Planning Board - Regular Meeting

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e e e welcome to the February 26th Township of Springfield planning board special meeting adequate notice has been given accordance with the sunshine laws notice was published on February 13th in the local source which is one of the official newspapers of the township of Springfield for the year 2025 and also posted on the Annex Building on February 14th which was Valentine's Day let's do a salute to the flag I pledge allegiance to the flag

United States of America United States of America to which it stands one nation under indivisible liy andice Alex you win the award for the best pledge thank you Miss law can we please have a roll call uh mayor Rich Huber is having some technical difficulties I don't think he's on yet um Committee in Alex Kaiser present Mr David Barnett here miss Marissa rerio I think she's gonna be a little late Mr Aaron laugher here Mr Richard cederquist here miss Julie too Mr Scott wishner here Vice chair Sharon Castle here and chairman Jeff tiger yes I'm here perfect sweet all right so we have everyone so so the board is aware we have a special meeting Ross doors has asked for a special meeting to for a conditional use change of tendency for minor side Plan B variants they paid all the fees for um a special meeting which is which is important um the way because we're going to be on Zoom this time if anyone has any questions we're just going to wait until the till we break and then we'll go in the order that Jen called the so mayor Huber uh Alex Alex David will go in that order so that way everyone knows order we're going in just so we can be efficient and go through it so let's bring in Ross stores uh real boards edification um this is next to Aldi Foods they're putting in a raw stores it's for really the issue there before us is because it's really the TR compactor with a bulk variants we'll kind of spend a little bit of time working through that but one of the things I wanted to point out when we gave Aldi the approval there was a long list of conditions and things on the site that needed to be done um some of

those things have been done some of those things could not be done because of winter and some of those things just weren't done so one of the things that we I asked Mr disco to go through is he did an inspection of the site which he sent Emil there's a long list of stuff so if the board acts favorably all those things would need to be done prior to them getting a CM if if the board acts favorably so just to be aware so let's bring up Council so we can quickly uh go through this application of who he should be joining as a panelist momentarily it's Dustin class yeah and uh mayor Huber is joining by phone so okay so then let's give it a second till he's on so that way he's able to vote on this we also need to admit Mark samaro I'm here okay so let the record reflect that mayor Hubert joined at 5:37 PM before any testimony the application so he's fully eligible to vote got it okay so Mr glass if you don't mind turning on your camera and Mr if you could turn as well so we can actually see you as a as a part of this which is great Mr samaro is gonna be the one that needs to be admitted he'll be the one leading uh leading the presentation great so I quickly gave an overview of what the application is going into Aldi so spend a little time kind of explaining about the variance and your engineer and your planner that would be great short and sweet and then we can kind of the board can ask some questions for some reason my camera is not going on Mr chairman be with just one second please yes you know so while you're while you're doing that let Mr disco give an overview of what what he sees are the key issues to reiterate from my standpoint so Mr disco while we're

fixing getting I don't know why that's not going on sure I I'll just some State some obvious facts here I mean the Ross store is a permitted use in second tenant space on the multi-tenant building Aldi as you board members may recall recall was approved they are open for business uh they are on the left side of the Builder building if you're see it and raw stores would be the right uh closest to Hillside Avenue uh so it's a permitted use they're not making any exterior changes except for a addition of a trash compactor which would be on the hill Side Avenue side of the building towards the rear of the building the result of that is that uh a island Corner island of the parking lot has to be removed a one tree removed and they lose a couple of parking spaces I believe four in total they then um do some restriping uh to have truck and all V vehicular traffic make that safe uh turning Movement by the trash compactor and that's essentially the proposed uh changes to to the site uh at the Chairman's request we did go to the site and look at what the current condition is and what would need to be done as well as in our review memo to kind of summarize where the Aldi project was they are on a TCO because of weather they couldn't do some things obviously um as the weather changes probably over the next month they would be able to finalize some of their stuff some striping some pavement restoration and um we had received a letter from Wayne Wright realy Evan

Slater's company the property owner uh about the Ada crosswalk for for uh raw stores hairpin striping to the spring uh storm order maintenance management plan was submitted and um there was going to be some signage on the Aldi side for uh the the the traditional pickup type of operation where the uh vehicle operator waits in the car and gets it delivered or walks in and leaves that was just transposed to uh traffic markings on the pavement without the signs so they're operational and I can go through the list of site things Mr chairman or I see the applicant seems to be on so you may want to shift back to that let's let's go to the applicant let's go through some of the testimony on the location the varant we need it and then we'll go through so go ahead Mr glass uh okay so okay so chairman it's Mark Su morero okay uh and I'm I'm on my uh partner's computer because for one reason or the other my camera wasn't working so I apologize um I'd like to start start by thanking you and the board for granting us a special hearing uh here this evening um I represent raw stores Inc as you had indicated that's eight and 701 I agree what Mr disco had uh indicated with respect to the uh the the project um we have a number of witnesses here this evening and I know that I don't want to belabor things I have a representative from rust Doors Inc to discuss their operations uh I have uh the architect uh to uh discuss uh the floor plans and elevations which actually overlap with respect to uh the

signage uh we have a sign company representative and then our engineer uh Mr lanzafama who is also uh our planner for this evening um so uh with your permission uh I would go in that order uh this is a five variant application uh one variance is for the compactor as indicated the remaining variances all relate to signage uh three of them relate to permanent signage and one relates to Temporary signage did uh did let me let me Mr Devar did they did you review the notice did it mention for signs or yes it it did it did and and it was also part of um I know it was part of also the review from uh Mr disco as well because he submitted okay perfect go ahead just want to make sure okay uh thank you Mr chairman I my first witness I'd like to call Harold nrom could be let in he's joining now okay and he's from Ross stores correct correct so short and sweet I mean it's a it's a conditional use permitted use so unless we know they're going to sell clothes but correct maybe kind kind of the hour how it's going to conflict with ald or anything like that but short and sweet so go ahead fair enough uh Mr nrom

are you present I am okay would you like yeah yeah yeah I'm sorry um uh Mr nrom could you raise your right hand please y you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes okay and could you uh I know that it's written out but could you please state your name for the record and spell your last name Harold nrom NE w s r oom all right thank you uh Council thank you thank you uh good evening uh Harold I just have a couple of questions that I want to ask you uh swiftly uh regarding uh Your Role uh with respect to this project uh could you please advise the board who you currently work for I work for Ross dress for list okay and that's a clothing retail store it is okay and what position do you hold I'm a senior construction project manager and how long have you been employed with them about two and a half years okay uh how many stores approximately does Ross have uh 1,34 okay and how many of those are located in New Jersey 22 okay and uh in Your Capacity as senior construction manager are you familiar with the operations uh that are normally associated with a Ross store I am okay could you please advise us how many uh ship are there through the average day three shifts per day and what are the regular hours they vary but there's it's broken up between 10: am and 900 PM so but those three shifts basically okay okay and uh we are asking uh for the right to uh operate uh the store for the maximum hours permitted in the zone if they actually are larger than the 9 to 10 p.m. hour correct correct holiday hours would be the only thing would be

effective okay uh and um how many employees at any given time are uh working per shift on average five to seven okay um you uh have uh product materials supplies that you sell with clothes uh shift uh to the uh store every week correct correct and how many deliveries do you have uh we get about five to seven trucks per week okay what's the uh the maximum length of those trucks for this side it's 40 foot okay and uh that loading will take place at the building correct and uh as part of this project you're repurposing the existing loading dock correct correct okay so the uh the trucks will back up to the loading dock and then the material uh will be offloaded internally into the building correct yes okay uh now you do have shopping carts that are used internally correct yes and we AFF fix a poll to those shopping carts um so they are not able to be used outside the facility they're they're they're primarily purposes for inside the store only okay and that's the primary reason why we have not allotted for shop uh shopping cart Corrals correct correct okay now we are requesting uh relief uh so that we could install a compactor on site correct correct and and uh that compactor how frequently uh is it anticipated that it would be emptied it's about once every two weeks okay and that's significantly less than if you just used regular dumpsters and had regular rubbish pickup correct yes okay okay I have no other questions for this witness Mr chairman okay Mr disco do you want to kick off and then we'll go to the Mr Mista go I from from his

testimony I think the only thing I would ask is what the noise component would be for the compactor there was some data that was floating around I don't know Mark if you got that information from Marathon yes we we we did submit it as part of the application uh Mr disco we would stipulate that we would comply with all noise uh ordinances uh and there is a sound uh attenuating uh encasement on the the compactor uh as per the uh information that was provided do we hold that for Mr lanzafama when when he comes up uh Mr Lanza may be able to add additional testimony to that effect okay certainly um anything other Mr disco not for this witness boo can you uh mute Mr disco's other thing that's opened up so that way we don't hear the echo you don't perfect that's great okay uh Mr Mista Mr chairman my uh Mr disco already asked my question um it's related to the noise and the frequency um of the trash compactor so if that's going to be addressed by another applicant another witness or um the range that we're given is it's going to comply with our noise noise ordinance the one question that you usually comes up with the applications is if it's being picked up late at night and stuff like that so I was just curious as as to if there's a time um when I know it's going to comply with the noise ordinance but the timing of it I think is important good question point from our from our standpoint we can dictate when um the hauler can pick up we can specify

certain hours great so it could be between 10 and 5 during so it's when people are awake absolutely okay so Mr so I'll leave it to Mr disco you can come up with the time and that could be the any condition of approval but I would imagine like we do with the generators it's like a nine to-5 type of thing when generators run type of a thing um and not on holidays or Saturdays you know during the week is that acceptable Harold will stipulate to that yes okay great yes so stipulate perfect okay so let me open up to the rest of the board uh mayor Huber I can come back to you he's on mute no I have no questions okay it's good to see you rich GL to see you doing well um commit M Kaiser no no question Mr Barnett he's got a question so let's give him a second unmute himself um are we going to see any any diagrams of where things are going and the engineer is going to put them do that okay correct Mr chairman that's why Dave I might ask me how far from the residence and any of that stuff because that's yeah yeah yeah I'm I'm I'm mostly interested with you know we had we had talked a lot about Aldi and their deliveries and want to make sure we sort of are smart about the entirety of the property Point um m is out Aaron any questions yeah I just have I don't know if this is the right witness for the question but I'll ask anyway um those 40-foot trailers do we have any idea what kind of schedule that those when those things come around is it during the day is it at night is it first thing in the morning and what how do you how

do you see that affecting traffic well as far as the hours um again that's completely flexible we can dictate hours of delivery um um you know I think it should be the same time period type of a thing obviously obviously earlier in the morning because then you're not affecting the the circulation of traffic but most of your stuff is going to come in and go right through the back of it I would imagine correct typical Ross we typically deliver between 5 and andm but again if you know but we are flexible yeah so that's one of the things like the board would talk about uh you know during N9 to five type of hours way because because you do border in some parts some resident and uh some apartments and then across the street there's some residentials yeah how how often do they come out is it weekly daily every other day I mean what is the frequency pretty much daily five to seven days a week so it's like one delivery daily yeah pretty much yeah so I would we would avoid Sundays because that was always the case did with Aldi as well and I think that's why we say five to seven because there are some stipulations where we can't deliver on weekends so in that case we would deliver five days a week has there been a study done that will look at that looks at the traffic situation with these trailers well we have uh we have this Orlan of providing testimony uh to that extent and we have uh the templates we are further willing to stipulate that the uh deliveries and the waste removal Vehicles enter the site from Route 22 we are familiar with the restrictions that were imposed on the Aldi um but it is a permitted use so the uh impact on traffic is not uh something that uh would uh ordinarily require any sort of

traffic study it's a permitted use uh but uh in order to address the board's concerns uh we are stipulating to the restrictive hours and the restrictive uh manner in which to enter the site and I think the Aon the only other thing we would have them do is uh do circulation to show that the trucks 40 foot can move throughout the site with with the fire department to make sure that they're comfortable with that that's all and we do have the Turning templates and Mr L could testify to that extent perfect that's it anything first Dar I am done thank you Richard uh do you know who your contracted trash Waller is uh for this particular site no typically it's Marathon or it could be um Synergy unless there's a requirement for any particular City where we would have to use a different trash service but those are our two main ones that we use here at Ross okay thank you and the requirement is that it's done during between nine and five so that way it's not affecting across the street and the apartments alongside correct uh who's next next Mr wishner so I think I'll save my questions for a time once all professionals testimony has been presented perfect but I I do like the fact that um representative of the applicant is stating that they have the ability to control their deliveries whereas the Aldi uh representative wasn't able to commit to that perfect uh Julie you know no questions okay Sharon just a a quick question piggy piggybacking off of uh Aaron's question about the 40f foot uh trailers when those deliveries occur and you said

they're almost every day about how long do those deliveries take takes about an hour and 30 minutes to unload a truck okay all right that was really all the the only question I had so thank you and then the only question I have last is you said the shopping carts they're not going outside what keeps them inside so there's a poll a fix to the shopping cart that hits the header of the door of the opening where they can't come outside so essentially if someone was to tip it over and drag it out they're gonna steal the cart perfect okay uh let's go uh Council let's go to the next witness for any if there's any members of the public that's on we will take questions from the public for all Witnesses at the end of the application so don't feel like you don't have an opportunity to speak you will have an opportunity to speak we're just trying to flush out all the issues first so Council let's go with your witness thank thank you Mr chairman to that extent I would ask Harold to remain on until testimony is done so if there are any questions that haven't been asked that you'll be able to still be able to answer them uh for our next uh witness I'd like to call Anthony Casada our architect Mr Casada is he present be joining momentarily okay thank you so the architect is going to cover the signs or you have a separate person for the signs we have a separate person to cover the signs he'll he'll I guess speak to some of the signs that are on the facade uh on the facade very briefly he'll just explain the um the uh elevation the floor plan uh to the extent that the board's truly interested on the internal I don't I don't think we're concerned about the internal people see about it sure to to give it more concerned about what what the Sciences are because we're very sensitive on that understood understood

um I will uh cover that superficially with him and then uh I think our sign witness will be able to answer uh your your question in in Greater in depth there's anything he could show with the elevation that would be good too yes um so you're signed in on my name correct so Jennifer would you be able to uh permit my name Mark samaro to share documents so that Dustin could call up the plans I think I switch all the names around so that they're correct um that said Mr glass should be able to use your computer to share documents thank correct permission okay good thank you okay um Anthony are you there I am can you hear me yes we could hear you just fine thank you uh Mr dearis would you like to swer him in uh yes Mr cassad do you have a um camera function I do I I apologize I'm not I don't know why it's not functioning right now okay well we're gonna we're going to take your word for it that you have your right hand raised um do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth I do okay uh Council would you like to Vere your your witness or would okay thank you thank you uh Anthony could you please explain to the board uh your education and your lenser please as well as your training um I am uh I studied architecture at the University of Illinois got a Bachelor's degree in 1974 uh registered uh originally in Illinois but now am registered in over 30 States including New Jersey okay and H uh how long have you

been practicing architecture I have been practicing architecture for approximately 50 years okay and and have you been accepted in other jurisdictions as an expert in the field of architecture uh by lanu Sports yes I have okay uh this is your first time testifying in New Jersey uh yes it is okay uh but you did qualify in other jurisdictions correct and your New Jersey license is currently active correct yes it is okay I'd like to qualify him as an expert please yeah I don't see any issue with it any ises of the board have any concerns sounds like he's very experienced thank you thank you uh so Anthony uh I uh for the sake of brevity I would ask that you uh listen to the questions because we're going to shorten up your testimony just a little bit uh in in that the board feels that they need additional information they'll be sure to ask you those questions okay okay okay so um you uh are familiar with the site and the existing conditions on the site correct yes I am okay uh there's currently a building uh on the site that's partially occupied by Aldi Supermarket correct correct okay and uh we are intending to uh outfit the balance of the building that is not used by Aldi for the Ross correct that is correct so at the uh if we are fortunate enough to have this application approved this will be a two tenant building correct correct uh gross is taking about 25,600 square feet okay and uh you had uh prepared uh a floor plan uh with respect to the proposed revisions uh that uh are proposed for the site correct that is

correct okay and uh Dustin could you just call that up real quick okay uh so that's the uh the floor plan uh that your firm had uh prepared correct correct this is already been submitted to us so there's no need to be marked correct that's correct that is correct thank you uh okay and that last revision date is December 19 2024 and you signed and sealed those plans correct that is correct okay so we were asked to skip the internal uh minations on on the floor plan uh but uh towards the upper leftand side of that drawing is depicted where uh the compactor is proposed to be correct that is correct okay uh now for the members of the board I think that it's probably best to have Mr Lan ofama testify as to that exterior alteration and how interacts with the balance of the site uh as he did the site plans associated with it but to that extent uh you did see the site plans and you do agree uh that they are consistent with the depiction of where the compactor is located uh correct Anthony yes that is correct okay um you also prepared elevations uh for this particular uh application correct correct okay and I'd like to have them called up and uh as Mr Taris had indicated or I think it may have been the chairman uh these were submitted so they also need not be marked for identification the elevation that's on the screen now uh is also dated December 19 2024 and was signed and sealed by your office correct that is correct okay and when looking at the middle diagram

uh we do have have uh the uh front facade uh or the front elevation of the proposed building correct that is correct and we also understand that we ended up having signage diagrams uh that or blueprints or plans rather that were submitted by The Sign Company correct that is correct okay so for the specifics of the signs we're going to rely on their testimony but just to highlight for the benefit of the the board um the parit where the Ross Dress for Less sign uh is constructed was expanded to accommodate that signage correct that is correct to accommodate the signage and to fur better Define the entry location for the roster okay and in addition to that sign we end up having two plaque signs as well as a flag sign and those are proposed to be the four permanent signs that are posted on the exterior wall uh of this building correct correct and in addition to that we end up we uh are suggesting requesting permission to put films uh on the Windows of the location correct that is correct that would be on the approximately 35 feet of the storefront that's on the right side of the entry okay and you've designed other uh Raw boss locations uh through your career correct absolutely okay and uh the configuration that's being proposed here is consistent with their branding correct that is correct and um the films that are suggested for the windows uh have a a practical uh impact

is that correct that is correct okay um given the configuration in doors uh if we didn't have the films would we be seeing racks pressed up against the windows from the outside yes that would that that area would be fixtured up against that wall yes okay and uh the more merchandise that is displayed uh within the premises is that also towards the front of the store I believe so okay and is that the reason why we're asking for films both both to Shield uh maybe the less aesthetic racks that would otherwise be visible as well as for security reasons uh that is true okay now uh your plans did not discuss the pylon sign so we're not going to go into that um uh you can go into whether these need variances or they meet the the ordinances okay well reviewing the um board uh the board planners letter uh they identif or uh Mike had identified four variances that were associated with the signs subsequently I believe that Mike had indicated that the Ross dress for Les sign which was originally believed to need a variance for being oversized was conceded that that was not triggered uh could uh Mike confirm the same yes I confirm that I I agree with that statement okay okay so with respect to the balance of the signs that are on the front uh Anthony you're aware of the fact that there's only one wall sign that's permitted and we're in fact requesting four correct that is correct okay and you're also aware of

the fact uh that uh we uh only 20% of the windows uh are permitted to be obstructed and I think that our obstruction is in excess of a 60 8% 66.7% I believe so okay and the reason for uh the obstruction uh in the windows is to Shield uh what would otherwise be visible from the outside correct that is correct which would be the racking and the backs of the racking okay and the reason why we're requesting four uh signs the two placards the flag as well as the uh sign on the parit is because that's part of uh Ross's regular branding correct that is correct and in point of fact are the window films also something that's uh consistent with Ross's regular branding uh we have we have done that in in various situations uh okay when we are going into an existing building right and and let me just ask you a quick question about that um and if I may just uh have the board's Indulgence to lead just for for Speed sake if this was a groundup building would You' have had so many windows on on it no we would not okay and because this wasn't a building that was constructed to your specifications you had to address or come up with a way to handle all that extra window space that you ordinarily wouldn't have that is correct and the only way to obstruct it would be to either use these films or just paint them black them out is that correct that is correct but go ahead I'm sorry but we are proposing to use Graphics so that it's more uh aesthetically

pleasing okay okay so so those are the uh the the the variances that relate to the wall uh signage uh Mr chairman uh there is one that uh relates to the pylon that our signage uh expert will provide testimony to where are the three signs I only see the one Ross stores and dress for Le okay uh yeah could you just move the so uh we our other diagrams will be a little bit more uh they'll be a lot more descript but there's one placard where the cursor just was if you could put it there thank you Dustin and and there's a flag okay it's fine what else and and and there's another placard on the opposite side that's oval okay what's a okay okay that's negligable Mr disco and M Mike Mista any issues with these I mean I've been to a bunch of raw stores uh you know just passing by when I around and this does seem consistent to me on what they what they've done with blacking out the windows and so forth so I'm less concerned about it unless you feel there's a safety issue for the public not being able to you know with visibility U Mr chairman I would say that the next presentation you'll see the details on a signage package it'll it'll help clarify uh a lot of the questions that we have on the signs and what they look like my other comment is on would the is a question for the applicant um on the film on the Windows uh should the board look uh to approve this project would there would you agree to submit a detail a construction detail or an example of this film uh to Mike and I so we could take a look at it feel comfortable with this the I understand the purpose of

covering the windows I just I would feel more comfortable if we had a an example um what it's actually going to look like color-wise and so forth so yes yes we'll relate to that any any condition of approval will be to submitting something to you both both my okay let me open up board see if anyone has any questions uh committee men uh Kaiser yeah I just want to see what they look like I I mean is this like are the films more permanent than say uh you know example that I saw uh uh was like the Halloween stores right they put they put like a film kind of like uh an example of a costume and then like within a month or so and it works for them right they're out of there and in a few months is already like peeling off and and would need to be like restuck up so I I I'm I'm just curious what these actually look like um and is is it a film to like is it is there still going to be light passing through uh uh or is it going to be like full color and blocking it out I mean I just want to see a little bit more I would defer to the sign company regarding that on my understanding it is it's a full block out yes the our our signed witness is prepared to uh speak to those issues thoroughly yeah then then then I'll defer and I agree totally unacceptable would be painting the window yeah that is fly it mayor Huber I have no

questions Mr BR um yeah I I I'll wait till the sign this this particular part of this this testimony is completely unhelpful to me because I really don't know what a flag is and I see one big sign but not really anything else so we're gonna go the sign guide yeah so this this to me was a waste of time this Marissa I'm good thank you perfect Aaron just a quick question you mentioned one of the possibilities were to have Graphics what would they be Graphics of our our signed person and and their diagram actually shows examples of what the graphics are great and and they're also regularly involved in this process with Ross that's just not a oneoff sign company so they could discuss uh the uh prototypical uh actions of Ross in this in this regard okay thank you no problem Richard I have no questions Darren did you call me yes I went out no questions Julie okay I don't think Julie had any questions Mr wishner I guess we'll save the materials and renderings for the for the sign vendor but for this particular witness I mean architecturally you just you just testified that there's no other solution to the windows other than painting them or putting the film up but was there ever a consideration to remove the portions of the windows and and

infill them with structure that matches the exterior brick and then drywall the inside I'm confused that while you're saying those are the only options that was the only Fe those are the only feasible options feasible how um from you know just uh Construction constructionwise um it just the elevation as it is is is is balanced but it's just that those those particular window panels would be obstructed by the uh the fixturing of The Bu of the store inside but from an outside I think the the balance of the fenestration whether it's it's SE through or has graphics on it is is more balance to the facade of the building okay so you're saying it it was considered but deemed to be not feasible or it wasn't considered and this is the reason why uh I I think it it it works both ways it doesn't uh it's it's balanced as it is and to have to infill those those uh glass areas with brick would throw the whole balance of the of the facade off okay okay you feel that uh if I just may just ask a follow-up question to that extent Mr chair uh Anthony uh do you feel that it's more aesthetic uh as proposed as opposed to infilling the windows yes that's that's what my my point is is yes thank you okay let's bring up this uh so that way we can get through

that and then very good and then the only one would be Mr lonz ofama would be next correct our next witness is uh Courtney hornung great how are you Courtney good H you good thanks uh would you like to swear her in yes uh sir horang if Miss hornung if you can please raise your right hand um do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth I do uh can you please state your name for the record spell your last name Courtney hornung ho r n u n g okay uh Council if you could again uh you're the witness thank you uh Courtney where are you uh employed I work for Blair image elements okay and what type of business is that we are a national sign vendor um and Company we do signage on architectural elements okay and how long have you been employed in that capacity I've been there 13 years okay and did you have uh uh any particular education or was it on the job training uh for this particular position um I do have a master's degree in Business um but received on the job training for the the niche subject matter that we have in signage okay and and through your 13-year career uh have you learned as uh as to what is aesthetic and what uh materials are best uh used for various type of signage elements I have yes so my main position is to manage the brand um and make sure

that that comes across appealing to Consumers from our customers okay okay and uh through the course of your career have you worked with Ross stores in the past yes so I've worked on Ross stores for five and a half years um 109 stores approximately um along the east coast and in California and in that capacity did you design the sign package packages similar to The Sign of the sign package that we submitted and supported this application yes we designed the sign packages is um as well as provide construction details and um everything everything to bring that conceptual to life yeah I'll cut it I'll I'll sure change it the board will accept her as a witness let's just dive and and kind of see where they are and what the variances are awesome could you please uh call up uh the package so this package was also uh submitted uh to the board so uh it need not be uh marked as an exhibit um these are the sign draw drawings uh that were prepared by your company and submitted in support of this application correct Courtney that is correct and these are all dated October 31 2024 correct yes okay we already heard from the board's planner that the Ross Dress for Less sign uh does not need a variance due to its size but with respect to drawing S1 there's a total of four signs that are present when only one sign is permitted by code correct that's correct could you please explain to the board uh what those four signs are and why they're necessary yes so you have your main RW Stress For Less Channel letter set which is on the facade you have you have two um entrance logos

which are on either side um of the windows and then you have one under canopy flag mounted sign that is all Al an oval shaped that presents Ross okay and I believe that there are two other drawings that dep pick these um U and e l if you could call those yes that depicts the under canopy sign that will be right above the store door area um we refer to this as a flat flag mount just based off the FL fact that it is mounted on its side instead of up through um the poles into the canopy okay and so if you were walking on the sidewalk in front of the store parallel to the front of the building that would essentially be overhead at some point as you approach the door to the store correct yes that's correct okay and could you just tell the board what the measurements of that sign are this sign is uh 24 uh by uh 24 in sorry excuse me by 48 in okay okay and that signage consistent with other signage at other Ross locations yes we put the sign at every Ross location okay and uh uh if someone was standing on that sidewalk uh looking for where the entrance to the Ross store was would this be the most prominent sign that was visible from that location yes if they're walking down the sidewalk this is the sign that they would see first okay so that's mostly for pedestrians then correct that's correct okay and could you go to the next drawing please eel okay could you please explain to the board what elel is so these we refer to

them as as entrance logos that's what El stands for um and we put them on either side of the door flanking again to provide some direction for pedestrians and consumers that are coming into the store um provides them a little closer um look at what the logo is and what they're walking into for the store okay counselor yes can you go to wall P these are these are fine and I'm sure the discussion from our um Planner on these can you just go to the wall signed sure pylon because that's that's the the yeah uh you want to go to the the the the wall sign or this drawing right here is for the window the pile the one on the road you have the right one okay okay okay so Courtney you're familiar with uh the site correct that's correct okay and and uh the physical structure of this sign uh is already existing correct it is it is already in place okay and the Aldi half of the top sign is in place as well correct yes they have that in place and the two signage uh positions below are currently blank that is also correct okay and we're proposing to have Ross take half of the top sign spot correct yes okay um and our client is willing if if the board deems it uh appropriate uh to black out the two signage uh spots below as well correct we bu in ald as well so that's perfect okay I'm I'm sorry Mr chairman that was discussed in ald that's per okay okay so this sign was pre-existing and uh it was pointed out that the maximum square footage uh for a pylon

sign uh for a two uh retail location would be 75 square feet and we are we are in excess of that correct that is correct What's the total square footage of Ross's uh half of that top spot position yep the square footage is 101.5 Square ft okay and again that's an existing sign we're not creating it we're not expanding it correct correct it is existing and currently that panel is white okay okay so seeing no other your witness Mr disco and Mr mdit anything concerns on these variances no in terms of the pylon I confirmed the dimensions that you see in this display are there already so there's no enlargement I think the two plaque signs and the flag signs are very small given the size of the site uh board members would have stand on a on a corner lot this is a through lot you would be permitted a second sign facing Hillside Avenue they've elected not to do that so I think certainly the two plaque signs and the flag signs are probably less signage than what you would get with the with the secondary main wall sign so I have no issue with it it seems It's wayf finding and it's proper I was going to say the exact same thing perfect Mr disco Mr Mista from a planning standpoint are you okay with this I I support Mr disco's statements um and I don't think I need to just reiterate it so I'll stop right there I support these uh the requests for the variances great let me let me pull the board real quick uh mayor Huber all support to professionals I agree with them committee man Kaiser agreed Mr

Barnett um I don't agree um I think they're completely unnecessary um there's a reason our our our our land use ordinances have these these specifications um there's no way someone's not going to be able to find raw stores there's only two stores in that entire on that entire property and the and the large sign is certainly plenty big that that a flag so someone is walking by can find the front door uh applicant I don't buy that argument um so I'm sticking with what our L use ordinance says um to me they're just Overkill Superfluous and the um the the image of the of the films with all those people we're going to going to put on that to me looks incredibly busy um and you know I think the owner of that property did a very nice job with it Aldi is has has a nice it's clean it's modern and you know the busyness of those windows cheapens and junks up the site Aaron in this particular case I'm in total agreement with Mr bornett on all accounts okay that we need more discussion on this Richard oh we don't the vote what here go on no I I'm in agreement with most of it I do agree with Aaron and when he said that the uh the vinyl graphics on the front of the building on the Windows they are a little bit too busy um they I think it'd be something more simpler and it would look much better and we'll talk when Mr Wan ZF comes on we'll ask him for some more

information on that but Marissa um I can see both I can see Mr Barnett's point but um I don't really have an issue with it myself um but so I don't have any questions but okay yeah uh I know Julie had to leave her yeah I'm uh mostly aligned with Mr Barnett and his comments I won't repeat any of that but I think that the the the window Graphics to me are just a giant billboard and while they may change over time the images you know material quality it it it fades through sunlight it Peels and then we're at the liberty of how well the applicant's going to change that out and and maintain it I do think it's Overkill um for what this site actually is it's not a pedestrian area um most of your visibility is through vehicular traffic so I would want to see something way more toned down than what was presented with respect to the uh the window Graphics Sharon I'm okay with it okay okay um counselor uh I cut you off did you want to I thought lonz ofama would be discussing the window graph the window stuff you want uh Courtney to discuss that from your side yes yes I think Courtney would be the more appropriate witness okay could you call up the window Graphics uh page okay uh So Courtney um we do understand you you heard uh the architect testify as to deviation and the need for the variance on the percentage of coverage correct um

so we don't need to go over that again could you please explain to the board um what the reason is that these Graphics are needed why do we need to obstruct the window right so typical groundup Ross uh stores have very little window Windows storefront um that doesn't allow exposure into their retail space and floor um because the racks um are up against the windows here we do need to cover those um to make it more aesthetically pleasing so that you're not seeing merchandise through the window you're not seeing the racks um and they also do have high-end merchandise up front the cash registers are up there and we do it to kind of close off and and provide less exposure to the cashiers as they're doing transactions okay and could you please explain to the board uh the quality of these uh films are they something that will deteriorate in time will they fade will they peel so the material has a 7-year warranty on it um through the manufacturer um that covers any type of fading um we actually use a three- layer system so you have the graphic you have a laminate and then we actually apply an anti-graffiti film to it which is also a way to protect that storefront um in case anything were to happen with those graphicss markers spray paint um anything like that it it's to protect that graphic to avoid any um external damage to it um these are placed seam to seam within the window Mion to not allow for that to be peeled up um and to prevent a seal across that window when it's applied okay now the graphics that are

depicted in this sheet S1 are they similar to the graphics that would uh that were initially being proposed yes so for each Ross store we propose window Graphics based on the demographics of the area so we can tailor the window Graphics to meet um the consumers in that area so tailoring it to families um to different uh demographics that match the style of what that Community is is actually looking for so we can alter the style um and some of the images that are displayed as well okay and is there any uh type of graphic uh that uh could be proposed that would be less busy um and and more of uh a solid or a muted color uh to to lend more a blending kind of impression yes in um some cases we've been taking the bottom section of the window graphic that you see there where it has um what we would a Blue Wave through it that indicates Ross we can use more of that on the window and less of the lifestyle images that you're seeing um to tone down some of that we can place those in between Windows so that you're not seeing so many faces on there and you're seeing more of a solid um blue feature instead of um images of you know shopping and uh interactions with family there I'm going to cut you off okay one second so what's the closest raw store to us and is it designed similar I was I was in Wong yeah okay so do they have the same thing so Wong is

actually having window Graphics installed next week prior to their store opening on 37 and they do have lifestyle images that would be proposed there okay I'm not I'm not saying that that it's the right thing I mean if McDonald's came in they wouldn't get a big golden arch just like they have maybe on Route 22 versus here in Springfield either but I I just want to get to the understanding I do know I I saw one in in boka Florida the other day and I did notice they the windows were covered as well so um or it was Boon Beach it's actually Boon Beach so I know that that is something that's done that's why I I'm a little bit okay with it but I understand understand Mr Barnett's and the other board's concern because you know what you're putting up today could be something different tomorrow and and so forth so these Graphics are permanent um that we would put up we would not interchange the um style that's up there so it's not a revolving display that we would put up um the only time that they would ever change it would be in a permanent situation um if the board were inclined to consider uh a a a revised uh film is there a uh minimum percentage of lifestyle depictions that you would like to have uh versus a solid panel in other words would you be able to live with a 5050 split between lifestyle pictures and a solid panel or some other percentage you heard me righty sorry the um we would be able to modify this to match um the of the

jurisdiction so we can put in um that solid film if it's more desirable um to mix that with the lifestyle images um just due to the number of Windows here um that's why it does look like it's um you know particularly full okay um so so Mr chairman uh to the extent that uh the board is uh able to have some uh tolerance for the lifestyle of photos we do have flexibility and and would be willing to take accept the combination of solid panels uh versus uh lifestyle yeah maybe that's something we we'll pull the board a little bit of of that towards the end okay and go from there so nothing further from this witness I want to get Lon F because I do know a few of my board members uh PE have to be off by seven and I want to make sure we have enough people to okay so Mr if you don't mind coming up you've been before us a million times so you can less question him from wering him I think the board would accept him but just let's make sure his Li are in effect today fair enough Mike are you there yep I'm here okay so Mike you've been accepted as an expert by this board before and all your lers remain active correct that is correct can I just wear him in first Mark yeah yeah that would help as you are raise your right hand uh you swear affirm testimony you're about to give is the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes I yes yes it is my name is Michael Lon zaama that's Lan Za f ma I'm a licensed professional engineer land surveyor and planner a principal with the firm of Casey and Keller Incorporated 258 Main Street

nober New Jersey and and Mike as we indicated your license are current and I do submit him as an expert Mr chairman been before us thank you okay so Mr chairman I know that the board's familiar with this site I know that the uh board engineer had submitted uh as we have uh pictures that accurately reflect the current condition of the property uh I don't think uh from my perspective I need to have testimony on that uh uh those particular issues I'm not sure if the board agrees if they do they do we'll go a proposed site plan no I I think let's focus on the dumpster and the location the sound is as long Asama agrees on the record that he's reviewed everything that Mr disco has sent uh with the most recent inspection report and the applicant does understand that unless all those issues are complete there would be no Co given to Ross stores or that's right okay good I agree yeah and we've had communication with the property owner and Slater who was deeply involved with the whole application for Alis and has indicated to me that he's willing to comply with all of the conditions of the prior approval as well as anything that might be needed to be rectified uh on the site currently perfect that's great okay so let's just focus if you can put up the location of dumpster explain the distance between explain the distance between the residential across the street the apartment so forth the sound I know that you and Mr disco met and did a lot of talked about a lot of screening there so let's quickly kind of go through that and then open up to the board sure what I put up on the uh on the board is uh uh the overall site plan uh that is part of the application that was submitted has a date of January 25th I believe 2025 um we've added some color to it to

help the board better identify the various elements of the site plan um I guess we would call this exhibit A1 since we added some uh uh enhancement to the uh to the plan seeing a colored version excuse me I'm not seeing a colored version here all right you want to call it up so they can show I I have it up does the board this oh okay that's good okay so that'll be A1 and Mike I believe the date of that plan is the 27th January 27 2025 all right close enough okay yep okay on on the exhibit Hillside Avenue is to your right uh Route 22 is to your left the Ali's tenant space as you all aware is directly off of the route 20 two uh area the southern half of the building uh the northern half of the building would be the Ross stores and what we are proposing to do as part of the application is to provide a trash compactor located at the northwest corner of the building um to allow for Access uh to that trash compactor by refus vehicles um we've eliminated an island one tree in that location in four parking spaces so that trucks trucks could maneuver through the site come around back into position and then exit the site all of the truck traffic would come in off of Route 22 and I'll show you an example of that um in on the southwest corner of the tenant space is the loading area again the delivery trucks as testified would come through the site off of Route 22 uh circumnavigate through the back portion or the Hillside Avenue side of the of the site and pull into position

position be unloaded and then exit via Route 22 so all the truck traffic both deliveries as well as refuse would come in uh off of and exit out of out of the site onto Route 22 um I have a blow up also of that area uh to better identify the area this also shows some of the existing and proposed ve vegetation this is the detailed site plan north um and this is the same drawing that was submitted however we've enhanced it with some color so I assume that'll be A2 A2 so again you can see when I blow up that the area in the northwest corner of the building you can see the trash compactor and what we we've done is we're proposing a six foot high solid fence immediately around the compactor pad and then what we've done is move the curb out away from uh the uh the solid fence so we can enhance that with some green giant arbori to be planted at six to seven feet in height at planting um we've also replanted a new shade tree the one that we lost uh in the island that was removed we simply are proposing a new Dogwood that would be 2 and a half to 3 in caliber um along the current uh Hillside Avenue Frontage there is existing vegetation um as part of the Aldi's application we added some uh some hedge row along that side of Hillside Avenue and I had some conversations with Mr disco about possibly supplementing with some additional giant Arbor vety or other Evergreens perhaps in this corner

to better Shield out those few Residential Properties that are immediately to the north of the site and um we can do that um this plan obviously hasn't been updated uh to show reflect that but we would certainly accept that as a condition of approval that we would add some additional Evergreen enhancement to the northwest corner of that uh Northwest driveway Mr Zama I I know Mike I'm I'm we're going to make it a condition of approval that you're going to satisfy Mike with any and all landscaping and I'm sure you're comfortable with that let's because I have a few board members that need to leave in 15 minutes so I need to make sure that we can get to a vote otherwise this will get Rec Carri focus on the um compactor ex location um how the sound to the to the apartments to the hillside people that sort of things okay that's that's the the rear portion of the building um where the compactor is is 100 over 180 feet from uh Hillside Avenue then you have the width of Hillside Avenue and then the Residential Properties across so you're looking about a 200 foot separation uh between those uh those properties uh and the compactor the property immediately to the west or apartments you have the uh Freeman Apartments that are immediately to our West there is a solid fence there um we have the Evergreens so that separation there uh to the main building is probably well over 70 feet uh there's an existing uh driveway and parking area located first and then there's the main structure so there's a significant separation so we don't see the sound as being um intrusive to the neighbors uh the they will certainly meet

all of the requirements of the sound ordinances as well as the state law with regard to the number of decibel and the fact that we're be going to be able to use a compactor that only needs to be picked up um I believe the testimony was once a week um and as opposed to several pickups that would have to occur if it was a typical dumpster with uh with in an enclosure that would have to still navigate through the parking area so it is certainly a benefit to have this trash compactor as opposed to um typical outdoor Refuge area and keep in mind that your ordinance um I believe it's uh 3 35.8 that actually requires that every nonresidential property have a recycling and refuge area so that's really important to consider that um in in this analysis granted it's located between the side or rear of the building and Hillside Avenue but I believe that the landscaped enhancement the solid fence um the Lesser number of uh truck movements to and from the dumpster all add to the Ben the benefit granting a C2 variants that would be associated with this uh application Michael is it your testimony that you think that the the residents since since it's only picked up once a week and it's between normal hours 9 to five they've agreed to that the the there's no inconvenience they won't be able to hear it it'll be you know just like running a generator type of a thing right that's that's my testimony Mr chairman the it's certainly a benefit the benefit outweighs any any detriment to granting of the variance in my

opinion and then just as the part other part of the site here Mr Disco we need more Landscaping to buffer whether it's now from the resolution or in a field inspection when when this is being installed an agreement to install more Ares that is correct perfect uh I don't see any you have anything further Council uh the only other question that I have is with respect to the signage uh do you perceive any detriment to uh the zoning ordinance or to the uh neighborhood no in my opinion the signs that we were proposing uh the four signs on the Eastern facade as well as the sign along Route 22 um are are certainly appropriate and necessary uh in this day and age where retail users are struggling um identification is utmost importance and to be and the fact that the building is the the tenant space is behind the Alis I I think it's imperative that they have that as far as the uh panel that are filling in uh the glass uh veneer of the building um I've seen that done in a number of projects where we're retrofitting older buildings and it does come out very nice if it's done appropriately and I think um kind of handing the RS over to uh Mike and Mike to take a look at what exactly they do I think you can trust them that they they will ensure that there will be it will be Tastefully done and I'm sure the RW stores will appropriately maintain them over over time so in my opinion that too can be granted uh under the C2 criteria without a substantial detriment to the public good for the intent and purpose of your Zone plan and and one more thing Michael for Testimony I know you're losing four spots you you don't need it from any count we we don't we

have adequate parking I think Mr disco reflected that in his review memo yep okay let me get Mr disco on because I know he's gonna going to be he has to jump off soon too Mr disco uh anything you would like to add I know they agreed upon they're they're going to do letters everything that in your site inspection prior to a CO being granted any field additional Landscaping that you feel necessary is going to be added anything obviously for uh you know you know before uh you know this this application goes for construction approval you'll make sure that there's all the trees that you feel are needed right there and then uh anything further Mr Disco uh I had I had prepared a list of the side issues Mr Lono and you have talked to that so I won't repeat it um I'm comfortable with the additional Landscaping uh offer which there are only two houses that can look to the property that would see the trash compactor so I think the that screening on the the northern driveway there would be very effective um I I I was pleased I did look at the um the cut sheet of it and given the frequency of what I heard I believe was once every two weeks I don't think the noise plus the buffering and the uh the noise um matters within the the yard of the compactor site I think that's um that's has muted I think that concern to a great degree so I think if you feel the the visual impact is going to be masked by the six foot fence and then the Green Giant arbori which is a very effective screening plan then I think that um you can get comfortable with it from an aesthetic point of view there were truck turning templates provided uh

there should be no issue with the circulation of the site for the trucks that have been offered and also for fire equipment from Springfield uh equipment that have been provided so that should be muted as well we have done numerous and I provided them to the board historic parking at the Sunday and weekday and there should be no issue with the parking I think if we got to the point where the parking lot was full then Ross is probably given something away for free on this signs those those are my site comments okay uh one other thing to add to your comments um um the site going forward there's two tenants in there there's no no Reserve parking for either tenant with the exception of handicap parking just want to make sure that's on the record and agreed by the owner so we don't run into issues any you know where one tenant saying they have understood Mr Mista there's too many mics on there between the guys Mr Mista Mr chairman again the probably one of the biggest comments from Mr L's testimony was the additional landscape buffer I'm not going to reiterate it I think uh both professionals have already addressed it if and they've stipulated they're agreeing to our report our report has some more minor comments regarding lighting Landscaping so on and so forth that they've agreed to address to help clean up the site enhance the Aesthetics of the site so I have nothing further to add above that perfect oh can you just give us your thoughts on this blocking of the the covering of the glass I will tell you I saw Boon Beach probably two weeks ago I didn't think it looked bad but I understand David's concerns Mr Brennan's concerns so I want to see is there a compromise is there something that you can you think you guys can work out off uh line of this meeting or what do you think that's my biggest concern I brought it up uh maybe a half hour ago

earlier on uh when the architect was testifying um that's why I brought it up specifically the the film and I asked for at that time a construction specification I asked they would agree on the record to work with me and Mr disco um so I could feel more comfortable with it so I could represent to the board that we've got it right um and and I I'll just reiterate that i' like to I would like to learn more about it I'd like to see some examples and what the options are and and and see some construction details on it and that's why I asked before if that was a if the board would consider the application that that would be a condition of the approval and they would go through that process maybe something that weand to the TRC to handle that problem yeah agreed that's I think that's very important factor in this application and if the TRC is not comfortable they can remand it back to the board correct okay so let me open it up to the board because I know that several members have to uh and then we have to open up to the public um so committee man Kaiser no uh Mr Hubert mayor Heber um I'm concerned about the film also um I want to see it before it's installed I want to know the material it is and everything else like that I wouldn't approve anything till I see see it in person so you're not and that part of the application to the TRC yes sorry what did you say I was asking is if the board would act favorably but

REM the kind of sign where it goes yes is it okay if they make that decision if they don't feel comfortable and TRC is Mike Mike John and so forth yes you're okay with that then yes okay fine um Mr chairman TRC is technical Review Committee or yes no committee you would make an appointment to meet with the uh engineer planner our business administrator and if they don't not comfortable they will remand it back to us fair enough but again I want to hear what the other board has to say we're only understood person uh Mr Barnett well I'll be in Bon beach in a day or so so I can take look it looks like down there um I don't have any issues on on the um on the compactor or anything like that I think think that all makes sense and I've I've mentioned my issues about the signage okay I and I understand that Marissa Marissa real quick I know you have it to to jump off too yeah nothing for me thank you okay Aaron um yeah question I have has there been any consideration about if if the trail I'm going back to the truck trailers now if they they're coming simult at the same time as both Aldi and Ross has that been the thought about it all if they happen to get a delivery at the same time they I assume that they uh they can coordinate with one another uh but truck maneuverability through the site um can work for both deliveries um the way we had designed the Alis was they basically come across the front and back in uh for the raw stores that come around the back and pull in and back into position so technically they could both operate at the same time okay because I wasn't sure if that

was addressed and the other thing I did want to comment about the uh the films is I I just think those the lifestyle pictures I think those are more appropriate for something that where people are walking like inside a mall while you're doing construction or or uh or or some kind of you know big Center this is not a pedestrian going to be this is not a really a pedestrian place so I I just think it's I agree I think it's going to look Che look uh cheap and it's going to really be overwhelming so I really don't like the Aaron how about you we appoint you to the to the TRC to sit to sit through help as a representative of the board to when they meet no problem I'd be happy to awesome that solves that problem full trust that you're going to make sure it looks perfect with them and come up with a good good solution um okay Peter quis yeah I'm uh con not concerned about the compactor I think that'll be fine my one concern would be was how how are they GNA control trucks not coming off a Hillside Avenue and the reason I say that is because I've driven trucks for many many years they're G to come in the easiest way they can well we we have the best zoning enforcement officer that loves to find people so if he find if it's reported and it's happened I'm sure Mr disco is going to make sure that our our inspector finds them if that's the case and keep in mind how many stores Ross has this this supplier of service the trash pick up and delivery people are going to listen to their tenant what whatever their client is telling them to do and if they've forewarned them that they have to stay off Hillside and they violate that and and Ross gets notified I'm sure they're they going to not their their vendor that they're in Jeopardy of losing their contract so that's that's a big

hammer okay uh Julie left Mr wishner um under the Aldi application I thought there was a in part of the resolution was that they were required to make the area where the trash compactor being proposed to become ADA Compliant so that our neighbors in the adjacent Freeman Apartments many of whom are physically disabled would have access to the Aldi so I don't see where there is an ADA path of travel that would connect Freeman Apartments now to this two tenant Center I do see that there's been some Ada ramps installed on the sidewalk adjacent to Hillside Avenue but I'm now confused as to how physically disabled individuals would be able to access the shopping center so Mr wanama uh I'm GNA defer to you and I only have five board members left so okay so the the way we set up the the trash compactors obviously located in the appropriate location uh for the raw stores what we did do as part of our prior approval for Aldi's was do those major improvements all Long Hill Hillside creating the appropriate Ada uh ramps across every driveway uh the fact that once they have to Traverse through the parking lot um we had had anticipated that as part of the Aldi's modifications um we were more focused on pedestrian traffic for the handicapped along Hillside Avenue um there is the possibility we could install in the center portion uh of the site um there is a series of

islands with some shade trees in that could be retrofited to create a path through the parking lot that could be appropriately striped and made ADA Compliant the the grades through that area are not severe um if you give me a moment I will bring up my exhibit one more time making those efforts would be highly appreciated could see these islands through here and perhaps we can create a walkway somewhere through uh off the main sidewalk and onto a pathway that could then bring them up onto the sidewalk which would then take them to the front across and eventually to the front door of Aldi so we can certainly look at that and um fact that we still have to do restriping on the lot we could we could probably make that happen I think thank you that was great great point so we'll leave that to you and Mr disco to resolve and we'll trust what Mr disco comes up with you on that right thank you Sharon had left so um I don't have any other further questions so at this time I'm going to take this matter and open up to the public any members of the public that wish to speak on this application 2- 225s AO I'm gonna ask for your help to identify anyone that wants to speak I no hands raised at this time okay seeing not I'm gonna close this matter to the public and remand it back to the board so look from my perspective um you know obviously any approval has to be on every single thing being completed from the Aldi discussion and anything new Mr disco came up with uh field uh in installation of additional PL I apologize uh one hand came up just as you started your comment okay okay so let's go back we'll backtrack go ahead Public's important can you bring him in her in you hear

me okay I see a hand up Mr Stevens is that it they should be joining in a moment you able to yes for one second before you speak I just want to make an announcement for anyone here that's listening to to hear the consistency report on the Redevelopment plan for the prior Bank of America site that is be carried till 324 2025 it will be heard this evening so anyone here for it 324 2025 we're only G to finish this application up so go ahead ma'am I'm so sorry no that's okay um so I'm one of the few houses that's across the street on Hillside Avenue and I'm questioning the compactor I understand all the points can can you state your name for the record and address Stevens 56 Hillside perfect okay um my question regarding the compactor and again I heard of the points and I understand them that they're going to be picked up maybe once or twice a week but what about when it's actually doing the I guess you would say compacting and part of my um ignorance here but what's that noise level and when is that going to be done doing the we we I'll do itness answer the attorney answer but on behalf of them we did agree between nine and five which are the times that we typically allow people with generators or any accessory structures that have to do a weekly running uh in order for maintenance to take place so that should be during normal hours not when you're sleeping or the peaceful enjoyment of your home but would that be a daily thing no no they they said um can we bring on back on uh yeah so I can answer that so I do have a little bit more information so uh Marathon equipment spec is 77 DB on the parking side with a Max of 84 DB on the motor sign along the building normal

speech is between 60 and 65 DB vehicles are 70 to 85 DB the compactor when it's in operation so say when the truck comes in they take all their boxes and throw it in there it cycles for about 30 seconds that's the only time that it operates so when they crush the boxes and they engage the compactor it runs for about 30 to 40 seconds tops so it's not like the compactor is on 24 hours a day or you know 8 hours a day or something like that it's just when they push that switch and it's typically during or right after delivery and no no difference between 9:00 am and 5:00 P PM correct great and and it shouldn't be louder than a car you're saying yeah exactly okay okay thank you and I mean it is going to be screened in and our engineer testified that that's giving the proper screenage to help with that sound as well okay thank you appreciate it no problem anything any other questions questions further thank you guys for having doing really good in asking and and digging into what it is that's going to be done so we do appreciate that thank you thank you very much we appreciate the feedback Mr chair believe it was once every two weeks too the frequency for pickup yeah I thought someone said once a week can we just clarify no it was it was two it was once every two weeks as per Harold uh Mike thought it was week I misspoke I said once every week Mike's not a an expert witness now anymore before we'll have to discuss that um any other members of the public that wish to speak who anyone else seeing none seeing none I'm remanding it back to the board so we can uh take action so any favorable action like I said no Co issued until that whole entire list that is completed and inspected by Mr disco

uh additional Landscaping is needed uh the Ada handicap requirements that came up with Mr wishna um agreement to meet all the letters that both sets of letters from Mr mrea and uh Mr disco uh the window screening is going to be bifurcated and remanded to the board to the TRC if the TRC uh which is our Professionals in the town and and Aaron uh agree with it that'll be great it'll be approved uh if not it will go back to um back to the planning board for reconsideration at the next meeting of March 24th now um so let let's let's take a second to to do this Matt so should we be taking action tonight or should we take action on 324 and adopt the resolution in the same night what is the cleanest way for us to do that with an outstanding issue present yeah the outstanding issue kind of are We Are we think we should wait right we I feel we should wait yeah and that's that's why Mr that's why I brought it up to do it so if I do so counselor if we adopt the resolution I'm assuming you guys will get an agreement on um with with the TRC if you get an agreement with the TRC then they come back um you'll open up the application we'll say we had agreement with the TRC it'll be four minutes we'll remand it open it up to the public because public will have an opportunity to speak again because it's a open public meeting and we the appli then hopefully be approved uh and then we would adop I'll adopt the resolution I'll instruct counselor to adopt the resolution in the same night so this way you're not um you know you're not hurt by it because to be honest the resolution would be adopted till March 24th anyway at the soonest Mr

chairman yes I would I would um ask the applicant to relook at those three oval signs the flag and those other two um you you heard my you heard my opinion about them earlier and if we're going to have the films and those three and the huge sign um I'd like them to relook at that that's that's that's an issue I have okay that's fine Aaron Aaron my vote Aaron's uh just got a bigger job now that he's responsible for so let's so counselor I I think what I'm gonna do is I'm going to hold this to a vote until 3:24 I will instruct Council to draft a resolution in advance so that way we can do everything on the 324 Okay C could I make a suggestion Mr chairman yeah um you know the reason why uh we asked for a special meeting uh was because a certain time constraints uh that existed between uh the applicant and and the landlord um is it possible for us to take a vote on everything except the signage and then have that carried uh to the next hearing so that they could potentially get the the principal use only with the compactor principal use with the compactor and and and well the and and the site plan the site plan with the exception of the signage any of the signs perfect I I would I would think that that well then what happens if we vote down the signs well they can put in whatever signs they want that that meets the ordinance without variances so they can eventually put whatever sign signs in there our ordinance allows x windows clear and none of the small signs yes yeah but we're not going to doubt anything until the next meeting right so well I think what they're which what I think May or H what I think I'm trying to do is make sure that the board is

comfortable with a raw store going in there that it functions within our zoning ordinances that it has and I think our board engineer and planner have both told us that as well as the testimony from Michael anama which is we've heard from just as many times as we've heard from other folks that we would approve the raw stores without any signs so we bifurcate the application and that that other part will come back now you'll have to work with councel to figure out how that gets dealt with as far as notice or or whatever it might be but we would be carrying the notice we would be carrying the notice uh at this hearing to the next date so I don't think I don't think that there's there we we carried on the record so I don't think there's a notice issue as long as you agree Matt um I I think that uh the the the reason for the request was hope was hopeful that um with the board's consent that my client could be pull the construction permits for the construction components of the site plan approval with the exception of the signage yeah the intern yeah I'm not personally I'm not worried I would I I would suggest the board I think that you know you know it meets all think of this what what does our Council yeah um well the initial request was whether what's the cleanest way and obviously we're finding out what might be a a not as clean way I don't necessarily have an issue if um if everyone is in agreement with um separating out the strictly the signage issue I do have a concern about whether or not um uh that does have an overall impact um I don't have a problem with the site plan being voted on and you remove the signage issue um I might have to work with Council as to whether or not that sign issue if it can be separated out via an adjournment or if it just has to

be a brand new application on on something similar to a renewed application on that I don't know either n application or amended application something along that line well Alex is raising his hand yeah I'm I'm just theorizing here if the signs say we have issues with the signs I mean what what what's permitted does Ross stores paint the the windows cuz I would find that really objectionable they can they can't they only could do a certain our we have an ordinance and M Mike mrea can do that they could only cover a certain amount of the windows anyway Mike yeah 20% is allowed by ordinance they would be down to one sign that the other three would go away so all the number of signs the size all of that goes away very quickly gotcha so they would be limited to then 20% coverage of the windows and one sign if nothing gets worked out yes that's that clarifies my issue okay so real quick because I know another and I actually also have to go too I have to travel an hour and a half now too look I'm comfortable either which way I do understand what council is asking for and I understand because of that's why we did the special meeting is to see they have contract restraint straints be able to potentially whether they can keep the site or not and they've done work on it so the idea is we can just bifurcate it out approve them just for the site only which is the trash trash comp Landscaping all that other stuff all the other conditions and they'll come back to the board with the site with an amended application for signs and that will be on the 324 date which we can do the the resolution will be both at the same time Matt you good with I don't understand why it would be

an amended application um we would be thing we're voting on one thing right and correct I still you know we're closing out the application with a resolution so you'd have to amend it in my opinion I mean you work with Matt I'm not the attorney okay you you Matt will figure that so so that that component would be carried to the 24th with or with without notice depending on what council ultimately agrees yes I think what we're going to do is is wave you're what I want from you is that you're waving vote on the signage issue right now and that is something that we will that we will work together on as to the the legal functionality of that signage issue but for now you're waving any vote on it and all you're asking for is for a vote on the remaining aspects of the site plan application I think that if I'm waving it then then it's closing it out completely and I don't think that that is necessary I think that we can have interm votes um if if if you disagree I don't want to belabor the point um and I I would like to just get confirmation from my client if I could just have one minute yeah I'm gonna lose another member do we have enough time do we have enough members to vote if I go because I'm 45 minutes late now yeah me too one two okay well then okay rather than lose I'd like to walk out at least with this because we know that we're not getting a vote on everything this evening anyway yeah so let's go with a vote along those lines so that's okay Mr I'd like to get a motion for everything but the signs with all the conditions agreement on all the letters handicap being added in as Mr wishner described with Mr lonza Fama and um we're everything to do with the signs have nothing to do with this that they're gonna want to do construction Full Construction permits for inside stuff only nothing outside and they're proceeding at their own risk because this won't be adopted anyway until 324

which we let people proceed at their own risk all the time so can I have a motion on that so moved moved and and also I they will work with the TRC between now and the next meeting and the the board agrees and the planning board rep for the TRC to kind of come back to us with a report you Kaiser uh yes comfortable is uh described by the chairman May Heber yes Mr Barnett yes Mr laugher yes Mr cederquist yes Mr wishna uh yes with the conditions and chairman tiger yes motion passes okay and you wanna wait before everyone says any you want to wave reading the resolutions not till 324 ruction inside the unit only it it it broke were you speaking to me Mr chairman it broke up apologize your only construction is allowed is inside the building nothing outside they can go seek the permits for they can they can begin seeking the per well the compactor as well correct the compactor as well yeah I would imagine and yes I would anything yeah so that's exterior exterior just don't do anything and I think there may be some changes to the the parking deck it the the changes to the building it it just just not the signage don't put up any signs don't cover any glass don't put don't even put the P now no signage no signage whatsoever fine but everything else that's fine and then please work at a now and so we're gonna carry this to the signage part with counselor figuring this out until 324 I'm going to tell everyone there's no further notice but there could be notice if needed um perfect signage issue um and then uh so thank you very much and

then for the everyone else that's here for the Redevelopment application that will also be carried till 3:24 council do we need to notice again because it's Redevelopment or is it just part of our normal meetings uh on the on the on this uh consistency review yes no we're fine we're fine perfect I'm gonna carry chairman just for point of clarity 3:24 what time does that meeting start and it's in person correct in person at 6 30 in town hall terrific thank you thank you all right any other members of the public that wish to speak on any business before the board seeing that I'm going to close this motion can I have an application uh can I have a motion to adjourn okay than you thank you everyone take record