Board OKs additional storage units
Old Bridge storage site will include 905 units after two of three phases
OLD BRIDGE — The Zoning Board has unanimously granted East Coast Storage a variance to add 150 additional garage-type units to its present location at Route 9 and Ernston Road.
Board members said they are convinced there’s a viable customer base for the storage space.
The variance, which the board approved in a 5-0 vote last Thursday, allows the Edison-based company to construct four additional one-story buildings to house the units. An architectural drawing of the site showed that the new buildings will be constructed parallel to one another on the north side of the existing three-story building. Each of the new buildings will be surrounded by a drive aisle for automobile access.
"We’re using the same materials to complete the set, essentially," said Samuel Butz, a Virginia-based independent architect working with the applicant.
The new units, referred to as phase II of a three-part project, will bring the total number of storage spaces to 905, according to James Housten, an engineer from Bohler Engineering, Watchung, who designed the site plans.
The storage facility, originally constructed in 1998, is accessible from the Route 9 off-ramp leading to Ernston Road. It is abutted by London Terrace Apartments to the east and separated by a chain link fence surrounding the actual storage bins.
Chris Potash, vice president of operations for East Coast Storage, told the board that the existing facility is 95 percent full, and that the more convenient ground-floor units have all continuously been rented out since the facility opened. He added that there is now a waiting list for ground-floor units.
Attorney Jonathan Heilbrunn, representing the applicant, mentioned to Potash that other storage-space firms are currently constructing facilities in the township and asked if East Coast Storage had checked area demographics to see if the market could support the additional spaces.
"Absolutely," Potash said, citing statistics from his company showing that, based on the area’s population, there was insufficient storage space per person.
"The spaces tend to be used by businesses and professional organizations that need to store dead files," Potash said. He added that lawyers, accountants and contractors, as well as people relocating to the area, tend to form the customer base.
Heilbrunn also asked Potash about customer background checks and storage of illegal or potentially dangerous items.
"This business operates on the ‘Big Brother’ theory," Potash said. He explained that at the time of rental application, customers are required to show a driver’s license with a photograph. The company then sends a confirmation letter to the address given to verify that the applicant actually resides there, he said.
"We also give them a handout as to what is prohibited (from storage), and we advise them that we cooperate with law enforcement," Potash said.
The entire location is overseen by a resident manager who lives in an on-site apartment, Potash said. That manager is able to monitor who is on the property during the hours of operation, which run from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.
Pinder Sumal, assistant township engineer, asked that as a condition of approval, the applicant include an emergency vehicle entrance, in addition to two existing gated customer entrances shown in the plans. Although emergency vehicle access was originally proposed for the third phase of the project, Butz indicated that it could be included in the second phase of construction.
"We will not change ingress or egress points, but we can add emergency access gates," Butz said.
During the vote, board Chairman Kiran DeSai stated that he was convinced of the facility’s need to expand.
"Because the management has shown that phase I is 95 percent full, and because I see a need for this type of building, I’m voting ‘yes,’" said DeSai.
Hearings on the third phase of the project, which would add three additional storage buildings to the site, are scheduled for April 4.