Plannng Board

City of Trenton Planning Board Conference and Public Hearing Thursday, October 27, 2022 Via Microsoft Teams or phone: 609-436-9298 The Conference ID is 412 046 968# Members in Attendance: Jeff Halpern, Interim Chair Randy Baum Jamie Carpenter Joe Harrison Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed Charles Romanow Anthony Santora Members Not in Attendance: Dan Fatton, Chair John McBride, Vice Chair Markus Green Wanda Swiggett Staff in Attendance: Jeffrey Wilkerson, Supervising Planner Michael Kolber, Senior Planner George McGill, Planning Board Attorney Cherry Oakley, Planning Board Secretary PUBLIC HEARING Current Planning Board Membership (as of 10/27/22) Class Term Ending Date Board Member I (Mayor’s Representative) Mayor’s Term Markus Green II (City Employee) 12/31/22 Anthony Santora III (City Council 12/31/22 Joe Harrison Representative) IV (City Resident) 12/31/22 Patricia Ni’ma- Mohammed IV (City Resident) 12/31/23 Randy Baum IV (City Resident) 12/31/25 Jeff Halpern IV (City Resident) 12/31/23 Dan Fatton IV (City Resident) 12/31/25 Jamie Carpenter IV (City Resident) 12/31/22 John McBride ALTERNATES IV (City Resident) 12/31/23 Wanda Swiggett IV (City Resident) 12/31/22 Charles Romanow 1 A quorum was verified and the meeting was called to order at 6:05pm by Mr. Hall. A motion was made to elect a Chair for this evening’s Public Hearing. Mr. Baum made the motion for Mr. Halpern to be elected Interim Chair for the evening and Mr. Santora seconded the motion. All were in favor. Approval to Memorialize Resolution for 208 Phillips Ave 527 #22P208 PH Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Jeff Halpern X Randy Baum X Jamie Carpenter X X Joe Harrison X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X X Approval of the Minutes of 9/8/22 Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Jeff Halpern X Randy Baum X Jamie Carpenter X Joe Harrison X X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X X Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X Mr. Kolber made the announcement that there is an in-person public engagement session to be held at Thomas Edison State College related to the resilience and sustainability of Trenton. Registration is required as it is planned to be an interactive session.https://www.eventbrite.com/e/trenton-climate-change-vulnerability-meeting- tickets-421549334407 Case was called at 6:15pm PUBLIC HEARING: Item #1 22-P-501CA: 501 and 513 Calhoun Street- TRENTON NJ Applicant/Owner seeks preliminary and final major site plan, preliminary and final major subdivision and (c) bulk variance for side-yard setback, to convert an existing warehouse into a child care center. A playground will be constructed in the lot across the street. The site is split between Industrial A (IA) Residential B (RB) Zoning Districts; The site is in the Canal Banks redevelopment area with a zoning of Residential/Commercial (R/C); Location 2 501 and 513 Calhoun Street; City Tax Map: Block(s) 4502, Lot(s) 28, 29, & 30, Block(s) 4501 Lot(s) 21; Applicant: Ezra Resources LLC, 25 Pannick Drive, Hamilton, 08610. Marsha M. Moore, Esq. introduced the project under consideration tonight. Mr. James Whittaker was sworn in, presented his credentials, and was accepted as an expert before this Board. He described the ADA accessibility design features and the egress that will be created towards the back of the building so there will be two ways of egress for the building. The building lights will be mounted on the building and wash down the building. They will be on a timer so they will turn off at certain pre-programmed hours. They will also be motion activated. Referencing Exhibit A-1 The Floor Plan of the Building (revision date of 2/21/22). There will be 6 classrooms proposed to support 46 students maximum. There will be a large community room in the very rear of the building that will be used for a play area during inclement weather. The warehouse that is currently there will continue to be used as such so that things for the non-profit can be stored. The building façade will remain as it is in good shape. There has not been any plans for signage provided. There is planned a simple sign placed over the entryway. There will be overhead down lights that illuminate the face of the sign. Trash collection will be stored in the basement and then removed from the building through Bilco doors on the side of the building. Ms. Katherine Nunnaley, Co-Owner of the Company, was sworn in and indicated that she is responsible for fundraising and daily operations of the childcare center. She reviewed her 17 years of experience in this area. The childcare center will be called The Baby Pearl Daycare Center, named after the matriarch of her family. She reviewed what the curriculum and services of the center will focus on. 7:30a to 6:00pm are the planned hours of operation for ages 3 and 4 years of age. This area was chosen as there are not pre-schools located in this area serving the local children. Her family are 5th generation Trentonians and have partnered with the Smith Family Foundation to invest in Trenton by rehabbing buildings and providing services that are not readily available but are needed. There will be 7 full-time employees planned as per State requirements. There will be bus transportation. There is no off-street parking at the building so staff will need to park on the street. There was an environmental assessment and recommendations on how to make it safe. 100 years ago it was an automobile shop. The driveway located on the premises will be for box truck deliveries. Mr. Joseph Mester was sworn in and presented his credentials and was accepted as an expert before this Board. He reviewed the setbacks required and what will be provided as per the plans already submitted. There will be no changes to the consolidated lots on the westerly side but there will be changes to the easterly side. There is a proposed fence and some additional trees proposed. There is a stone parking area that will remain stone. The Board proposed to reduce the spacing of the trees to 25ft. on center and should be planted closer to the curb rather than at the fence line so that problems in the years to come are avoided. The Board requested placement of additional street trees on Wilson 3 Street since there are no overhead utilities to interfere with their growth. Also explore the addition of street trees along Calhoun and place them if they will not interfere with the overhead utilities. The Applicant plans to comply with all comments received from the Board’s professionals. Ms. Moore reviewed the dated memos from the Board’s professionals and had them entered as Exhibits A-4, A-5, A-6, and A-7. The Engineering report was last revised on 8/7/22 and there were 5 sheets. The Traffic Impact Report was verified. Ms. Elizabeth Dolan, Traffic Engineer, was sworn in and presented her credentials and was accepted as an expert before this Board. She presented the process she used to determine the traffic patterns in the area to determine peak hours and how that will impact the daycare center. She described how they will structure the traffic for the bus to come into Wilson and drop off on Calhoun. She described that there were only 4 parking spaces needed if all employees drive to work and 3 of those spaces can be provided across the street from the Center. There is a conflict in the Board’s professionals’ opinions. The Brightview memo indicates that there should be 9 parking spaces and Taylor Design Group indicates that no parking spaces are required. A parking variance will be needed. Mr. Matthew Flynn was sworn in, presented his credentials, and was accepted as an expert before this Board. He reviewed the variances being sought. He noted that via state statute all daycare centers are allowed as a presumptive beneficial use in all zones. This is an adaptive reuse project and there is a parking variance, and 3 minor ‘C’ variances being sought for side yard setbacks. He noted that the existing conditions for coverage and setback are unchanging. He noted that there will be 2 new canopies suspended off of the building to protect the doors from inclement weather but there will be no structural supports going into the sidewalk’s walkway. Ms. Dolan indicated that there appears to be on-street parking available within walking distance of the daycare. Mr. Kolber, Senior Planner with the City of Trenton, was sworn in and asked about the buffering for the neighboring businesses and playground. Bike racks were not planned for because it is not anticipated that any one will be riding a bike to the site. The Board may wish to consider an upgraded type of fencing and he recommended that the Taylor Design Group’s recommendation that no parking is required is what the City would suggest the Board defer to as this municipal land use law does conflict with the City’s ordinances and parking in this area is not necessary. Land Use code 565ITE is what has been used for calculations, however that code does not have calculations for urban areas. The trip generation calculation would not increase like it would in a suburban site because the children will be bussed. The Applicant will work with the County, who has jurisdiction to mark and stripe the area for traffic navigation as they have jurisdiction. There was not a circulation plan because there will not be any circulation happening on the site. The bus will pull in front of the building to drop off and pick up the children. Mr. Halpern asked if there was anyone here from the Public who wanted to speak for or against this project. Mr. Elijah Dixon, a resident in the area, was sworn in and testified 4 that this project was needed. He is the father of a 13-month old and he and his friends have been speaking about the need for this day care center. Approve the preliminary and final major subdivision Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Jeff Halpern X Randy Baum X Jamie Carpenter X Joe Harrison X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X X Charles Romanow X X Anthony Santora X Approve the preliminary and final site plan with all conditions and comments Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Jeff Halpern X Randy Baum X Jamie Carpenter X Joe Harrison X X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X X Approve 2 C-variance on lot coverage Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Jeff Halpern X Randy Baum X Jamie Carpenter X Joe Harrison X X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X X Approve variance on intrusion into the public right of way Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Jeff Halpern X Randy Baum X Jamie Carpenter X Joe Harrison X X 5  Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X X Item #2 22-P-151NB: 151 and 153 North Broad Street - TRENTON NJ Applicant/Owner seeks preliminary and final major site plan, preliminary and final major subdivision, (c) bulk variance for front-yard setback, rear-yard setback, and maximum lot coverage, parking variance, and sign variance, to convert an vacant 4-story commercial building and an adjoining vacant lot into mixed use educational space and touch museum. A cafeteria will be included in the basement. A one-story addition will be built on the currently vacant lot. The site is in the Business A Zoning District and the Canal Banks redevelopment area; Location 151 and 153 North Broad Street; City Tax Map: Block(s) 401, Lot(s) 11 & 12; Applicant: Nicole Ali Group, c/o Katherine Nunnally, 5 Tara Way, Pennington, NJ 08534. Ms. Marsha M. Moore introduced the project, which is a the state-of-the-art museum for children ages 8 through 14. She marked the Board’s professional’s reports as Exhibits A-1 through A-4. The phase I environmental assessment report 12-27-2021 was marked as Exhibit A-9. Ms. Katherine Nunnally was reaffirmed as sworn in and she stated that she is an owner of the property. She described what was proposed for the site, a S.T.E.A.M. touch museum for children centered around Trenton’s history. She indicated that she hopes this will make Trenton a destination point for young people to come and learn about the historical impact of Trenton. There will be 12 employees hired over the next 3 years. There will be no on- site parking with this project. They are in conversation with the Trenton Parking Authority to organize parking spaces and vouchers for the employees and pre-paid parking for visitors. There will be no meals onsite, but people can bring their lunch and store it onsite. Local restaurants will be able to cater in this location. There was an environmental assessment completed and no issues were found. Mr. Laurence Johnson, Architect, was sworn in, presented his credentials, and was accepted as an expert before this Board. Referencing Exhibit A-10 Floor Plan, he described the layout of the building. The architectural context will be cleaned and enhanced to emphasize what is there. Referencing Exhibit A-11 and A-12 he showed the elevations and described the design of the building and what can viewed from the various elevations. The only lighting that will be on during the evening is the egress lighting and the sidewalk lighting. The signage will be similar to the marquee signage in the area. It will be attached to the side of the building. 6 Mr. Joseph Mester reviewed the pages of plans provided to the Board and reviewed the comments pertaining to engineering. He reviewed the lots that required a variance for existing conditions. There is a bike rack proposed for placement in the front. There is no proof that there is any storm sewer present on North Broad Street so discussion with engineering is needed to determine what will be required. He described potential storm drainage with gutters but nothing is determined until the discussion can be completed. There will be a fence added to the engineering plans. Buses will use the rear entrance to drop children off at the museum. If required there will be a description for the easement used in the plans. The structural underpinnings of the addition that will be built and will require design and architectural drawings and it has not been developed because the Applicant was not able to access the building because it was boarded up. The Applicant indicated that it would be developed upon approval. Mr. Kolber indicated that the City has decided that this application is complete and can be reviewed. This 1-story building is not large enough to meet the State requirements to provide a stormwater plan. The only thing required is affirmation that this project will not cause further stormwater issues. The Applicant agrees to comply with all stormwater conditions. Ms. Elizabeth Dolan was affirmed as sworn in and provided testimony of the traffic activity in the area. It is believed that there would be a parking variance required for this project and Ms. Dolan described why it would be needed. School trips in large groups with reservations would come in through the back and small groups and individuals would enter in the front of the building. Mr. John McDonough was sworn in, presented his credentials, and was accepted as an expert Planner before this Board. He described the planning analysis that was conducted and he described the context in which the project will be constructed. He described the bulk and sign deviations for the project. He described the size of the sign and the integration with the architectural framework. Ms. Katrina Fenner of Brightview Engineering, was sworn in and clarified about the parking availability and how emergency personnel will service the building. The Applicant indicated that they are willing to install whatever the recommended number of bike racks might be, they just need a recommendation. Because this was submitted prior to the adoption of the Complete Streets Ordinance that encourages bike racks this project does not require bike racks but if the Applicant is willing to install them, 10 were suggested. The Applicant is willing to look at incorporating green infrastructure into the roof area as a teaching project for visiting students. Mr. Halpern asked if there was anyone from the Public who wanted to speak for or against this project. Rev. John Taylor was sworn in and indicated that he appreciated the vision for the future. He indicated that he is ecstatic that this family is investing in the City and is empowering young people to learn and be connected to the historic downtown area. 7 Mr. Elijah Dixon was affirmed a sworn in and he indicated that he lives a 1-minute walk from this project and he described the hope that he has for the impact of this project and the catalytic impact it can have on the downtown. “This is will give the children something positive and productive to do and at the same time remediates blight.” Mr. Jay Sababu was sworn in and he stated that he was in full support of this project and that it will be instrumental in bringing downtown Trenton back to life. Approve preliminary and major subdivision Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Jeff Halpern X Randy Baum X Jamie Carpenter X Joe Harrison X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X X Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X X Approve preliminary and final site plan inclusive of all conditions Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Jeff Halpern X Randy Baum X Jamie Carpenter X Joe Harrison X X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X X Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X Approve of bulk variance for front yard setback, rear yard setback, and maximum lot coverage Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Jeff Halpern X Randy Baum X Jamie Carpenter X X Joe Harrison X X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X 8 Approve for sign being over the maximum allowed Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Jeff Halpern X Randy Baum X Jamie Carpenter X Joe Harrison X X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X X Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X Approve parking variance Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Jeff Halpern X Randy Baum X Jamie Carpenter X Joe Harrison X X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X X Approve for the height requirement Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Jeff Halpern X Randy Baum X Jamie Carpenter X Joe Harrison X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X X Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X X Hearing ended at 10:20pm Respectfully submitted Cherry Oakley, Planning Board Secretary 9