in June of this year was discussed briefly. Mr. Waisnor expressed to the Board that the garage was carefully placed on the site, and will be compatible with the existing office building at that location. There will be extensive screening from Loantaka Way and is double the setback zoning requirement. The enhancements will also include the construction of two bio retention basins and swales as well as installing pervious pavement. Mr. Waisnor went on to explain the revisions to the existing visitors lot, which included the vehicular movement and the narrowed landscaping. Pedestrian movement was a concern and Mr. Waisnor affirmed that this is not a heavily trafficked area. The next area Mr. Waisnor discussed was the child care center. It was pointed out that this child care center is open to the public and not just the employees of the complex. 20 parking spaces are proposed next to the child care center and will be constructed out of porous pavement. The proposed parking spaces will be 8 ½” x 18” in size, which was previously granted by resolution for this site. Lighting will match the existing LED lighting on site. There will be no construction access off of Loantaka Way. Parking lot lights will be on a timer and turn off at 9:00pm however; some lights will be kept on after that time and dimmed for security reasons. Existing parking garage lights are on all evening since there is no exposure to outside lighting. The highlights of the storm-water management report were discussed with the Board. Mr. Waisnor stated that soil erosion measures for this application will be addressed. The four variances that the applicant is seeking include impervious lot coverage, parking stall size, drive aisle width, and bicycle racks. The variances being requested are de minimus in nature and the site contains 58 bicycle rack spaces on site now in the parking garage, which the applicant feels is sufficient at this point. The memorandum from Frank Russo, Assistant Borough Engineer, dated October 4, 2016 was discussed and Mr. Waisnor agreed that all comments/suggestions will be complied with. Since the applicant did not include a landscape plan it was agreed upon that the landscape had a lack of hardwoods and that the applicant will work with Mr. Russo and The Shade Tree Commission to enhance the landscaping to include shade trees. Allergan Pharmaceuticals has a committee looking into shuttle buses from the train station for their employees. It was determined that this information should be provided to the Board after moving into the building (6 months). 2 Planning Board October 27, 2016 Mr. Tombalakian asked the Board and its professionals if they had any further questions of Mr. Waisnor, seeing none he closed that portion of the hearing. He then opened the floor to the public for questions; seeing none that portion of the hearing was closed. The next witness to be sworn in was Mr. Alan Lothian, Langan Engineering, 989 Lennox Drive, Lawrenceville, NJ. Mr. Lothian was accepted as an expert witness and began his testimony. Mr. Lothian discussed at length his traffic assessment report dated August 18, 2016 which was previously distributed to all Board members and Professionals. Mr. Lothian discussed the trip generation numbers for this site at length; and since this site has previously served as the national or world headquarters for corporate tenants with similar personnel amounts it is anticipated that the traffic generated by this new tenant should not adversely affect the nearby road network. The memorandum prepared by Eric Keller, Consulting Traffic Engineer, dated October 4, 2016 was discussed and Mr. Lothian agreed that all comments/suggestions will be complied with. Mr. Tombalakian asked the Board and its professionals if they had any further questions of Mr. Lothian, seeing none he closed that portion of the hearing. He then opened the floor to the public for questions; seeing none that portion of the hearing was closed. Mr. John Gering, HWL International LLP, 122 Main Street, Madison, NJ was sworn in as the next witness. Mr,. Gering gave his qualifications to the Board and was accepted as an expert witness. The following exhibits were marked: Exhibit A-5: Arial View, dated 10/27/2016 Exhibit A-6: Existing Site Photos, dated 10/27/2016 Exhibit A-7: View from Loantaka Way looking North Exhibit A-8: View from Loantaka Way looking West Exhibit A-9: Garage Floor Plans Exhibit A-10: Covered Walkway Exhibit A-11: Enlargement of Building Elevations Exhibit A-12: Building Elevations North & West Exhibit A-13: Enlarged East Elevation Exhibit A-14: Enlarged South Elevation At this time a packet of these exhibits were given to each Board member and professional to follow along during the presentation. Mr. Gering began by giving a detailed description of the property. He explained the steep terrain and the dense vegetation on the site. Mr. Gering showed the Board in Exhibit A-7 that the proposed parking garage will mimic the characteristics of the existing building. Each exhibit was gone over in dept. The garage floor plans show 197 parking spaces on the main level and 197 spaces on the upper level. Two stair towers will be located in the extreme corners. A covered walkway is proposed from the parking structure to the main building. North and South elevations of the parking garage will contain a living green wall. These walls will consist of climbing hydrangeas and will grow from the bottom up. An irrigation system will also be provided. The questions of charging stations were broached and the applicant is in agreement that they will be put in as needed. Mr. Tombalakian asked the Board and its professionals if they had any further questions of Mr. Gering, seeing none he closed that portion of the hearing. He then opened the floor to the public for questions; seeing none that portion of the hearing was closed. Mr. Paul Phillips, 33-41 Newark Street, Hoboken, NJ was sworn in to provide testimony as an expert planner. Mr. Phillips gave his qualifications to the board and was accepted as an expert witness. Mr. Phillips talked briefly about the standards in zoning and the Master Plan revisions that incorporated this site. Mr. Phillips stated that the applicant is looking to provide adequate space for its employees and keep impervious coverage to a minimum. There is no substantial determent to the Public Good or substantial impairment of the intent and purpose of the zoning plan and zoning ordinances. The four variances being sought are minimal and several conditions have been previously approved by resolution for this site. The applicant will address all issues that were stated in the memorandum prepared by Dr. Blickstein dated September 15, 2016 with a revision date of October 4, 2016. Mr. Tombalakian asked the Board and its professionals if they had any further questions of Mr. Gering, seeing none he closed that portion of the hearing. He then opened the floor to the public for questions; seeing none that portion of the hearing was closed. 3 Planning Board October 27, 2016 Mr. Tombalakian opened the floor to any public member wishing to comment on the application, seeing none that portion of the hearing was closed. Mr. Racioppi had no further witnesses this evening. Mr. Racioppi stated that this application before the Board is a collaborate effort by all parties involved and thanked the Board and its Professionals. The Board began their deliberation; the conditions of the resolution were gone over by Mr. Loughlin. Mayor Conley made a motion to approve the request for the Preliminary and Final Site Plan with Variances for 5 Giralda Farm RE, LLC, 5 Giralda Farms, seconded by Ms. Baillie; the following roll call was recorded: “Ayes” – Mayor Conley, Ms. Baillie, Mr. Flemming, Mr. Gertler, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Limbach, Mr. Kopas and Mr. Tombalakian “Nays” – None “Abstain” – None “Excused” – Mr. Forte OLD BUSINESS – None PLANNING DISCUSSION – None CORRESPONDENCE – None Since there was no further business to come before the Board, Mr. Tombalakian made a motion to adjourn the regular meeting at 10:10P.M.; seconded by Mayor Conley. A voice vote of “aye” was heard by all members present and carried. Respectfully submitted, Frances Boardman Board Secretary 4