Transcript for Piscataway Zoning meeting on October 24 2024
Note: Transcripts are generated by rev.ai and may not be fully accurate. Please listen to the recording (below) if you feel any text is inaccurate.
Speaker 1 00:00:02 Sorry about that. My dog tripped me while I was getting up. Mr. Kinneally, are there any changes to the agenda this evening? Speaker 0 00:00:10 Yes, there are. Juan Torres five sunburst land is postponed until November 14th. They must notice the property owners surrounding them case field is postponed until November 14th with no further notice unless the application changes. All switch is postponed until November 14th with no further notice. And finally, 4 29 Bell Street is postponed until November 14th. They must notice one property owner. Speaker 1 00:00:40 Thank you Mr. Kenley. Let's start with item number 7 24 dash ZB dash 52 V. Daniel Harris Kola. Correct. Oh good. I'm glad I got it. Speaker 0 00:00:50 Could you raise your right hand? Do you swear that the testimony you're about to give should be the truth? Speaker 3 00:00:56 Yes. Speaker 0 00:00:56 Your name and address please? Speaker 3 00:00:58 Daniel j Paris Canola. 1107 EVA Street, Piscataway, New Jersey. Speaker 0 00:01:03 Thank you. You can put your hand down and explain to the board why you're here. Speaker 3 00:01:07 I'm here for a zoning ordinance for my shed to get it authorized, you know, for approval. Speaker 1 00:01:20 Mr. Chadwick, are you on the Speaker 2 00:01:22 Yes I am. You Speaker 1 00:01:23 Are. Is there any issues that we saw here with the site? Impact Speaker 2 00:01:27 The, the site impact in terms of its location is characteristic of the neighborhood, but the recommendations are that if or when a the shed would be replaced, it would be replaced in conforming location. And the same for the existing garage. The cross? No, I'm sorry, I got that mixed up. Those are the two recommendations. Speaker 1 00:02:00 Are you okay with that Mr. Paris Gondola? Speaker 3 00:02:02 Yes I am. Speaker 1 00:02:03 Okay, good. Any other members of the board have any questions or comments for this application? Hearing young, I'm gonna open it to the public. Speaker 4 00:02:09 Absolutely. Speaker 1 00:02:10 Anyone in the public have any comments or questions about this application? Speaker 4 00:02:15 Yes, I do. Speaker 1 00:02:17 Laura, do you recognize Speaker 5 00:02:19 It's a phone number ending in three? One. Three one. Speaker 1 00:02:22 Okay. Speaker 0 00:02:22 Phone number? Three. One. Three one. Could I have your name and address please? Speaker 4 00:02:26 Mrs 1115 South Washington Avenue, Piscataway 0 8 8 5 4. Speaker 0 00:02:33 Could you spell your name for us? Speaker 4 00:02:37 Last name? N as in Nancy, WAF as in Frank, U as in unicorn, L as in Larry, U as in unicorn, M as in Mary, E as in Edward. Speaker 0 00:02:52 Okay, I need to swear you in. Could you raise your right hand? Do you swear that the testimony you're about to give should be the truth, Speaker 4 00:02:59 Nothing but the truth? Yes. Speaker 0 00:03:01 Thank you. Could you tell us what your comment or question is? Speaker 4 00:03:06 I received a letter in the mail about the shade. I'm not really understanding the main reason why I'm in here because I don't, I don't know. I do not understand what the letter was saying. Speaker 0 00:03:20 You received the letter because you own property within 200 feet of this property. The applicant was required to send you a letter as he was required to send to all property owners within 200 feet. Speaker 4 00:03:37 Okay? I asked who the applicant is, please. Speaker 0 00:03:42 The Applicant is Mr. Paris Granola. Who just testified. Speaker 4 00:03:48 I'm not agreeing. I'm not agreeing. I'm not in agreement with that because my shed is in my yard inside my fence and my property. I'm still not clear of what the problem is all about. Speaker 1 00:04:04 It's nothing to do with your property, sir. Ma'am, this is, this is informing you that one of your neighbors was, was coming in to have a hearing about his shed. We've heard it and we're not concerned about your shed or your property, sir. By law he has to inform the people that are surrounding the property within 200 feet that he was coming in for a, for some relief. You're okay? Okay. Speaker 4 00:04:31 Yes. Okay. Alright. Just thank you sir for clarifying. Speaker 1 00:04:35 No problem, Speaker 4 00:04:36 Sir. Thank Speaker 1 00:04:37 You. Laura. Speaker 5 00:04:43 Anyone else within 200 feet for this application for Eva Street? No. One chairman. Speaker 1 00:04:50 Okay. Close the public portion. I'd make a motion to approve this application. Can I get a second? Speaker 5 00:04:54 I a second Speaker 1 00:04:56 Please Call the roll. Speaker 5 00:04:57 Mr. Weisman? Yes. Mr. Tillery? Speaker 1 00:05:00 Yes. Speaker 5 00:05:01 Mr. Patel? Yes. Mr. Regio? Yes. Mr. Blo? Yes. Mr. Heka? Yes. Mr. Ley? Yes. And Chairman Cahill? Speaker 1 00:05:10 Yes. Speaker 0 00:05:12 Your application has been approved. We'll memorialize it in a written document at our next meeting and we'll mail that document to you. Speaker 1 00:05:18 Thank you very much. Thank you sir. Good evening, Speaker 5 00:05:21 Mr. Chairman. Cahill real quick. Yes. We skipped number six. That was the discussion item just for the calendar for next year. Speaker 1 00:05:27 I apologize. Speaker 5 00:05:29 I just thought, Speaker 1 00:05:30 Yeah, just myself. The same thing. Let's go back to item number six, adoption of the 2025 zoning board of adjustment calendar. All fa All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Okay. Let's move on to item number nine, which is 24 dash zb dash 49 VJRJ fence installation. Speaker 0 00:05:48 Is it representative of JRJ present? Yes. I'm Speaker 4 00:05:50 Here. Speaker 0 00:05:51 Your name sir? Joel Coria. Spell your last name please. Speaker 6 00:05:56 C-O-R-I-A. Speaker 0 00:05:58 Okay. I need to swear you in. Could you raise your right hand? Yep. Do you swear the testimony you're about to give should be the truth? Speaker 6 00:06:04 Yes. Speaker 0 00:06:05 Could you ex tell the board while you're here? Speaker 6 00:06:07 Yeah. I have my customer's house at 11. Ley is looking at fence around her property on the right side. There's an easement going through her yard. We're just looking for relief. For relief for that. Speaker 0 00:06:22 And you understand or your client understands that if access to the easement is necessary, they would be responsible for removing and replacing the fence. Speaker 6 00:06:30 Yes. Speaker 1 00:06:32 Any other members of the board of any questions or comments for this individual? Hearing none. I'm gonna close. I'm gonna open it up to the public. Anyone in the public have any questions or comments for this individual? Speaker 5 00:06:46 No. One chairman. Speaker 1 00:06:47 Okay. Close the public portion. I'd make a motion to approve this application. Can I get a second? I'll set it. Make the call. Speaker 5 00:06:54 Mr. Weisman? Yes. Mr. Tillery? Yes. Mr. Patel? Yes. Mr. Regio? Yes. Mr. Blo? Yes. Mr. Heka? Yes. Mr. Riley? Yes. And Chairman Cahill? Speaker 1 00:07:07 Yes. Speaker 0 00:07:08 The application's been approved. We'll memorialize it in the written document at our next meeting and mail that document to the property owner. Speaker 6 00:07:14 Beautiful. Thank you. Have Speaker 1 00:07:16 A great night sir. You have Speaker 5 00:07:17 A good night. Speaker 1 00:07:18 Shoot on down to item number 1224 dash ZB dash 51 V and no Academy. Speaker 7 00:07:25 Thank you. Good evening. Members of the board, board professionals. My name is Tim Arch, attorney licensed in state of New Jersey here representing Ann Nor Academy. You will recall that we were in front of you not too long ago asking for a, or getting a, an application for 3 99 hose lane, which will be the location that houses their K through four students. Although that location needs to be fitted out before the students can start going there. And so because the school year has already started, the reason that we're here tonight is that we are asking for a six month temporary use permit to allow the and nor Academy students to temporarily use the Muslim Center of Middlesex County located a thousand hose lane as the school at during the time the 3 99 hose lane is being fitted out. So as you're aware, the temporary use permit standards as per your ordinance, is that it? Speaker 7 00:08:27 We need to demonstrate that there's not gonna be a substantial detriment to the uses or activities in the zone and that it it that a grant of this will contribute materially to the welfare of the township, particularly during emergent matters. So I do have two witnesses tonight. One is Mr. Chma Chama Malik, who's the director of Ann Nora Academy, who you've, you've heard before testify. And I also have John Ray who's our traffic expert. And I think through both of those testimonies we'll be able to show that it's not gonna have any substantial detriment and that it will contribute materially to the welfare of the township. So we do have a memorandum that is dated September 20th from your professional staff. It has seven different items and conditions outlined in it. And I think probably the best way to elucidate the testimony is going to be to just go through that memorandum with our witnesses. So unless there's any Hi Speaker 0 00:09:20 Ben. Speaker 7 00:09:21 Hello. Unless there's any other questions for me or any other matters, we can begin with the testimony. You can proceed please. Speaker 2 00:09:30 I, one, one moment. I did see yes, John a report on July 20, dated July 23rd. A number of the items are similar to those in the site impact statement just spoken to. So if I think there's something else that should be discussed, I'll bring it up. Speaker 7 00:09:59 Oh, thank you Mr. Chadwick. Okay, so Chma Malik would be our first witness. Sure, Speaker 0 00:10:05 Please. Mr. Malik, could you raise your right hand? Do you swear that the testimony you're about to give should be the truth? Speaker 8 00:10:11 Yes. Speaker 0 00:10:12 Your name and address please. You can put your hand down. Speaker 8 00:10:15 Chael Malick 60 Timber Hill Drive, Franklin Park, New Jersey. 0 8 8 2 3. Speaker 0 00:10:21 Thank you. Speaker 7 00:10:24 Okay, so excuse me, Chael. So you've been before this board not long ago. I just want you to confirm that you are a representative of and nor Academy. You're familiar with the program and familiar with the MCMC location having run and nor from that location for many years. Is that correct? Speaker 8 00:10:40 Yes, that's correct. Speaker 7 00:10:42 Okay. So let's go through the staff memo and start answering the questions individually and see where that takes us. So question number one or the first comment was to provide some testimony on the proposed construction schedule for 3 99 hose lane. Can you tell us a little bit about what that schedule is? Speaker 8 00:10:59 Sure. We have received several bids from contractors that we brought to the site. Most of them average about 12 to 14 weeks. So we anticipate about a four month build out to be able to move in if you factor in permits, which generally the state of New Jersey requires or allows up to 20 business days. You're talking about between four to five months, which I think will overlap nicely with our Ramadan break. And then for us to be able to move in around March to early April of 2025. Speaker 7 00:11:40 Okay, great. So number two on the list is to confirm the burn number of students enrolled the number of K through four students that are gonna be accommodated at the facility. So can you tell us us a little bit about that? Speaker 8 00:11:55 Yeah, currently Anor has 282 students enrolled at the MCMC 1000 hose lane location. An additional 150 students will be accommodated temporarily at the mosque and, and the building, which is effectively the school. And this is temporarily until 3 99. Hose lane is completely fit out. Inspections have passed and we can officially move in after the co. There's also 99 seminary students that are a part of anor who utilize the MCMC site as well as a hundred what we call ECL Early Childhood Learning students. So those are the younger students. However, the ECL students are housed in a separate facility on the site. So the max number of occupants in total, that'll be utilizing the MCMC building as 531. Speaker 7 00:12:53 Okay. And so in your opinion, can the site accommodate that many students? Speaker 8 00:12:57 It can. As a matter of fact, one of the requirements was to have the fire inspector come to the site. So the fire ins department was on site to determine the capacities for the existing classrooms as well, as well as the gym and the cafeteria and the existing classrooms combined can accommodate 401 occupants. The gym can accommodate up to 395 occupants and the cafeteria can accommodate 101. So we plan on reconfiguring some of the existing large areas such as the gym and the cafeteria as temporary classroom settings for the older students. Speaker 7 00:13:39 Okay. And, and if needed, will the township fire inspector be allowed to come and inspect the, the property again to ensure adequate capacity? Speaker 8 00:13:48 Yeah, absolutely. We've already invited the inspector to come in last month and where we were able to get our capacity numbers that I just mentioned and those certificates were provided to the township staff, but we're happy to have the inspector visit again to confirm that everything's compliant as we implement accommodating the additional students. Speaker 7 00:14:07 Okay. So we indicated that in terms of drop off and pickup times at the MCMC site, that we're gonna stagger those to avoid having too much impact on traffic at any given time. Can you explain what the proposed schedule is? Speaker 8 00:14:22 Yeah, so the proposed schedule in terms of drop off, because most of the parents are coming from Piscataway itself, there is a school bus also that comes. But in terms of the timings, we've got the seminary students, which I mentioned is about 99 students. They come to the main building that's between 7 25 to seven 40. So we give each segment about 15 minutes to come and exit the parking lot. And then there is a 15 minute gap to then allow the parking lot to effectively empty out. And then elementary, middle school and high school students that come to the main building is from 7 55 to eight 10. And then we allow some time for our younger students, the infants and toddlers who the parents, they park their cars and they actually, you know, handhold them and walk them into the buildings. They're coming from eight 15 to eight 30 as for pickup, similar type of a situation where it's staggered two 40 to 2 55 for the seminary students. And then we allow some time for the parking lot to empty out. Elementary middle school high school is three o'clock to three 15. And the infants and toddlers and preschoolers, they're also two 40 to two 50, same as the seminary students. However, they're on two completely separate sides of the parking lot with two different egresses to be able to, to leave. Speaker 7 00:15:57 Okay. And there's also a Friday prayer schedule that occurs. Correct. And so one of the things that you've done is to actually coordinate it so that dismissals are not going to in any way conflict with, with those, those prayer service times. Is that correct? Speaker 8 00:16:13 That that's absolutely correct. So we are, we're doing early dismissal to up until 1230 every single Friday, which ensures that staff and students vacate the premises and then they can go to, you know, their Friday prayers and their respective hometowns. The first prayer doesn't start till one 15 and it goes till 1 45. But, you know, the, the school is more or less completely emptied out well before that. Speaker 7 00:16:44 Okay. And Speaker 8 00:16:46 We're also just one other thing I wanted to add is we're also hiring cops to assist with traffic controls on Friday during the first and second prayers, which are the two prayers that fill up the most and have the most occupants. Speaker 7 00:16:57 Okay. And so one of the, one of, one of the, the things that you would mentioned is to hire Piscataway police to help just make sure that there isn't any additional congestion or traffic issues during those peak times, correct? That is Speaker 8 00:17:09 Correct, yes. Speaker 7 00:17:10 And one of the things that you did mention that I do wanna bring up is just that those prayer schedules throughout the year are subject to slight changes because they're based on, I guess the length of the day, the the, you know, when sunrise and sunset is, are you're willing to also coordin to continue to coordinate those dismissal times so that if any of those prayer times start to shift, you can shift your dismissal time so that they're not conflicting with one another? Correct. Yeah, Speaker 8 00:17:37 That's a hundred percent correct. We'd be willing to do is continue to coordinate the dismissal times on those Fridays as the year progresses. And by just, you know, explanation are prayer times changed throughout the year in relation to the sundown. So the days are gonna get shorter. So there are times throughout the six month period where we will be making adjustments to the dismissal times to make sure that no dismissal occurs during the start of the prayer session. Speaker 7 00:18:05 Okay. I think six on the memo talks about traffic testimony, so we'll leave that for Mr. Ray. And I think finally the last one was providing, providing letters and, and indicating dates, times, and services to perform by the Piscataway pd. We agree that, we'll, that we will provide basically a list of when we're going need those, those individuals. Correct. Speaker 8 00:18:30 Right. Speaker 7 00:18:31 Okay. I believe that is all my direct testimony from Mr. Malik. Speaker 1 00:18:36 Okay. Thank you. Anyone else on the board? John, did you have any jump in with Speaker 2 00:18:39 John? Only one question. I maybe Mr. Rays gonna address it. The parents dropping in off and picking up their kids. The plan showed, it appeared to show that the drop off pickup area was being removed as you moved to phase two of your project. Speaker 7 00:19:10 I th I think Mr. Chadwick, you might be looking at the 3 99 hose proposal. Yeah, that's which is, which is what is being fit out. Which is why we need the relief tonight for the temporary use moving a thousand home lane. Speaker 2 00:19:27 We'll do that later. Speaker 7 00:19:28 Yes. Speaker 2 00:19:29 Okay. In terms of the everyday practice, do you have teachers or others directing parents in terms of the kids getting in and out of the car or Yes. Along? Speaker 8 00:19:50 Yes we do. So right at the entrance we have both teachers and a security guard both at the ECL building sites as well as the main building. Speaker 2 00:19:59 Alright, so you have experience in that. Speaker 8 00:20:02 Oh yeah. It was actually requested by parents years ago. So we've had that running system for as long as I can remember. Speaker 2 00:20:09 It works. Speaker 8 00:20:10 It does. Speaker 2 00:20:11 Yeah. That's the only question. Mr. Chairman, Speaker 1 00:20:14 Thank you. Thank you John. Any other members of the board of any questions for Mr. Malik? Okay, Mr. Arch, put on your traffic expert then please. Speaker 7 00:20:23 Thank you. I would call Mr. John Ray. Speaker 0 00:20:26 Mr. Ray, could you raise your right hand? Do you swear the testimony you're about to give should be the truth? I do. Your name and address please. Speaker 9 00:20:34 John Ray, REA, a principal with McDonough and Ray Associates, traffic Engineers 1431 Lakewood Road, Manasqua, New Jersey. Speaker 0 00:20:43 I believe that Mr. Ray has been accepted as a traffic engineer before this board on prior Speaker 9 00:20:47 Occasions. Absolutely agree. Please proceed. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker 7 00:20:51 Mr. Ray, you've had the opportunity to visit the site, observe the circulation, the traffic during the busiest times. Can you let the board know your opinion is how to, how the site currently operates and if you believe it can still operate effectively with the temporary influx of more students? Speaker 9 00:21:05 Yes, I have. And I spent a considerable amount of time, probably an hour and a half, one afternoon to observe the pickup procedure. It was the last week of September and what I observed was that all of the smaller children, toddlers, the early learning school kids, they were all accompanied by a parent. There were no small kids wandering around the parking lot. The parents all had the little kids in tow taking care of them, being careful, you know, walking throughout the parking lot, getting to their cars. And I can tell you that in general, the whole parking lot and everything for the hour and a half that I was there functioned safely and efficiently. The one thing I did notice was that some of the traffic coming in from hose Lane West, there are two ways to get into and out of the facility. One is the right in, right out on hose lane and then there's a full access to Hose Lane West, which is at the west end of the site. Speaker 9 00:22:08 I did notice that some of the parents or the guardians coming in from hose lane west were going a little too fast. I wouldn't characterize it as speeding, but probably going a little bit too fast for a parking lot that that had some parents and kids, you know, looking for their cars waiting to, to get into the car and leave the facility. They do have speed bumps. They're kind of the portable kind of speed bumps. They, they are scattered throughout the site, particularly over on the hose lane west entrance and exit. And what I've recommended to my client and what they've agreed to do is to remove the speed bumps because they're quite abrupt and quite jarring. And I think that, you know, there's a difference between a speed bump and a speed hump. The speed bumps are quite jarring. They can cause a person to, you know, perhaps lose control of the car if they're going too fast. Speaker 9 00:22:59 I've recommended that they remove the existing speed bumps and replace them with speed humps, which are a little bit more gradual in terms of a vehicle ramping up and going over the speed hump and coming down. They're not quite as jarring and a a little bit more comfortable for motorists to navigate. So I've recommended that they replace all of the speed bumps with speed humps. And I've also recommended that on the, on the four aisles that are all one-way aisles that access the angled parking in the parking lot, that additional speed humps be placed. And I would recommend they be placed at the midpoints of those four, the four aisles that serve the parking lot. If, if those four additional speed humps were placed right at the midpoint of those four aisles, I think it would contribute to the safety of the situation and I'm confident that it would work out fine even with the additional students. Speaker 7 00:23:57 Thank you. So Mr. Ray, so it's your opinion that, that the influx of additional students can be accommodated with any, without any substantial detriment to the functioning of the site? Speaker 9 00:24:07 I do believe that. And again, we need to remember that it's only for a short period of time, I believe 12 to 14 weeks before 3 99 hose lane is fitted out. And I think that when all is said and done and the, the other students are over at 3 99 hose lane, the additional speed humps I recommended will, you know, be a benefit to this facility as well too. Speaker 7 00:24:28 Thank you. I have no further direct questions of Mr. Ray, Speaker 1 00:24:31 John Chadwick, anything? Speaker 5 00:24:33 I have no Speaker 1 00:24:34 Questions. Okay. Anyone else on the board have any questions or comments? Hearing none. Mr. Arch, I believe you put on your two experts. I'm gonna open it to the public at this point. Certainly anyone in the public have any questions or comments about this application this evening? Ms. Speaker 5 00:24:53 Buckley? No. One chairman. Speaker 1 00:24:54 Okay. Close the public portion and I'd make a motion to approve this application. I'll second. I'll second. Okay. Please call the roll. Speaker 5 00:25:02 Mr. Weisman? Yes. Mr. Tillery? Yes. Mr. Patel? Yes. Mr. Regio, Speaker 1 00:25:14 Give us a thumbs up. Roy. Yes. There he goes. Speaker 5 00:25:17 Mr. Mr. Blo? Yes. Mr. Heka? Speaker 1 00:25:20 Yes. Speaker 5 00:25:22 Mr. Ali had to recuse himself. So MI Chairman Cahill? Yes. Speaker 0 00:25:26 And I did prepare a resolution at the request of the applicant. It contains all of the information in Mr. Ray and Mr. Malik's testimony because Mr. Arch was kind enough to provide that to me today. So we, we will memorialize that this evening. Speaker 7 00:25:41 Thank you so much. Thank you Jim. Speaker 5 00:25:43 Thank you. Speaker 9 00:25:43 Thank you. Have Speaker 7 00:25:45 A wonderful night everybody. Thank you. Speaker 1 00:25:47 Okay, let's move on to item number 14. Adoption of resolutions from the regular meeting. October 10th, 2024. Speaker 0 00:25:58 First resolution, Karl Lockin and Paca, which you voted to approve. Mr. Weisman? Yes. Mr. Tillery? Yes. Mr. O'Reggio? Yes. Mr. Blount? Yes. Mr. Haka? Yes. Chairman Cahill? Yes. Second resolution? Glin Sue, which you voted to approve. Mr. Weisman? Yes. Mr. Tillery? Yes. Mr. O'Reggio? Yes. Mr. Blount? Yes. Mr. Haa? Yes. Chairman Cahill? Yes. Deandre Hamilton, which you voted to approve. Mr. Weisman? Yes. Mr. Tillery? Yes. Mr. O'Reggio? Yes. Mr. Blount? Yes. Mr. Duka? Yes. Chairman Cahill? Yes. Wafi Es Which you, you voted to approve Mr. Weisman? Yes. Mr. Tillery? Yes. Mr. O'Reggio? Yes. Mr. Blount? Speaker 1 00:26:50 Yes. Speaker 0 00:26:51 Mr. Duka? Yes. Chairman Cahill? Yes. Last is on Nor Academy. This is a resolution granting a temporary use permit for a period of six months with deletions as agreed to by the applicant. Mr. Speaker 1 00:27:13 Yes. Speaker 0 00:27:13 Mr. Tillery? Yes. Mr. Patel. Mr. Regio? Yes. Mr. Speaker 1 00:27:21 Yes. Speaker 0 00:27:22 Mr. Duka? Yes. Chairman Cahill? Yes. That's all that I have this evening. Speaker 1 00:27:27 Thank you. Item number 15, adoption of minutes from the regular meeting of October 10th, 2024. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Okay. Item number 16, adjourn. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Okay guys, once again thank you for all your help and your volunteering. Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone. We'll see you Halloween. Okay? Fair enough. In November, December, we're down to one meeting a month. Okay. Have a happy Halloween. Nice everyone. Goodnight everyone.