East Rutherford board continues to hear testimony regarding self-storage
EAST RUTHERFORD - The zoning board held a special meeting on Feb. 16 to discuss drainage and storm water management for a proposed five-story, self-storage facility along Route 17 and Paterson Plank Road at the former Landmark property.
The applicant, Hampshire Companies LLC, is seeking conditional use and preliminary and final site plan approval for the self-storage facility Extra Space Storage. The site has been one of contention with residents in the surrounding area who are opposed to the construction of the facility. The original site plan called for subdividing the 3.66 acre site and constructing the a 96,569-square foot self-service storage facility and a one-story, 5,985 square-foot convenience store with a gas/diesel fueling station, featuring 16 pumps. But at the November meeting, the developer dropped the convenience store and gas station from the application, opting to just build the self-storage facility. In 2015, elected officials passed an ordinance to set design standards for self-storage facilities.
Stormwater management was the biggest subject discussed during the testimony with Robert Inglima, lawyer for a nearby gas station, grilling Brett Skapinetz,civil engineer for the project, on the basin and piping that will connect to an already established pipe to drain stormwater from the site into Berry's Creek across Route 17. According to Skapinetz, there is not a lot of runoff going towards Route 17 and, when designing the site, was looking to choke back the water coming off the property.
"This is a unique case," Skapinetz said, noting he has never come across a pump station removing stormwater from a site and that it is usually removed by gravity. "The natural topography of the site goes towards the highway."
Skapinetz designed the basin and pipes to meet the capacity of existing Department of Transportation drainage pipes as well as the 100 year storm requirements set by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Additionally, the design significantly reduced the amount of impervious coverage of the site, resulting in an "overdesigned" catch basin. Skapinetz believes the basin will work better under the proposed conditions, even with future development of the surrounding properties. He said he cannot design for that situation but it is possible to have a gate or check valve to stem water flow but would not do so unless directed to by the DEP or DOT.
Donald Engles, a representative of the applicant, said aside from the demolition of the building, there has not been any major construction but would make the contractors aware of the times allowed by borough ordinance of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. Engles admitted not knowing the times designated by the ordinance and apologized if any recent activity on the site caused any problems to neighboring properties.
Due to the lengthy meeting, the members of the public were unable to comment on the project. The application will be heard once more at the regularly scheduled March 2 meeting at 7:30 p.m.. Alberta said there are three other applications on the docket for that night and it is unknown if this application will be heard first.
Email: kanzler@northjersey.com