Plannng Board

City of Trenton Planning Board Conference and Public Hearing Thursday, November 21, 2022 Via Microsoft Teams or phone: 609-436-9298 The Conference ID is 412 046 968# Members in Attendance: Dan Fatton, Chair Randy Baum Jamie Carpenter Markus Green Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed Charles Romanow Members Not in Attendance: John McBride, Vice Chair Jeff Halpern Joe Harrison Anthony Santora 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 11/21/22) 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 Mr. Fatton called to order and a quorum was verified. The following vote took place: Amend the minutes of 9/8/22 with Mr. Fatton’s emailed amendments. Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Dan Fatton, Chair X X Randy Baum X X Jamie Carpenter X Markus Green X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X Charles Romanow X Mr. Wilkerson announced that a round of RFPs for the Board’s consultants were released and a selection committee is being assembled to review the responses. Mr. Romanow & Mr. Green volunteered to partner with the Zoning Board volunteers to form the committee. Item #1 22-P-461NY: 461 New York Avenue - TRENTON NJ Applicant/Owner seeks preliminary and final major site plan, and (c) bulk variance for front yard setback and driveway setback to redevelop a commercial/office building into a medical marijuana dispensary. The site is split between Industrial A (IA) Mixed-Use (MU) Zoning Districts; The site is partially in the New York Avenue redevelopment area with a zoning of Industrial A (IA); Location 461 New York Avenue; City Tax Map: Block(s) 25001, Lot(s) 2; Applicant: Theory Wellness of NJ, LLC, 38 Montvale Avenue, Stoneham, MA 02180. Mr. Joeseph A. Paparo, Esq. introduced the project. He noted that the rear of the building will remain unimproved and unutilized for this application. He stated that he has been working with the City and has received the State approval for this project. The City has provided a letter of support for the project. This is a repurposing of an existing building with some existing conditions that need waivers. Mr. Leonard Savino was sworn in and presented his credentials to be accepted as an expert before this Board. Referencing his exhibit he described the existing conditions. He described that the existing driveway will be moved further from the street but still will not meet requirements of 100 feet from the roadway. The 15 parking spaces exceed what is required and does include an ADA compliant parking space. They are requesting relief for the size of the parking stalls as what is provided is smaller than required. The Applicant will provide bicycle parking, where none is required. There is a proposed new location for the trash collection and a new location of 2 the HVAC equipment. Entry and exit will be off of New York Avenue. One of the depressed curb entrances on New York Avenue will be eliminated because of its close proximity to the adjacent street. There are 2 free standing signs proposed; 1 close to New York Avenue and another close to the entrance. They will be internally lit and meet minimum requirements for height and distance from the ground. The existing chain-link fence towards the front of the building will be replaced with a shadow box fence. The additional perimeter chain-link along Phillips will remain but have the razor wire removed. Deliveries larger than a delivery van are not anticipated at this location. Referencing the building lighting plan, Mr. Paparo described the lighting plan indicating that the lights will be mounted on the building and some will be shielded to prevent too much spill on adjacent properties. Referencing the landscape plan Mr. Paparo described the proposed planting locations and the shrubbery, grasses, and perennials proposed. The front yard currently has no landscaping but this project will add landscaping. The Applicant is not proposing any street trees to be consistent with what is in the area. 12% of the parking area will be landscaped. Referencing the grading and drainage plan Mr. Paparo described the existing utilities. There is no utility plan as there are no proposed improvements. He clarified that the regulations do not currently require a stormwater management plan but there will be an improvement of the flow of drainage to moving it underground instead of across the sidewalk. This will reduce icing and dangerous walking conditions on the sidewalk and into the parking lot. The Applicant responded in writing to the comments of the Board’s professionals and have received comments to those replies. Mr. Brandon Pollock, CEO of Theory Wellness, the applicant before the Board. He provided an overview of the organization. This company started in 2015 in Massachusetts and are also operating in the State of Maine. They operate 8 dispensaries and this will be the first in New Jersey. He described the safety and security measures that are present onsite and the process the patients will go through to get a prescription filled. Their security system and surveillance systems are linked to the Trenton Police Department and they can review things in real time. He anticipates hiring between 8-12 employees. All product is produced in New Jersey as transporting cannabis across state lines is not allowed given the conflict between Federal and State laws. He described that the product arrives pre-packaged and has no odor. Mr. Keith Bettencourt was sworn in and presented his credentials to be accepted as an expert before this Board in Architecture. Referencing a Floor Plan he described the layout of the building and the customer flow that is planned from time of entry. The dispensary area is a set up to be a shopping experience that will include a tree in the center. There will be a secure vault for storage and a place for truck deliveries without the truck being able to pull into the building. Referencing the Side Elevation plans he described the limited changes to the external portion of the building including bay doors, black metal canopy, 3 and an applied synthetic stucco. This Architect says that there are no issues with complying with the conditions stipulated by the Board’s professionals. Ms. Rachel Fifield was sworn in and presented her credentials to be accepted as an expert before this Board as a Professional Planner. She provided testimony that the existing condition of a 20 ft. setback required where 10.6 ft. exists and is planned to continue. Proposed parking spaces of 9.18ft where the City requires 9.20 ft. The 2 ft. hangover is not available to the ADA parking space. The 9.18 ft. spaces are common and are consistent with the RSIS. She noted that the previously mentioned driveway requirement of 100 ft. where 77.2 ft exists will be improved to 86 ft. but will still fall short of the requirement. To meet this requirement would prohibit traffic circulation. This is a small parking lot and there is not space for street trees, thus none are propose. Grasses and shrubs are proposed instead. 1 footcandle is allowed at the property line but 2-3 are proposed for safety and security. Variances would be required for all allowances described. She reviewed the criteria of how the proposed variances are not detrimental to the area or the neighborhood and the positive impact they can have. Mr. Pollack reported that there will be a “…robust training program” for the staff, as the industry is new and this job is known to be a highly skilled customer service job and previous experience is not necessarily assumed. If this dispensary wanted to vend recreational cannabis as well as its medical cannabis a new license would not be required. However, if they were to vend solely recreational cannabis then additional permissions and licenses would need to be granted by the local commission. There are low overhead wires on the frontage of the building and this is why street trees are not currently planned. Mr. Baum noted that there are street trees up and down New York Avenue by Helene Fuld there are street trees planted 20ft on center. The parking lot is planned to remain asphalt and gravel that is there as it is not intended to be part of the functioning parking lot. It was noted that on Phillips and Fuld there are opportunities to plant street trees and the Applicant indicated that they would consider this. The sidewalk that is in disrepair towards the rear of the building is not proposed to be improved because the focus is on New York Avenue improvements. A cleanout will be added and located at the corner. Mr. Dan Disario, Traffic Consultant, presented his credentials and was accepted as an expert before this Board. Regarding overflow of parking, Ms. Disario testified that for overflow parking, on-street parking is allowed on either side of the street. Because this dispensary is solely for medical use there won’t be as intense customer traffic compared to other dispensaries in the area. Mr. Michael Kolber, City’s Senior Planner, was sworn In to gain clarity on the planned off- white exterior. The Applicant indicated that it is anticipated that because the building will be off-white it will maintain well. 4 Mr. Kolber noted that the City does support this Application but does not agree that the sidewalks should remain unimproved. Additionally the City does have concerns about the long-term plans to address the part of the building that does not have plans for improvement. They also do not support the variance for the landscaping required. Mr. Fatton asked if anyone from the Public wanted to speak for or against the is project. Mr. Matthew Katzenback was sworn in to ask why the entire property was not to be improved. The Board calculated 19 street trees should be able to fit into this project given the 475ft. of frontage. Mr. Fatton asked if there was anyone else who wanted to speak for or against the project. With no answer from the gallery the following vote was set forth: Approve Preliminary and Final Site Plan, submit a landscaping plan to the City by the Board’s Engineer and Planner, plant 19 Street Trees 2 ½”-3” caliper installed along frontage, improve and/or install a sidewalk along the entire perimeter or the building, along with variances and waivers requested. The Applicant to work with the City on the plan to install the sidewalk in the places that it needs to be improved or installed if there is none, in a way that won’t delay the project. Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Dan Fatton, Chair X Randy Baum X X Jamie Carpenter X X Markus Green X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X Charles Romanow X Adjourned at 8:14pm. Respectfully submitted Cherry Oakley, Planning Board Secretary 5