Transcript for Piscataway Planning meeting on January 14 2026
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Jan 14 2026 · Planning
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Speaker 1Sorry. You're good to go. Okay. Gimme one second. Madam Chair.
Speaker 0It's my printer. Okay. Well should I do the opening? Are you gonna do Mr. The opening? Mr. Barlow?
Speaker 2Yeah, I'll do the opening for the reorg once Laura gives me the high sign.
Speaker 1Ready? Thank you. Okay.
Speaker 2I'd like to call only
Speaker 3Here for the reorg. So yeah, I just, I'll drop after. Thanks.
Speaker 2Okay. I'd like to call the reorganization meeting of the Pisca Piscataway Township Planning Board to order in compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act. Adequate notice of the meeting was provided in the following ways. Notice published in the Courier News notice published a notice sent to the star ledger notice made available through the Township LI Libraries and posted on the bulletin board of the municipal building and made available through the township clerk. Also in keeping with the Department of Community Fair Guidelines. We're conducting this meeting via virtual platform on Zoom, the login notice and was sent out with everything. And we will allow members of the public to be heard as if they were in present. With that being said, I'd ask that Laura, call the role please.
Speaker 1Mayor Wahler. Present Councilwoman Cahill. Here. Ms. Corcoran? Here. Ms. Saunders? Here. Reverend Kinneally.
Speaker 0Present.
Speaker 1Mr. Atkins? Here. Mr. Hammed? Here. Mr. Aria Here. And Madam Chair
Speaker 0Here.
Speaker 2First item on the reorganization meeting Agenda.
Speaker 4You're gonna stand for the suited flag.
Speaker 2Oh, do that? Yep. You're
Speaker 4Absolutely right. The flags behind Chairwoman Smith. Maybe we could all stand to SLT that.
Speaker 2Okay. Fair enough. Pledge
Speaker 4Allegiance
Speaker 0To the flag of the United States, states of America. And to the Republic Nation Nation. Nation. Nation. Under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Speaker 4Okay.
Speaker 2Thank you Mayor. The next item on the agenda would be the election of a chairperson and I will accept nominations for same.
Speaker 4Mr. Barlow, I'd like to nominate Brenda Smith, who's been a able body chairperson for a number of years.
Speaker 2We have a second.
Speaker 0A second. Second.
Speaker 2Any other nominations? Hearing none. Could we have a vote on Ms. Smith's nomination for chairperson?
Speaker 1Mayor Wahler? Yes. Councilwoman Cahill? Of course. Yes. Ms. Corcoran? Yes. Ms. Saunders? Yes. Reverend Kinneally? Yes. Mr. Atkins? Yes. Mr. Hammed? Yes. And Mr. Aria?
Speaker 2Yes. Madam Chair, congratulations. And I turned the meeting over to you.
Speaker 0Thank you Mr. Barlow. And thank you Mayor for your vote of confidence to further our meet agenda for our reorganization meeting. The next item on the agenda, which is item number five, the election of a vice chairperson. Do there nomination vice chairperson?
Speaker 4I'd like to nominate Reverend Kinneally.
Speaker 0Is there a second?
Speaker 4I'll second.
Speaker 5Not second.
Speaker 0Is there another nomination for another candidate? Hearing none. Their nominations are closed. Would you please call the vote
Speaker 1Mayor. Ms.
Speaker 4Buckley? Yes.
Speaker 1Councilwoman Cahill? Yes. Ms. Corcoran? Yes. Ms. Saunders? Yes. Mr. Atkins? Yes. Mr. Ah. Hammed? Yes. Mr. Ove? Yes. And Madam Chair?
Speaker 0Yes. Item number six, election of a sec. Secretary. Is there a nomination for secretary? For the board?
Speaker 4I'd like to nominate Carol Saunders, please.
Speaker 0Is there a second? I will
Speaker 1Second that. Councilwoman
Speaker 0Cahill. Are there any other nominations for any other candidate hearing? No other nominations there Closed. Madam Secretary, would you please call the role
Speaker 1Mayor Wahler? Yes. Councilwoman Cahill? Yes. Ms. Corcoran? Yes. Reverend Kinneally?
Speaker 4Yes.
Speaker 1Mr. Atkins? Yes. Mr. Ah. Hamed? Yes. Mr. Aria? Yes. And Madam Chair? Yes.
Speaker 0Item number seven. Appointment of a board attorney.
Speaker 4I'd like to appoint, well wait a minute. We have the assistant secretary.
Speaker 0Okay. There's a nomination for a sec. Assistant secretary.
Speaker 4I would like to nominate Reverend Kinneally.
Speaker 0Do we have a second
Speaker 4Bill?
Speaker 0Is there any nomination for assistance? Are there nominations for a assistant secretary? Hearing none there close. Would you please call the role please?
Speaker 1Mayor Wahler? Yes. Councilwoman Cahill? Yes. Ms. Corcoran? Yes. Ms. Saunders? Yes. Mr. Atkins? Yes. Mr. Hammed? Yes. Mr. Echeveria? Yes. And Madam Chair?
Speaker 0Yes. And now we go to appointment of a board, sec. A board. Attorney. Attorney.
Speaker 4Madam Chair, I'd like to appoint Tom Barlow.
Speaker 0Is there a second?
Speaker 5Carol Saunders. Second.
Speaker 1Roll call.
Speaker 0Roll call.
Speaker 1Mayor Wahler?
Speaker 4Yes.
Speaker 1Councilman McCahill?
Speaker 0Yes.
Speaker 1Ms. Corcoran? Yes. Ms. Saunders? Yes. Reverend Kinneally?
Speaker 0Yes.
Speaker 1Mr. Atkins? Yes. Mr. Ah. Hammed. Yes. Mr. Aria?
Speaker 0Yes.
Speaker 1And Madam Chair?
Speaker 0Yes. Thank you. All. Appointment of a planner.
Speaker 4I'd like to appoint CME Engineering.
Speaker 0I will second that. Council. Thank you. Ro call
Speaker 1Mayor Wahler. Yes. Councilwoman Cahill? Yes. Ms. Corcoran? Yes. Ms. Saunders?
Speaker 0Yes.
Speaker 1Reverend Kinneally.
Speaker 0Yes.
Speaker 1Mr. Atkins? Yes. Mr. Ah. Hammed. Yes. Mr. Cheveria? Yes. And Madam Chair? Yes.
Speaker 0Appointment? Appointment of recording. Secretary slash clerk.
Speaker 4Madam Chair, I'd like to appoint a person who is really the heart of this board. Her name is Laura Buckley.
Speaker 0Carol Second. I'll second it. I think we all second it. Yes. We all agree. Oh, thanks. But we still need a vote. Roll call please. We
Speaker 1Still need a roll ball. Mayor Wahler? Yes. Councilwoman Cahill? Yes. Ms. Corcoran? Yes. Ms. Saunders? Yes. Reverend Kinneally
Speaker 0Double. Yes.
Speaker 1Mr. Atkins?
Speaker 0Yes.
Speaker 1Mr. Hammed? Yes. Mr. Aria? Yes. And Madam Chair?
Speaker 0Yes.
Speaker 1Thank you.
Speaker 0And for our committee appointments, mayor.
Speaker 4No, that's up to you Madam Chair.
Speaker 0Hmm.
Speaker 4Who do you wanna give extra homework assignments to?
Speaker 0Well site the site plan. We all are, are actually appointed to attend. I will regularly attend Reverend Kinneally. I know
Speaker 4Dawn Corcoran's part of it too. And sometimes
Speaker 0I'll be there. Ms. Corcoran, right? There are standing members, I suppose. Yeah. The Board of Education committee.
Speaker 4Who wants to raise their hand?
Speaker 0Seeing none?
Speaker 1I see everybody's eyes moving.
Speaker 0Not I, Ms. Corcoran.
Speaker 6Why not?
Speaker 0Okay.
Speaker 4We'll give Ms. Corcoran economic development too while she's there.
Speaker 0Okay. Do
Speaker 1It all. Dawn, I'll
Speaker 6Take 'em all. I don't mind.
Speaker 0All right. Okay. Motion for an adjournment. Carol Saunders. I'm making a motion for adjournment. Second Councilwoman Cahill. All
Speaker 1In favor?
Speaker 0All in favor. A. Aye. Aye. Thank.
Speaker 3And with that I bid you. Goodnight. Thank you very much for the reappointment. Take care.
Speaker 0You quite welcome.
Speaker 1We're all official again?
Speaker 0Yes. Okay, then we will proceed to our regular township meeting. The planning board, the Piscataway Township Planning Board, will please come to order. Adequate notice of this meeting was provided in the following ways. Notice published in the Courier News notice posted on the bulletin board of the municipal Municipal Building notice made available to the township clerk notice sent to the Courier News and the star ledger. Ms. Buckley, will you please call the role
Speaker 1Mayor Wahler. Present Councilwoman Cahill? Here. Ms. Corcoran? Here. Ms. Saunders? Here. Reverend Kinneally. Present. Mr. Atkins? Here. Mr. Ahmed? Here. Mr. Echeveria? Here. And Madam Chair
Speaker 0Here. Mr. Barlow, would you read the open public meeting Notice?
Speaker 2Certainly. Madam Chair, in keeping with the guidelines disseminated by the Department of Community Affairs, we're having this meeting through a virtual platform, which is appropriate, and the appropriate login information has been provided.
Speaker 0Thank you. The flag can be seen over my right shoulder. Those who can please stand and salute the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Do we have a need to swear in professionals tonight?
Speaker 2No. We could do it at the next meeting. We're not taking
Speaker 0Testimony.
Speaker 2Testimony from Mr. Reiner. Steve.
Speaker 0Okay. Our agenda. Are there any additions or changes to our agenda tonight?
Speaker 2Yes. Madam Chair, item number 10, which was a discussion on the redevelopment plan for block 6 2 0 1 lot 4.02 has been carried to the February 11th, 2026 meeting. That is the only change I'm aware of.
Speaker 0Okay. Item number eight, adoption of resolution. Ms. Saunders,
Speaker 5Madam Chairman, I'd like to adopt the resolutions to memorialize action taken at the December 10th, 2025 meeting, which there are none.
Speaker 2You, I think you skipped on item. Item number seven, pay the bills.
Speaker 0Oh, I'm sorry. Well, there are none. So we can, we've done, so item eight is done, correct? Yes. Okay. Item number seven. Can I have a motion to pay the duly audited bills?
Speaker 7Madam chair, I'll make a motion to pay the dually audited bills.
Speaker 0Can I have a second?
Speaker 5Aandra? Second.
Speaker 0Thank you. Roll call please.
Speaker 1Mayor Wahler? Yes. Councilwoman Cahill? Yes. Ms. Corcoran?
Speaker 6I'm sorry. Yes.
Speaker 1Ms. Saunders? Yes. Reverend Kinneally.
Speaker 7Yes.
Speaker 1Mr. Atkins? Yes. Mr. Hammed? Yes. Mr. Veria? Yes. And Madam Chair?
Speaker 0Yes. Item nine, adoption of the minutes of regular meeting of December the 10th.
Speaker 5Chair, Madam Chair Carol, I'd like to more realize that the adoption of the minutes from the regular meeting of December 10th, 2025.
Speaker 0Do I have a second?
Speaker 7I'll second. Madam Chair,
Speaker 0Roll call.
Speaker 1Mayor Wahler. Yes. Councilwoman Cahill? Yes. Ms. Corcoran?
Speaker 6Yes.
Speaker 1Ms. Saunders?
Speaker 5Yes.
Speaker 1Reverend Kinneally.
Speaker 7Yes.
Speaker 1Mr. Atkins? Yes. Mr. Ahmed? Yes. Mr. Veria? Yes. And Madam Chair?
Speaker 0Yes. Item number 11, ordinance.
Speaker 2Yes. Madam Chair. This is a referral over from the township council with regards to an amendment to an ordinance that deals with fences. And I think what I'll do is let Ms. Corcoran educate the board as to what's being changed.
Speaker 6No problem. So basically we took a look as a variances that were granted by the zoning board last year. And it appears that a majority of the homeowners are coming in for variances, for fences on corner lots. So the recommendation is to amend the ordinance to allow for a fence that's located on what most people would consider the side yard to be located, the half of the required distance. So for instance, if you have a, if you're in an R 20 zone under the current ordinance, that fence would have to be located if you're doing like a six foot solid 40 feet from both property frontages under the ordinance amendment on that side yard now, it would only have to be located 20 feet from the property line. So we really think that the ordinance is, the ordinance amendment is just, again, by the major, by the amount of variance applications. We've seen it, it's really necessary at this point. The board has been granted this type of variance. Anyway, they've been required. I'm just, we locate the fence half of the required distance. So that's why that's before us this evening.
Speaker 0Are there any questions from the board on this change of variance?
Speaker 8No, but I'm glad to hear it because I mean, obviously it's a lot of extra work, not just for the town employees and extra paperwork and all that, but also for the residents where it, this is good common sense and I'm glad to hear, Dawn, that you are frequently looking through those to, to make good common sense changes.
Speaker 0Thank you. Does this change improve the sight lines for those on the corner lot?
Speaker 6So you're still not under the current ordinance, you still cannot Any structures within the site triangle that will not be changed. That still remains.
Speaker 0Okay. Should I open it up to the public if the board has no more questions? Don,
Speaker 9If I just ask one question, is it half, is it half the current amount or is it 20 feet off because I'm, I'm think
Speaker 6So. That was just an example. That's a great question. Okay. So every zone has pretty much, every zone has a different front yard setback requirement. So depending on what zone your property will fall in, it'll be half of what that required setback is.
Speaker 0Thank you. So if the re so if the request, if the setback is 10 feet, then it would be five feet, correct? Half. Okay.
Speaker 8And again, that just pertains to people who sort of have two frontages where Okay.
Speaker 0On a corner lot.
Speaker 8Yeah. On a quarter. A lot
Speaker 9For that clarification.
Speaker 1Thank you
Speaker 0Mr. Barlow. Do you think we need to open it up to the public?
Speaker 2Yes. Madam Chair. 'cause I believe the board will take action. Okay.
Speaker 0Okay. Members of the public, you've heard the, the amendment to the fences variance of the of the fences. Law, change of fences requirement for, for homeowners on a corner. If you have any comments to make, would you please raise your hands at this time?
Speaker 1No. And Madam chair.
Speaker 0Okay. Thank you. Closed to the public. If you have no questions, members of the board, would someone please make a motion to accept the changes that have been made by the council?
Speaker 8Madam chair. Madam
Speaker 0Chair
Speaker 8Reverend. Well I'll, I'll offer it Reverend, if you wanna second it.
Speaker 1There you go.
Speaker 0Go ahead. Ms. Madam Cahill.
Speaker 8Yes, Madam Chair. I will make that offer that we accept the amendment to the zoning law as laid out by Ms. Corcoran.
Speaker 0Thank you Reverend Kinneally.
Speaker 1I'll second it. Madam Chair.
Speaker 0There we go. Thank you. Roll call
Speaker 1Everybody. So excited tonight. Mayor Wahler. Yes. Councilwoman Cahill? Yes. Ms. Corcoran? Yes. Ms. Saunders? Yes. Reverend Kinneally. Yes. Mr. Atkins?
Speaker 9Yes.
Speaker 1Mr. Ahmed? Yes. Mr. Aria? Yes. And Madam Chair?
Speaker 0Yes.
Speaker 2Madam. Madam Chair, I'm sorry, just out of an abundance of caution, since this resolution has to get back to the counsel in order for them to do what they have to do, I did prepare a resolution memorializing the board's recommendation that
Speaker 0Ms. Sanders, do you have a copy of that resolution?
Speaker 5Yes I do.
Speaker 0Would you please move it please.
Speaker 5Okay. Madam Chairman, I'd like to memorialize the ordinance entitled Chapter 21, zoning section six for general Regulations for Defense Ordinance.
Speaker 0Do I have a second?
Speaker 5Second.
Speaker 0Councilman roll call please. Thank you. Roll call.
Speaker 1Mayor Wahler. Yes. Councilwoman Cahill? Yes. Ms. Corcoran? Yes. Ms. Saunders?
Speaker 5Yes.
Speaker 1Reverend Kinneally?
Speaker 7Yes.
Speaker 1Mr. Atkins? Yes. Mr. Ahmed? Yes. Mr. Aria? Yes. And Madam Chair?
Speaker 0Yes. Thank you. At this time I'm going to turn the rest of the meeting over to Mr. Barlow to conduct the rest of the meeting.
Speaker 2Thank you. And I'm gonna turn it over to Reverend Kinneally since he is the vice chair and it's raring to go.
Speaker 0Okay. So I'll
Speaker 2Let Reverend Kinneally.
Speaker 7Thank you Madam Chair.
Speaker 0Thank you.
Speaker 7Item number 12, courtesy review Board of Education Fellowship Forum School block 86 0 5 lot 2.01. 1515 Stelton Road. Is anyone here for that?
Speaker 2Thank Reverend Kinneally. Just I'm gonna turn it over to the architect from Mr. Ick from spies in a second. But just through remind the board pursuant to NJSA 40 55 D dash 31 public agencies such as the Board of Education, whenever they're going to spend public funds, they have to come before the planning board for our review and recommendations. It's sometimes called the courtesy review, but it's also known as a Title 31 review. And I believe Mr. Ziga was laying here last month for the two other projects. Is here again today?
Speaker 10That is correct. Mr. Barlow. And also from Spile we have our Director of Landscape architecture Will suiter on the call as well.
Speaker 11Good afternoon.
Speaker 7Okay. You may proceed.
Speaker 10Thank you very much. So good evening members. Before I get started, everyone can hear me okay?
Speaker 2Yes sir. Yes. Yeah,
Speaker 7We're clear.
Speaker 10Great. Thank you. So good evening members of the planning board. Thank you for the opportunity to present today. My name is Justin Kozy, I'm a senior project manager with Spies Architectural Group and we are the architect of record for the Piscataway Board of Education. And we are here on their behalf to discuss their proposed project with you. Our goal is to provide a clear overview of the project, how it aligns with the New Jersey Department of Education Planning Standards and address any questions you may have. We do appreciate your time and your consideration. So as mentioned, this is a alteration project at Fellowship Farm School located at 1515 Stelton Road.
Speaker 10A little background about the project, the Board of Education has significantly expanded its preschool program over the past five years. Increasing enrollment from 67 students in the 20 18 20 19 school year to 648 students in the 20 24 20 25 school year. To accommodate this growth and meet the programmatic programmatic needs of the pre-K initiative, the board has leased classroom space in three separate facilities around the township of Piscataway. In 2024, the district submitted for and was awarded a state grant to support further expansion of the existing preschool program. And accordingly, the board proposes to modify existing classrooms and existing office space at the district owned fellowship farm school located at 1515 Stelton Road to provide in-district classroom capacity for the pre-K program. This expansion will not only support the continued growth of the program, but also ensure that pre-K students can be accommodated should any of the current lease facilities become unavailable.
Speaker 10The alterations within the existing building include altering all existing 10 classrooms within the building to meet DOE pre-K requirements as well as accessibility standards. A new accessible ramp at the main entrance With this, all the existing fixtures and casework will be upgraded to child height fixtures to meet the pre-K needs. As mentioned, this will also include updating the toilet rooms to be aada a compliant and child height as well as adding child height toilet rooms to each of the classrooms, which currently don't exist. Will involve conversion of an existing space for a school nurse office, a secure vestibule for secure entry into the building full HVAC upgrades throughout the school as well as abating the existing asbestos that remains throughout the building. In addition, there is a new playground space proposed along Freedom Avenue. The proposed student population for this building is approximately 150 students with proposed staff of approximately 30. This site also contains the district administration offices, of which there are approximately 35 district administration staff that also occupy this facility as part of the renovations. There will be, we will get into the plans shortly, but there are, after the renovations to the building, there will be 79 existing parking spaces to remain, three of which are accessible. And the total area of alterations is approximately 11,800 square feet. So with that I'm going to share my screen.
Speaker 10Okay. Is everyone seeing my screen? Yes. Thank you. Okay, so I am going to move to exhibit CP 0.1 to kinda give an overview of the building. This entire portion of the building kind of hatched in this location is the existing district administration offices. There is no proposed work as part of the scope in this area of the building. The majority of the building, the work will occur in the oldest portion of the school. These rooms highlighted in gray here as well as on the second floor of that building here. Before we go any further into the inside the building, I am going to turn the floor over to our director of landscape Architecture, Mr. Wolf Suiter.
Speaker 11Thanks Justin. As part of the work, as Justin alluded to is we are adding an additional playground to the outside in the rear corner of Freedom Avenue and Stelton Road that is going to be a 2,800 square foot Ford rubber play surface. We will also be including small landscaping around the edge and just, you probably go to the next slide or, or zoom up in the top one. Landscape is very minimal. It is really just to shield the students off of the road as well as the parking lot. Provide a little bit of extra barrier for that. There is a perimeter fence with a gate with a panic lock on there for safety egress. One exit in and out again to control the students. The size of the space as stated holds roughly somewhere between 75 at a hundred students that are able to be played. And that's broken down to 75 students can fit on the larger play structures. 10 students can play in the smaller play structures and about 10 to 15 students can play in the auxiliary. There's panels of musical instruments, so the sizing of the amount of students that could go out there fits with the appropriate amount of classes that would be out at one time. As far as drainage, we have taken that into consideration. There is underground drainage below the playground surfacing that will help with maintenance in any sort of stormwater as well.
Speaker 10Thank you Will. So I'm going to move to exhibit A 1.1 to kind of give a blown up detail of the interior alterations proposed within the building. So the, on the main floor of the building there will be eight classrooms each with their own accessible toilet room and accessible casework for the students. There will be a new secure vestibule entry point with a, a man lock, a security window and a new security office to, so no one is able to get onto the building unattended there. The existing entry to the building did not have a ramp, only a stair up to that level. So we are including an a DA accessible ramp to provide access to that secure vestibule and a new nurse suite to provide nurse facilities for the students. The existing basement level of this building will remain unrenovated and will be utilized by office staff. And on the second floor of the building there are two classrooms, both of which will receive new a DA compliant toilet rooms as well. And with that, I think that is all we had to share with the board this evening. Are there any initial questions?
Speaker 8Madam Chair, if I may, this is Councilwoman Cahill. This is gonna be a real dumb question. So on the second floor, are there elevators in the building?
Speaker 10There is no elevator within the existing building, no.
Speaker 8All right. So they're not fully a DA compliant then in terms of access. Like, I guess I just don't understand what the requirement would be then how you would I see the wheelchair accessible bathrooms, but nobody with a wheelchair would really make it up to that second floor. Is that about right?
Speaker 10That would be correct. But in the event in the,
Speaker 13He will say no. He will say no. He will say no. He will say no. He will say no. He will say no. He will say no. He, he say he, he, he, he, he, he, he Nothing.
Speaker 10Hey, can everyone hear me
Speaker 1All right? I just, yes, now we can. I just muted the other room so it's something on Piscataway TV's end. Sorry everybody. Can you guys hear me now normal? Yes. Yes. Alright. Reverend Kinneally can't speak. He's just gonna have to thumbs up 'cause it's something on that end.
Speaker 2I thought Mr. Cozi was doing an EDM concert for our time.
Speaker 1Yeah, I was. Well we're awake now. Okay. Alright.
Speaker 10Yeah, I'm glad it wasn't, glad it wasn't me. Okay.
Speaker 1Please continue. Great.
Speaker 10So I'm sorry Ms. Cahill, you were asking about the existing elevator facilities, correct. And Yes, yes. So there are no existing elevator facilities, but we, what we are doing is making them a DA ready in case that an elevator is added to the building.
Speaker 1Thank you.
Speaker 6I know Reverend Kinneally can't speak, so I don't know, may I jump in or?
Speaker 1Yeah, chair Lauren Chair.
Speaker 6Yeah, without a chair here, if I may. So the staff, I I do have to say the staff has some concerns here, one of which is without having a property survey, it's very difficult for us to determine where the proposed improvements fall. That also pertains to the existing improvements. It, it, it's, it's hard for us to, to see, you know, where is this tot lot in relation to the setbacks, the parking, you know, are there encroachments of the parking within township right away. If I may ask a question, how is drop off and pickup being handled? It looks like with the elimination of the parking spaces on Freedom Avenue, it is sort of now with the fencing it's gonna be blocked off. So I'm assuming that's where employees are gonna park and, and the, and the drop off's gonna occur off the Commonwealth Avenue. Is that correct?
Speaker 10That is correct, yes.
Speaker 6Okay. Is there a property survey available?
Speaker 10So we did a partial survey of the area of the improvements, not a full property survey of the entire site. And that is available. And I believe we did send that Mr. Oliveira, the district's dis Business Administrator reached out to us and we did provide that to them earlier this afternoon. I'm not sure if that has made its way to the board yet.
Speaker 6I have not seen it.
Speaker 2Okay. And, and Mr. Kza, you may not be aware of this, but based on the staff's concerns, I know that Assistant Township attorney James Clark had reached out to the board's attorney, David Rubin and Mr. Olivar to ask for that survey and also to ask for more time in order for the staff to review it so that the planning board would be in a position, you know, to, to address, I think what are viable concerns that, that they have. Because without the survey, it, it appears the top lot is going in the municipal right away.
Speaker 4I, if I may, Madam Chair, this is a Mayor Wahler. I don't know if the architect is aware that we're gonna be installing sidewalks out there this year. Probably on both streets. They're the board. They're gonna lose all that parking.
Speaker 10So as far as that goes, I think Mr. Suiter, we are showing a new walk going in front of the, the playground area. Is that correct?
Speaker 11That is correct. There is a partial sidewalk there. All work is behind that current sidewalk. So we are behind the right of way for that. As part of the improvements part of that sidewalk will be extended into their, into the parking lot as well. So that frontage would be, you know, not a concern to be encroaching in any part of the right of way.
Speaker 4Are you guys gonna, are you guys gonna be installing bumper stops or anything like that? Or
Speaker 11Curb stops would probably, you know, potential to be installed, correct? Yes.
Speaker 4All right. What, what about on Commonwealth Avenue?
Speaker 11Commonwealth Avenue, we we're not proposing any sort of site work. So any work that would be done there is actually a launch drip between the parking that's currently existing and Commonwealth no disturbance. You know, as far as this project is taken out there as far as, you know, the, the bus drop at student drop off area, that's currently where they do it. Now, we're not proposing any change to that. All work is done on that pre other side.
Speaker 4I, I, I guess, I guess the answer is, is that if the sidewalk, you know, there's normally a 10 foot envelope. It looks like if you go by your plans here, it looks like the, the, the side to cars are gonna be potentially over the sidewalks on Commonwealth.
Speaker 6And again, that goes along with the staff's concerns. I mean, without having a definitive, you know, without seeing something, I, I understand there's a survey floating around now and that we really have to see that to see, you know, where is this parking? Is it encroaching in the township right away? You know, how is the sidewalk gonna be? How's the parking going to be impacted? Is there really gonna be sufficient parking here for this type of use? I know right now you're saying, you know, we're, we're you have 79 parking spaces, I believe even with after the elimination of the nine. But these are all significant concerns.
Speaker 4I I, I think, I think the Ms, Mr. Osa has said the town has spent millions of dollars in the North Salt region adding new carbon and sidewalks and drainage in the whole area out there. And Commonwealth and Freedom and Justice are next on scheduled in that area to get the sidewalks and things like that. So I think we're concerned that, you know, if this stuff is installed, is that gonna impact the availability for handicap accessibility for folks in wheelchairs that that need to go out to out towards the street. Everything goes out towards Stelton Road. And I, and I guess another concern I think the staff brought up with the close proximity of the, I guess the playground area to where Stelton Road is, is that there probably should be some safety bollards installed out there. 'cause you know, it is a 40 mile an hour zone out there with the cars and you know, freaker accidents have happened and I, I don't know, we, I I'll be honest with you, if this was a normal site review, this wouldn't be going any place. So I don't know, I'm, I'm just a little m at this. I don't who, who, who from the board looked at these plants. Just outta curiosity,
Speaker 10We met with a team of members from the Board of Education.
Speaker 4They're, they're okay with encroaching on the sidewalk areas on Commonwealth. Yeah,
Speaker 10We, we did review this with the, with the board and they, they approved it.
Speaker 4All right, well, I, I gotta tell you one thing that we've done for, for, I don't know, I guess miss maybe miss Quirk on your thing, for more than 30 plus years, 35 years, we never allowed encroachments in the right of way like that. Especially where the sidewalks go.
Speaker 6If, if there were encroachments, if this was a typical site plan application, the staff's recommendation would be to deny the application. Obviously this is their intercapal review. You know,
Speaker 4I, I don't, I don't, I don't know what you guys are gonna do when the sidewalks go in, you know, it's 'cause they are gonna be going in. So, I mean,
Speaker 11So there's actually the
Speaker 4Best thing the board wants to see is somebody from American Disabilities advocacy groups sue the board in winning court, like big time for blocking the sidewalks.
Speaker 11So that parking area is a one way and the width between the two parking stalls is actually oversized for a one-way. So there is opportunity to extend those bottom stalls by the Freedom Avenue back a little bit and keep that width to be appropriate for a one-way street. The sidewalk currently along Freedom Avenue, I think is, you know, I don't know what you typically have right now at that corner, it's about 10. And that might just be because Commonwealth is a little bit of a more major road. The typical sidewalk is more like four feet. So depending upon if you do go with that four feet width, a long freedom, it won't, you can encroach back four feet from there and take that into the parking stall and install that, you know, in, lengthen that in the back and still have the width of that drive fee sufficient for code of that one-way parking.
Speaker 4I, I don't know. So there was a committee from the board that reviewed these plans with you?
Speaker 10That is correct.
Speaker 4And nobody brought up about handicap accessibility. I think that's very odd to say the least.
Speaker 10In in what way?
Speaker 4The sidewalks out there. I mean we're, we're installing sidewalks all over that neighborhood. I mean obviously this is one of the last pieces of the puzzle here. I mean, the county installed a sidewalk out on Stelton Road several years back in front of the school district board. All right. It's very hard to tell without, without a proper survey in front of us. So
Speaker 8If I could Dawn, ask a quick question. So well actually maybe I should ask this of the professional. When, when is construction started is expected to start, do, do we have a, like a tentative date or a quarter yet, or not necessarily?
Speaker 10Construction would be anticipated to begin in March of this year.
Speaker 8And Dawn, when are we, when are the sidewalks planned?
Speaker 6My understanding was sometime this year, mayor, do we have a more definitive
Speaker 4Problem when we get the contract out and go out to bid? So there's a potential, they may lose some parking spaces on Commonwealth,
Speaker 8So they're not doing any work on the Commonwealth side. So if the sidewalks go in on Commonwealth and then there's parking spaces lost, then they don't, like if it were a normal application wouldn't fulfill the parking space requirement. Is that roughly what we're saying here? Dawn? Just wanna make sure I'm confident
Speaker 6We're not, we're not confident. We don't know for sure whether or not there's encroachments within the township right away on Commonwealth as the architect or the, I'm sorry. The landscape architect indicated there is a GRA grass strip out there, there, there may be the ability to install the sign with without impacting that parking. But again, we're not sure. Okay. Is there room to maybe shift it back perhaps just so
Speaker 4Councilwoman, there were encroachments out there when we, I think when the, the b the BA for the board of Ed contacted our office and then we found out that the board has been illegally using the park as some parking lot for a number of years, which is a violation of Green Acre rules. So I mean they were notified of that. So I guess they're not showing that on the plan out there now using the Parkland. So
Speaker 6And so
Speaker 8Are they still using it today or We don't know.
Speaker 4I don't, I don't believe they are. They should make that.
Speaker 10No, no they're not.
Speaker 4Alright.
Speaker 8So the question is, is, you know, without having the, I just wanna make sure I understand here, without having that complete survey, there is an opportunity because we don't know that when those sidewalks go in, this particular location on the commonwealth side is gonna lose parking spaces. And if I could just, Mr. Kosik, did you say that that's where all the parking is, is taking place? Is on the Commonwealth side?
Speaker 10Yeah, that's the vast majority of the parking is on the Commonwealth
Speaker 8Side. And that front, like I only know the littler lot on the other side. That is going to be then part of this tot lot. And then what kind of parking is gonna be there? I I, I mean I'm looking at the plans, but I they're a little small for me. I'm sorry. Getting old.
Speaker 10Oh yeah. Let me, let me share my, my apologies. Let me, let me, no,
Speaker 8It's not your fault.
Speaker 9And Mr. Ick, why, while you're answering that question as well, I may have missed it. I apologize sir. The entrance of where drop off would be, if you could just remind me where that is again, that'd be incredibly helpful. Thank you.
Speaker 10That would be this entry right here.
Speaker 9Thank you.
Speaker 6Yep. And if I could ask why, what is in the hatched mark all along the Freedom Avenue frontage? I know you have the tot lot obviously that's where that is being installed, but why does, why is it hatched all the way along? Freedom. The
Speaker 10First was that
Speaker 6You were putting a sidewalk in quite honestly, but
Speaker 11So yeah, we, we, so the intent is due to us having to do connections with the downspouts of the underground drainage we're tying into the existing inlet of the road. Okay. And per, again, your a DA concerns that was raised by the civil engineers, the intent was right now that is just asphalt. That we were going to install an actual concrete sidewalk that would connect to that existing one at the corner of Stelton of Freedom. Now that sidewalk was only going to be the four foot wide typical sidewalk that runs across there. That's why I said the intent was to have those existing parking lots be pushed back, you know, the tiny bit. 'cause if you look to the right side, see how that angled parking, see the width of that aisle, it's probably about 14 to 16 feet. That's, that's standard for a one way parking aisle.
Speaker 11What we have on the other side is close to 26 to 28 feet. So that's why I said like we can take that parking and push that back and not have any concerns about the loss of parking. And you could actually see that that darker dashed line that goes around the property, that is the property line, all work, you know, of, of intent is inside the property line except for that sidewalk. It really, again, that is just to continue the sidewalk because you can see it ends at that corner of Stelton and freedom and then picks up where we're connecting it along the school frontage.
Speaker 10Mr. If I may,
Speaker 8I'm sorry, could I just ask a question? Mayor Mr. Sea, just just to clarify. So currently that sidewalk there that you have thatched out where you said you were you, that the board of Ed was gonna add the, the cement sidewalk there is that is, is that part of the, that's part of the right of way, is that correct, Dawn? And then is that the, is that any part of, of what we see right now on the freedom app? Is any part of that, the partial survey that you have? Like do you know which? Yes. So this side is the side in which you have the survey, but you don't know what the right of way is on the commonwealth side. Is that about right?
Speaker 10That is our, our survey approximately ends right about, if you can see the hand on my screen approximately right about here, we did not carry the survey all the way down this road 'cause we did not have any improvements in that area.
Speaker 4Well I could tell you right now that the sidewalk on Freedom Avenue will not cus cut mustard with a DA because it's only four foot wide. If you're gonna have it up against the curb, it's gotta be five. Correct me if I'm wrong, Dawn, that's my understanding along the curb line. You gotta have it at five feet
Speaker 11Now that that sidewalk will be flush with the asphalt so that that
Speaker 4Doesn't count. That doesn't count you. You gotta have, you gotta have it uniform. You can't have just asphalt mixed up. It's got, it's all gonna be on one or the other.
Speaker 11We'll confirm that with our civil team.
Speaker 4All right. Trust me, we deal with a lot of, a lot of wheelchair advocates in this town.
Speaker 8Well we also are very good at putting sidewalks in the town. Yeah. And so, I mean I, we probably pretty much know what we can and cannot do. But that would definitely be something to look into. But if you say you have space there in that one way strip stripped, then maybe you have that additional foot you can play with. If that's what the, the requirement is.
Speaker 11Yeah. The extra foot of it needs to go for four to five would not be issue. Like I said, I mean we have a good, you know, 6, 8, 10 feet that we can easily adjust. The parking would, you know, have to be adjusted a little bit. You might need to stripe one of the spots to transition. 'cause right now it kind of goes smoothly. So you might need a little, you know, doggy or up, but you know, that, that would be what we would work with our civil team to make sure that, that all complies with the codes.
Speaker 4IIII think there's two, there's two items. Mr. Barlow here. You, you, you're talking about putting the downspouts into the storm drain system. You're gonna have to contact our public works department and make sure you know that there's not a moratorium on the road if you go to do that. But more importantly is with, with the elimination of where they were parking in Green Acres all these years, puts further pressure on the remaining parking. And then what happens if parents come and they want to park there that further strains the neighborhood parking around this area or on street parking. In other words, they're not, they're not gaining parking. They're losing parking and they may potentially lose more. This is gonna be, this is gonna be a big issue here. 'cause it's not just about the internals there. It's all, it's all about Commonwealth Avenue and Freedom Avenue too. Anyway, if anybody else has any other comments, go ahead. I
Speaker 2I I'm just curious because Stelton Road is a county road. Do you also submit, have you also submitted everything to the county?
Speaker 10The county, the county, SU county su We submitted the, the package to the county superintendent.
Speaker 2Okay.
Speaker 4Yes.
Speaker 2No, no. Not the, not the educational superintendent. I mean the county of Middlesex planning board.
Speaker 10No, we have not.
Speaker 2Because as the mayor said, they may, they may have some concerns that they might want bollards or something to protect because I fence isn't gonna stop a car, you know, on a busy intersection. In a playground. Yeah.
Speaker 4Yeah. Especially at 40 miles an hour. Let's just put it this way that my grandchild or something, I don't know if I would want them in that area right there. I mean, Phil, you can understand that you got two young kids.
Speaker 9I agree.
Speaker 4Yeah.
Speaker 8Is that, is that the part of Stelton that's still four lanes?
Speaker 4Yes. Or
Speaker 8It is. Yeah. So two in each. Two in each. Okay.
Speaker 4All right. All right. I guess that Ms. Corker, you're done asking questions or since Reverend Kenny's little, I
Speaker 2I think Reverend Kenny's moved with Laura and he can now be heard if, but he's muted.
Speaker 4Yeah. All right. You can, you could hear him now. We're good. Yeah.
Speaker 7My, my concern is, is the safety of that road. But that road is not always 40 mile an hour. You got big trucks going up and down that road. And these are little kids. These are, these are not kids that are in high school or or grade school. They're, they're little dots. And who's gonna give the safety when one of these kids get run over because there's no sidewalks there and the traffic gets flowing. You got four lanes of traffic two each way, and there's big trucks. Tractor trailer travels to Stelton Road. You know, I'm, you know, being a former with the, the state, I, I'm a little concerned about this thing with the, the sidewalk encroachment. So, so that's my concerns about safety for those children. I know the board has to do what they have to do, but that's one of my big concerns.
Speaker 9And, and just to echo that, Reverend Kinneally is someone who dropped their child off at a daycare on Stone Road every day
Speaker 2For
Speaker 9What? 40 is the, the miles per hour. But we all know people go faster and it can be a very dangerous area. And so any safety precaution we can do for our children, I think is, you know,
Speaker 2Utmost importance.
Speaker 8I'm gonna agree with our board worker. Just an extra good set of eyes and some common sense out there would be clear. That is a, you know, I'm just trying to think exactly. I, you know, I know it, but, you know, I'm always going out one intersection. There is a piece of that. Now there is a light right in the area on Stelton Road, but it is a, a space where people, I don't wanna say drag race, but they, they do speed up because eventually if you're headed, I guess it's northbound on Stelton Road, the two lanes become one and the right lane. Well, actually it's, it, it's still two lanes, but one becomes a, a right only lane. So what you have for folks coming from Edison into Piscataway, a lot of times if they catch the light, I think it's at School Street, they're speeding up to get over into sort of what would be the middle lane, which continues straight into Piscataway versus take it a right onto, I think it would be Hanes. So just a real good common sense thought about any extra safety precautions that you can suggest to the Board of Ed for protection in that particular spot. Because it is a super busy street.
Speaker 10Yes. I mean, I, I do believe that bollards would be a, a good proposed addition to the proposed plans. Adding bollards along the entire frontage of the Stelton Road as well as at the corner between Stelton and Freedom would be a, would be a good safety precaution
Speaker 8For that. I would, I would definitely, I mean, I, I'm assuming you go back to the, to the Board of Ed, it would be, it would be good to recommend to them that just taking that moment to really look at the way that traffic flows in that area. You know, it is, it's, it is very busy.
Speaker 2Councilman Mika, just to, to echo those concerns of, of you and the other board members. Nothing prevents, usually these projects are, you know, pretty cut and dried and there's no concerns or issues. But when you do have concerns and issues like this, you, you could certainly do a resolution addressing the concerns that both the staff has. Ms. Corcoran's raised, the mayor's raised, you've raised the safety concerns of, of Reverend Kinneally and Mr. Aria in order to memorialize. Look, it, it's not that you're against a, a, a playground or an expansion, but we really think these concerns need to be taken into account. Not only the safety issues, but also the concerns as to be, because this survey, the, the appropriate documentation really for the board's professional staff to really get their teeth into it, WW was not provided, at least to just document your, your concerns moving forward. And the board's concerns might be something you, you wanna look into. Well,
Speaker 4A, as the board chair knows, and Mr. Barlow knows, is that if this had been an oral site plan, submittal it, the whole property would've been taken into consideration for everything. But no, no fault to you, Mr. Ozick. I mean, you're only doing what you were hired to do. But this is obviously that the, the facilities committee had made up of the, a Board of Education members and the board president Chantelle Cherry dropped the ball on this one for safety reasons. So they, they need to remedy this. And I don't know how the heck they're gonna deal with the sidewalk issue. So, 'cause this is coming. So they, they need, they need to contact our, our staff about this. This needs to get resolved. 'cause the last thing that the board wants done is, is they're, they're gonna lose a lawsuit to handicap wheelchair handicap advocates.
Speaker 10Understood. Mayor Wahler. And, you know, we will relay all of your concerns to the Board of Education and meet with them and, you know, hopefully we can address your address. The board's concerns. Your concerns.
Speaker 4Yeah. Make make sure you tell Ms. Cherry, who was the board president at the time that signed off on this one next time, she needs to look more thoroughly at these plans that are going through. Yes, sir. And take into consideration safety matters. And first, especially for wheelchair accessibility folks, that's all. Mr. Barlow, unless any board members have anything else,
Speaker 2I was gonna say, if there's any member of the public that wanted to weigh in, but I don't see any on the meeting. There's
Speaker 1Two
Speaker 2What'd you say? There's
Speaker 1Two.
Speaker 2Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know if you wanna have
Speaker 1Any questions or comments. You could raise your hand if you're on the phone. Star six.
Speaker 2Is it the board's pleasure that you want to then document the concerns in, in writing in the form of a resolution or not? It's, it's really up to the, the board. This court.
Speaker 4I, if I may, I, I think Dawn, I think, you know, just that I think we're gonna have to put something in writing. 'cause I I just wanna make sure, you know, if something were happen, the safety concerns weren't addressed. I don't, I don't want something coming back at this board.
Speaker 2I agree with the mayor. Okay. I mean, as per my notes, I had one, the board professional staff would've liked the survey in order to figure out exactly where everything was going and, and what's on whose property. Because it's a county road. The, the Middlesex County Planning Board should probably get some feedback in the town. The board had concerns about the parking on the site and whether or not it was adequate and whether or not it was in the municipal right away. Also concerned about the presence of Board of Ed vehicles and activities on the municipal right of away the location of the lot on Stelton Road with a speed limit of about 40 miles, 40 miles an hour. And without adequate protection. And obviously because they didn't get the materials to, I don't think the planning staff is, is a huge supporter as it's currently designed. That's what my notes. If I missed anything, I,
Speaker 4I, I think Mr. Bar, I think the other concern is, is that since they're losing parking spots and potentially more, I'm concerned about the impact on, on the homes with, on street parking, that inadequate, you know, there's always events going on.
Speaker 2Okay.
Speaker 4You know, and two double sided parking and things like that. So we need to have a, I know this is a unique building because it's one of the, it's probably the oldest building that the school district owns in older neighborhood in North Stelton. So, but they gotta they gotta keep that into account. They,
Speaker 7That places to park.
Speaker 2Okay. Well, I, I mean I can certainly, we, we can have a resolution that reflects that. If, if someone wants to make, make that motion Mayor Dawn or Reverend Kinneally, excuse me.
Speaker 7Well, I'll, I'll make a motion that we adopt a resolution in regards to, to the Board of Education or who it may go to in our concerns in regards to the safety of the children being out there and the concerns about the parking and the safety of that area.
Speaker 1We need a second.
Speaker 7Need a second. Mr. Atkins? A second.
Speaker 1Thank you, Alex. Okay. Mayor Wahler.
Speaker 4Yes. Madam Chair.
Speaker 1Councilman Cahn. McCahill? Yes. Ms. Corcoran? Yes. Ms. Saunders? Yes. Reverend Kinneally. Yes. Mr. Atkins.
Speaker 7What away? Oh,
Speaker 1Good luck. There we go. Mr. Ahmed. Thank you. Yes, Mr. Echeveria? Yes. And Madam Chair,
Speaker 2Mr. Kozak and Mr. Suiter, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 4Thank you. And have a good day.
Speaker 7Thank you.
Speaker 2Thank you for the presentation. Thank you. Appreciate it.
Speaker 7Thank you all. Have
Speaker 1A great night.
Speaker 7Make a motion to adjourn.
Speaker 1Second. All in favor?
Speaker 7All in favor. Aye. Aye. Aye. Goodnight everyone. Goodbody everyone.
Speaker 2Happy New Year. Everyone be safe. Happy New
Speaker 1Year. Goodnight. Goodnight. Goodnight everyone.