Northside apartment plan continues zoning review

Avalon Bay engineers presented an overview of their proposed northside residential development to the Zoning Board of Adjustment on January 28th, before about thirty citizens and the borough's planning professionals.

Avalon proposes 178 luxury rental units, including ten detached townhouses and two apartment buildings on the property at 233 Cleveland Avenue currently occupied by the Illuminating Experiences lighting factory.

The project will require both a re-zoning or site variance of the property, from light industrial to a residential standard, and also some number of specific variances owing to its density and location. Zoning board chair Judith Richman had earlier described a 'bifurcated' process, in which the developer will first seek a use variance before the zoning board, with a site review to follow in the regular application process.

Although their parking plans were dissected in some detail and an overview of access and egress was presented, the company representatives deferred questions about neighborhood traffic impacts to a later presentation by their traffic engineer.

Their parking plan includes a total of 355 parking spaces for the site, including about a dozen rental parking-bays, attached garages in the townhouse units, small lots and on-street spaces. This target number was computed using the New Jersey site improvement standards, which specify a necessary ratio of residents to parking space availability.

The public audience and some board members had several questions about drainage and over-paving as presented in the concept plan. Avalon acknowledged that their concept plan currently shows more than 62% of the site under 'impervious coverage,' while the borough's existing ordinances for apartment developments requires a variance for any amount greater than 50%. One Cleveland Avenue resident testified during the public comment period that most basements on the hill are already prone to flooding,

The developer's engineer encountered some skepticism when he described the proposed transition from small factory to residential use as a 'de-intensification,' owing to the improved landscaping and potentially lower noise levels.

Having reached the self-imposed time limit for their consideration of Avalon's application, the board tabled its review. Richman polled the members, who agreed to add a second meeting during February, pending availability of a quorum and a venue, for more testimony and discussion of the project.

At press time, The Mirror has not received notice of any additional meeting before the regularly scheduled February 25th at Borough Hall.