MARLBORO — The parents of children who attend the Turtle Creek Learning Academy are preparing to fight a proposal that could see a 4,300-square-foot truck garage built next to the school.
Turtle Creek is a private preschool on Railroad Avenue in the village of Marlboro, off Route 79.
R.H. Ern and Sons has applied to the Planning Board for permission to build a six-bay garage to house trucks and other industrial vehicles 40 feet from Turtle Creek’s property line. The application is scheduled for a hearing at tonight’s 8 p.m. meeting of the Planning Board.
A message left for David Ern seeking comment on the application was not returned.
Many parents of the 100 children who attend the school are opposing the construction of the garage and are writing letters to every member of the Planning Board about the matter, said Ann Novotny, president of the school PTO. Novotny’s 5-year-old son attends the school.
The safety of the children, who often engage in outdoor activities, will be jeopardized by the presence of the trucks, Novotny said, adding that Railroad Avenue is not equipped to handle truck traffic.
One truck driver who was traveling on the street last week was forced to move his vehicle onto a resident’s lawn because there was not enough room to travel on the road, she said.
Other concerns raised by Novotny include the noise and fumes that she said would be generated by the vehicles at the garage.
"I picked this school because it is in a remote, quiet location … the noise [from the vehicles] will be disruptive to the children’s learning," said Novotny, adding that "at the very least" studies assessing the effects of the vehicles’ noise and fumes on the children should be conducted before approval for the garage is granted.
A township ordinance requires the proposed garage to be built on 3 acres, but R.H. Ern and Sons is applying to build the facility on a 0.4-acre lot, according to Tricia Krietzberg, the parent of a 4-year-old daughter who attends the school.
"This lot is way too small for what [the applicant] is talking about," said Krietzberg.
She said municipal officials should follow the ordinance on this matter.
The applicant is also seeking a variance that would allow the facility to be built without a curb at the front of the property, enabling the trucks to enter the street without braking, she said. Granting this variance would increase the danger to parents and children walking near the school when the students are picked up and dropped off, she claimed.
"If a resident wanted to build a 4,300-square-foot house on 0.4 acres, I don’t think the Planning Board would allow it. I know many people in Marlboro who have been denied variances for simple things like garages" near their house, Krietzberg said.
Elaine Barry, whose 4-year-old daughter attends the school, is concerned about the noise and fumes that she said would be generated by the industrial vehicles stored at the proposed garage. The vehicles would endanger children when they enter and exit the school, she said.
"When the kids go in and out of the school there’s a lot of activity; they are excited and they could possibly run out into the street. A truck might not see them and it would be hard [for the vehicle] to stop," she said.
BY LARRY RAMER
Staff Writer
Parents want garage
kept away from school