A proposed zoning ordinance would change a parcel on Quakerbridge Road from industrial use to residential use for senior citizen housing.
By:Lea Kahn
For the past several years, developers have been eyeing a 37-acre parcel on the corner of Quakerbridge Road and Lawrence Station Road for uses as diverse as a big-box store to high-density residential development.
But under a proposed change to the zoning ordinance, the parcel which is owned by the Morristown-based Princeton Office Park could be developed for senior citizen housing.
Last week, Township Council introduced an amendment to the zoning ordinance to change the zoning from Limited Industrial-2 to Planned Village Development-3. The new zone would permit a variety of housing types for persons who are at least 55 years old.
A public hearing on the ordinance will be held at Township Council’s June 28 meeting.
The PVD-3 zone would allow semi-detached buildings, duplexes, townhouses and apartments, for example. Parks and conservation areas also would be allowed. A development could contain up to 10 units per acre.
Under the PVD-3 zone, buildings that are located within 200 feet of Quakerbridge Road would be limited in height to 35 feet or three stories. Buildings set back more than 200 feet from the road could be as tall as 48 feet, or four stories.
The Limited Industrial-2 zone allows offices, light industrial uses, industrial parks on lots of at least 25 acres, and wholesale distribution centers and warehouses. Retail uses would require a use variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
At Township Council’s June 8 meeting, Mayor Pam Mount and Councilman Greg Puliti were receptive to the proposed zoning change. Mr. Puliti said that "anything" would be better than what is currently located on the land, which is an assortment of vacant buildings.
"The I-2 zone is more of a holding pattern for zoning (on the parcel)," Municipal Manager William Guhl said after the meeting. "In truth, we don’t think ‘light industrial’ is the best use for Quakerbridge Road. The character of the road is a mix of residential and retail uses, with a smattering of professional offices."
The Yorkshire Village development, the Mercer Mall, Quaker Bridge Mall and the Avalon Bay rental apartment complexes are located along Quakerbridge Road, from the Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park to the Lawrence-Hamilton border, Mr. Guhl said.
Township officials have fielded a number of proposals for development of the site all of which Mr. Guhl said that he and township planning consultant Philip Caton found to be inappropriate for the tract. Many of the applications would have required an appearance before the Zoning Board of Adjustment, because a use variance would have been required.
"We have had a number of development proposals, all inconsistent with the zoning," he said. "A big-box store applicant came to (the Community Development Department) about 18 months ago. There was also a proposed residential use of a much higher density than we would find appropriate."
To break that pattern, the township decided to pursue a change in the zoning for the parcel, Mr. Guhl said.
"At that point, we decided we needed to let the development world know what we wanted," he said. "The highest and best use for a 37-acre parcel on Quakerbridge Road is residential or retail. We want to make it clear (with the proposed zoning) what we would like to see there."
Mr. Guhl said that he and Mr. Caton determined that a residential theme would be the most appropriate use of the land and that’s why Mr. Caton crafted an amendment to the township’s Land Use Ordinance to create the PVD-3 zone.