VFW, medical facility entry
opposed by Colonial Oaks
By vincent todaro
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — The Zoning Board of Adjustment continued hearing testimony last week regarding the proposal for a medical building and a new VFW facility on Cranbury Road.
The board is considering an application from Diversified Equities and Management Co. to build a new medical building for University Radiology Group, which already has offices on Cranbury Road but wants to relocate to the property of VFW Post 133, near Evergreen Boulevard. The applicant would also build a new VFW building on the 3-acre site to replace the existing 50-year-old structure.
However, residents in the adjacent Colonial Oaks development are fighting the application, which they argue would harm their standard of living and make their neighborhood unsafe for pedestrians, especially children. At the heart of the matter is a proposed entrance to the site from Evergreen Boulevard, which runs through Colonial Oaks. Though the plans do not call for an exit onto Evergreen Boulevard, area residents argued that the increased traffic from the point of entry there would lead to unsafe conditions in their neighborhood.
The site would have an entrance and exit on Cranbury Road.
The group of residents retained an attorney in its opposition to the application.
At recent Zoning Board meetings, the group’s attorney, David Edelberg, has cross-examined the applicant’s witnesses, sometimes leading to harsh exchanges between them and Edelberg.
In addition to Edelberg, residents from the development have also asked numerous questions of the witnesses.
During the Nov. 14 Zoning Board meting, resident Frank Kovacs asked about the applicant’s projection that 151 clients per day would visit the office building of more than 20,000 square feet.
Jay Bellizzi, the applicant’s traffic expert, said there is new data based on a study conducted in September. The data showed the highest number of patients in any one-hour period would be 18. That study was conducted over a 15-day period at the group’s current Cranbury Road site, he said.
That peak hour was during the morning, he said. In the afternoon, the highest amount was 17 patients in one hour, he said.
Kovacs asked Bellizzi who owned the right of way located where the group wants to put the entrance.
Bellizzi said he did not know, which did not sit well with Kovacs.
Kovacs said each owner of a home in Colonial Oaks has an easement to the paved, roadside bicycle path where the applicant wants to put the entrance.
Kovacs also said some portions of the roadway in the development are as narrow as 18 feet. That means the bicycle path is the only safe way for pedestrians and bicyclists to get around the development.
Bellizzi said that matching the VFW with the medical group was a wise idea because their hours fit well together. The bulk of traffic the group receives will come in the morning and afternoon, while most VFW functions are at night, he said.
Peak hours for the medical group would be between 7 and 9 a.m., and 4 to 6 p.m., he said.
Kovacs said the morning peak hours occur at the same time children are boarding school buses on Evergreen Boulevard. There is at least one bus stop located between the proposed entrance and Cranbury Road. Most drivers leaving the site would head to Cranbury Road because it is a main road.
The afternoon peak hours are also problematic, he said, because of children coming home from school, especially if they are involved with after-school activities.
Lester Nebenzahl, the applicant’s planner, testified that the medical group should be allowed to build its facility because it provides a social benefit. In order to receive a use variance to build on the site, which is zoned as residential, the applicant must demonstrate that the move would benefit the general community.
"It’s not a typical medical center," he said. "It would be a radiology imaging center."
He said there are many permitted uses on the property. Some of those other uses include private clubs, swimming pools, fraternal organizations, agricultural buildings and dog kennels.
However, he said the medical facility should be considered "an inherently beneficial use," and later added the "machines located in this facility are saving lives."
Testimony on the application is scheduled to continue at the board’s Dec. 5 meeting.

