Garage expansion
gets OK from board
BY MAURA DOWGIN
Staff Writer
EDISON — Mobile Creations, on Woodbridge Avenue, was granted approval to expand its business.
Zoning Board approval of the project was granted at the Feb. 17 meeting despite resident opposition to the project.
The applicant received approval to add two garage bays and a second story for additional office space. There will also be an overhaul of the facade of the building.
In addition there will be a new car wash system and all car washing will be done indoors, said Peter Guindi, owner of the shop. The existing structure will be used as a showroom and for rest room facilities.
New landscaping will actually reduce impervious surface coverage by 10 percent and the new indoor car wash system will help alleviate run off water from draining down Woodbridge Avenue and side streets, said James Kennedy, the applicant’s engineer.
Residents in the neighborhood have spoken out about the application saying the car detailing business brings increased truck traffic to Woodbridge Avenue, parked cars on the streets, garbage on the streets, and cars driving through the neighborhood with radios blasting music.
There are new dumpsters in the plans to make sure that no garbage from the business winds up on anyone’s property, said James F. Clarkin, attorney for the applicant.
The application required a variance for the number of parking spaces. There are 22 parking spaces provided in the plans where 27 were required.
The owner has "six years of history to tell us how many parking spaces we need and we don’t have a parking problem," Clarkin said.
The land is also in a residential zone. Therefore the use is a pre-existing nonconformity.
Residents hope the addition to the building will improve the conditions in the area, said Robert Takash, resident of the area. The owners of the business will hopefully follow all of the plans and make the neighborhood a better place, he added.