City of Montclair Township

Chair Wynn called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm and announced that the meeting has been properly noticed in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act and that the meeting is being recorded and can be viewed on the Township website or on Channel 34. 

Chair Wynn, Vice Chair Brodock, Councilor Schlager, Mr. Schwartz, Mr. Rooney, Ms. Willis, Mr. Ianuale, Ms. Loughman, Mr. Barr and Mr. Gilmer were present.   Board Attorney Dennis Galvin, Board Engineer Thomas Watkinson, Michael Dannemiller from NV5, Gerard Giosa from Level G Associates and Planning Director Janice Talley were also present. 

A motion to appoint Chair Wynn as Chair, Keith Brodock as Vice Chair, Janice Talley as Secretary and Graham Petto as Assistant Secretary was made by Councilor Schlager, seconded by Ms. Willis and approved unanimously.  A motion to approve the existing subcommittee structure was made by Mr. Schwartz, seconded by Mr. Ianuale and approved unanimously.  A motion to appoint Suburban Consulting Engineers, Inc. as the Board Engineer was made by Chair Wynn, seconded by Councilor Schlager and approved unanimously.  A motion to appoint NV5 as the Board Traffic Engineer was made by Ms. Willis, seconded by Vice Chair Brodock and approved unanimously.

A motion to approve the minutes from the December 17, 2018 meeting as amended was made by Vice Chair Brodock, seconded by Ms. Willis and approved unanimously with Mr. Barr and Mr. Ianuale abstaining. 

Application 2592:  Mary and Joel Jeffrey – 115 Cooper Avenue and 118 Bellevue Avenue

The applicant was represented by Alan Trembulak, Esq.  Mr. Trembulak stated that this application is a lot line adjustment to move part of the property associated with 118 Bellevue Avenue to an existing lot at 115 Cooper Avenue.  The applicant proposes to subdivide 12,747.37 square feet from the rear of lot 9 (118 Bellevue Avenue) and annex it to the rear of lot 33 (115 Cooper Avenue).  The annexed property contains a one-story stucco garage and a paved driveway.  As a result, the area for lot 9 will be reduced from 41,255 square feet to 28,507 square feet.  The area for lot 33 will increase from 11,284 square feet to 24,031 square feet.

Applicant Joel Jeffrey was sworn in and stated that he moved to 115 Cooper Avenue in 2006 and now has two children aged 8 and 13.  He stated that the back yard is small, and he wants additional land. 

Ms. Loughman asked Mr. Jeffrey about his intent for the existing driveway.  Mr. Jeffrey responded that he has no plans for the driveway.

There were no questions from the public.

Martha Jane Weaver of 109 Cooper Avenue stated that this application is a welcome change to the neighborhood because the property has been neglected and the garage is in poor condition.  She stated that the trees need to be maintained because there is a utility line in this area.  She asked that the applicant be mindful of noise and light in their plans for the area.

A motion to approve the application was made by Chair Wynn, seconded by Mr. Gilmer and approved unanimously.

Mr. Ianuale left the meeting.

Application 2543:  Lackawanna SPE, LLC – Lackawanna Plaza.  (Block 3213, Lot 2 and Block 4202, Lots 4.01 and 4.02)

Thomas, Trautner, Esq was present for the applicant.  Brian Stolar provided a rebuttal to the objector testimony provided at the December 17 Planning Board meeting.  Mr. Stolar stated that pedestrian access is not an issue and that the plan provides generous pedestrian pathways to and through the site, referencing exhibit A-53.  Mr. Stolar presented a new rendering of the front of the grocery store which was marked as exhibit A-54.  He explained that this exhibit showed how the front of the grocery story will utilize the stanchions and canopy to create a covered produce area.

Frank Rubacky presented a 42-slide PowerPoint presentation dated 1/14/19 which was marked as exhibit O-2.  He provided his qualifications, stating that he is a 50+ year resident of Montclair with experience in historic preservation, parking and retail.  He noted that he worked for 20 years as an executive in the retail industry, with his last position as Executive Vice President with Macy’s.

Mr. Rubacky stated that Lackawanna Plaza is an important historic asset.  He reviewed the history of the property and the Secretary of Interior Standards for Historic Preservation.  He noted that when the Council created the Town Center Historic District in 2003, it included the “historic and individually significant Lackawanna Plaza/DL&W railroad station.”  He also noted that the 1983 site plan shows 106 columns, including 103 original columns and 3 new columns compared to the 98 columns testified by the applicant.  Mr. Rubacky stated that the proposed fast food space is currently enclosed and does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Historic Preservation ordinance.

Mr. Rubacky offered an alternative plan for the parking lot on the west parcel that retains a total of 94 columns on the west parcel and provides 176 parking spaces.  Mr. Trautner objected to Mr. Rubacky offering parking testimony.  Chair Wynn asked Mr. Rubacky the basis of his opinion.  Mr. Rubacky mentioned his experience in the retail industry.

Ms. Loughman stated that it is difficult to digest the presentation without having seen it in advance.

Vice Chair Brodock asked how the Secretary of Interior standards apply.  Mr. Rubacky stated that the Secretary of Interior standards apply because it is embedded in our local historic preservation ordinance. 

Vice Chair Brodock asked for more information about the stanchions.  Mr. Rubacky stated that there are 106 stanchions, but the developer has indicated there are only 98 stanchions.  Vice Chair Brodock asked for the location of the missing columns.  Mr. Rubacky stated that he cannot definitively answer that question.

Mr. Schwartz asked how Mr. Rubacky’s plan compares to the site plan in terms of parking.  Mr. Rubacky stated that his plan has about the same amount of parking.

Mr. Trautner asked for more details about Mr. Rubacky’s credentials concerning parking.  Mr. Rubacky stated that he worked for Macy’s for 10 years and oversaw production and quality assurance.  He stated he worked for J Crew for 5 years, Liz Claiborne for 2 years and Orbach’s for 3 years.

The public was invited to ask questions of Mr. Rubacky.

William Scott, Chair of the NAACP Housing Committee and Co-Chair of the Montclair Housing Commission, asked if redesigning the site as proposed by Mr. Rubacky would create additional costs and delays to getting the project completed.  Mr. Rubacky responded that his proposal will not delay the project.

Deirdre Malloy, Co-Chair of the Montclair Housing Commission, asked about the logistics of traffic patterns within the proposed parking layout.  Mr. Rubacky stated that his plan works but does not show details such as stop lines.

Richard Southwick asked if demolition of the historic resources on the site can be stopped because federal funds were used when the project was originally developed in the 1980’s.  Mr. Rubacky responded that the ordinances do not require the Historic Preservation Commission to issue a Certificate of Approval.  The Board noted that further clarification is needed to determine the ramifications of the UDAG funding for the project in the 1980’s.

The public hearing was continued to the January 28, 2019 Planning Board meeting.

Payment of Bills

A motion to pay bills was made by Vice Chair Brodock, seconded by Chair Wynn and approved unanimously.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 11:01 am.