MENDHAM TOWNSHIP PLANNING BOARD

WORK SHOP MEETING

NOVEMBER 21, 2005 MINUTES

Vice Chairman Tolley called the meeting to order at 7:34 p.m. and asked for roll call.  Upon roll call: 

ROLL CALL

PRESENT:                  Mr. Tolley, Mayor Krieg, Mr. Pierson, Mrs. Link, Mr. Mountain, Mr. D’Emidio

ABSENT:                     None

Others present:           Tom Lemanowicz, P.E., John Aubin. Environmentalist, Ed Buzak, Esq., Duggan Kimball, P.P.

The Vice Chairman led the flag salute and announced that adequate notice of the meeting had been given.

MINUTES

On a motion by Mr. Pierson, seconded by Mayor Krieg, the Minutes of the August 17, 2005 Regular Meeting were approved as amended, all agreed; motion carried. 

On a motion by Mr. Pierson, seconded by Mr. D’Emidio, the Minutes of the October 19, 2005 Regular Meeting were approved as amended; all eligible to vote agreed, motion carried. 

Chairman Giordano arrived at 7:45 p.m.

APPLICATIONS: 

Mr. D’Emidio and Mr. Tolley recused themselves from the application. 

PB-05-06; Brookside Fire House; Capital Project Review; Block 137, Lot 16; Mr. Buzak said the Board would review the application and make recommendations.  Andrew Brewer, from the Law Offices of Maraziti, Falcon, Healey, presented the plans and said Kurt Schmidt, Architect, from the Offices of Mylan Architectural Group in Verona , NJ would give a site review.  Mr. Buzak swore in all the witnesses and professionals. 

Mr. Aubin said the Whippany River , a Category One trout stream, and wetlands were near the property.  He said there would be a 300-foot setback from the Category 1 waterway and a 25-foot setback off the bank.  The property was in a hazardous area in terms of flooding.  Areas of disturbance would be minimized and stormwater runoff would be improved by adding plantings along the edge of the parking lot to diminish sheet flow.  He said the septic system analysis was fine. 

Chairman Giordano opened the meeting to the public for questions for Mr. Aubin; there being no questions, the meeting was closed to the public. 

Mr. Schmidt presented Exh. A-1, a set of architectural drawings, and gave an overview of the two-story building (35 foot tall).  He stated that drawings were designed with a knockout panel, for future acquisition of large apparatus.  There was discussion of the layout of the building. 

Mr. Lemanowicz presented the engineering issues; i.e., relocation of sheds, parking lot-increase in total number of spots with the addition of three landscaped islands.  He said the present plans would be revised to change the two-way driveway to a one-way entrance, which would reduce the width and disturbance area.  He said no additional lighting would be added to the driveway, but additional lighting would be installed on the building itself for safety. 

Mrs. Link asked about the end of the building, which seemed to slope.  Mr. Lemanowicz referred to Sheet 3 and said that was the location of the inlet and the existing wall would be removed.  She asked if there would be a problem with only one exit out to Cherry Lane .  Mr. Lemanowicz said if all the parking spaces were full, the trucks could not use the West Main Street exit.  Mr. Tolley said the Fire Department did not want to use the West Main Street exit to limit disturbance to its neighbors. 

Mr. Mountain asked how many additional parking spaces there would be and if the building’s new location was out of the flood zone.  Mr. Lemanowicz said the new building would be six feet above its existing location. 

Mr. Buzak asked about adjusting the lot lines since the firehouse spanned three lots and handicap parking.  Mr. Lemanowicz said additional handicap parking was also added as required by the Township’s Ordinance, not RSIS. 

Robert Zimmerman, 3 West Main Street , was concerned with the entrance and exits and if the decision was final that access to West Main would only be an entrance and not an exit. 

Pat Zimmerman, 3 West Main Street , was concerned with the access off Main Street .  She suggested the additional parking to be located behind the building, eliminating the alternate use parking spaces reducing the width of the road.  She said the light generated should not extend further out than necessary.  She appreciated the time that was taken in developing the plans. 

Chairman Giordano asked if anyone had questions for Mr. Tolley or Mr. Lemanowicz. 

Mr. Buzak said the Board would need to make recommendations to the Township Committee and to determine how the application would relate to the Master Plan.  Mr. Kimball said that Brookside was the focus of the community and he encouraged the location of the facilities to remain in Brookside .  He said the Master Plan’s Community Facilities Plan document did not make any recommendations and he found nothing inconsistent with the presentation. 

Chairman Giordano asked to open the meeting to the public; motion made by Mr. Mountain, seconded by Mr. Pierson, all agreed.  There being no comment; the meeting was closed to the public. 

A recommendation letter would be forwarded to the Township Committee. 

Motion made by Mr. Pierson, seconded by Mrs. Link to consider Planning Board Application #05-06; Capital Project Review; Brookside Firehouse.  The Planning Board found that it was not inconsistent with the Master Plan. 

Mr. Pierson requested to name the building the Emergency Services Building ; all agreed. 

Mr. Buzak said the public’s comments would need to be included:  the ingress from West Main Street , the relocation of parking spaces as recommended and lighting.  Upon roll call vote: 

AYES:              Mrs. Link, Mr. Mountain, Mayor Krieg, Mr. Pierson, Chairman Giordano

NAYS:              None

ABSENT:         None                ABSTENTIONS:  None

Motion carried. 

CORRESPONDENCE

The Planning Board received a letter from West Morris Regional High School District regarding their long-range plans and facilities needs, which included maintenance related projects only.  Mr. Kimball said it was a statutory requirement to submit their plans to the Board and they had previously appeared before the Board.  The secretary was directed to contact the school. 

Mr. Tolley wanted to follow up on the status of the Fire Officials memo from August and September relating to SAJ construction issues. 

PUBLIC

No comment was made from the public during the public session of the meeting. 

On a motion made by Mr. Pierson, seconded by Mr. Mountain, the meeting was adjourned at 10:45 p.m. ; all agreed. 

                                                                                    Respectfully submitted,

                                                                                    MaryAnne Gruszecki