The developer says it will ‘vigorously defend our rights to develop this property.’
By: Paul Koepp
The Planning Board has unanimously rejected a developer’s application to build a warehouse at the northwest corner of Route 130 and Friendship Road.
The 9-0 vote satisfied residents of the neighboring Four Seasons senior community, who packed the Municipal Building’s meeting room on Aug. 15 to ask the board to block the 744,000-square-foot warehouse proposed by the Matrix Development Group, of Monroe.
The residents had argued that the warehouse would bring hazardous diesel emissions, dangerous traffic, and bothersome light and noise to the area, which is currently farmland. As midnight approached and the votes were tallied after a tense public-comment period of about four hours, Planning Board members said they agreed.
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Mayor Frank Gambatese, who serves on the Planning Board, said that while the township needs the tax revenue from warehouses, they should not be built west of Route 130.
Councilman Charlie Carley, also a board member, said he did not support granting a variance for front-yard truck loading along Route 130, which Matrix needed for the plan to be approved. He said that Matrix was trying to squeeze in "the biggest building that could fit on the property" and that the company should reconfigure its proposal.
Matrix officials said their application conformed with all other township ordinances, with the exception of two minor design waivers. The company will continue its efforts to develop the property, according to Vice President of Marketing Hilary Budny.
In a statement released Aug. 16, Ms. Budny said that Matrix was "extremely disappointed" with the Planning Board’s decision.
"To the extent that the board was influenced by a crowded room, it placed the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) interests of a few over the good of the township at large," she said.
Ms. Budny questioned why the board rejected a warehouse development on land that has been zoned industrial for more than 20 years, and she said that Matrix "will vigorously defend our rights to develop this property," although she did not specify how the company would proceed.
Before the meeting, Matrix tried to alleviate residents’ concerns by offering to build an 8-foot PVC fence at the north end of the property to keep truck headlights from shining into the Four Seasons community. However, Matrix attorney Glenn Pantel said the company was within its rights to build a warehouse on the lot.
"We feel the need to be responsive to the market," he said just before the vote. "I realize some members of the public are not happy (with the plan), but this is not a popularity contest."
Throughout the meeting, people from the Four Seasons community and other township residents said the township should protect the quality of life of its residents by blocking the warehouse development through any means possible. Inaki Bastarrika, of Stony Path Drive in the Four Seasons development, told the Planning Board, "Laws can be changed and do change."
Board attorney Benjamin Bucca urged the crowd to keep its emotions in check, saying the board was required by law to be fair to Matrix and make a decision based on the merits of the company’s application.
Early in the meeting, the chairman of the Planning Board, Robert Southwick, said it was unfair for people to assume that the board had decided beforehand to jump at the chance to bring in more tax revenue.
"We’re here because Matrix owns the land and wants to build a warehouse," Mr. Southwick said. "It’s not about ratables."
Part of the evening’s debate centered on whether Planning Board members could consider the rest of the plans for the Matrix Business Park at 8A in making their decision. The concept plan for the whole development includes as many as seven warehouses on Friendship Road, including 11 driveways.
In addition, plans filed by Matrix with the township to build three more warehouses along the north side of Friendship Road include a proposal to move the property line of the two lots north of Friendship Road owned by the company. That would effectively increase the percentage of land that would be covered by the 744,000-square-foot warehouse.
Mr. Pantel argued that the other plans were not relevant to the current application, and Mr. Bucca agreed in general. However, some Planning Board members said in their comments during the vote that they felt they had to consider the plans for the business park in its entirety, including its potential impact on traffic and the environment.
Board member Barry Nathanson said that despite assurances from the Matrix traffic expert, trucks using the proposed warehouse complex would drive west on Friendship Road and other rural roads to reach Route 1.
"It’s an easier flow for them," he said.
Four Seasons resident Jack McCarty, who formerly owned a trucking company, said truckers going to the warehouse would not use the N.J. Turnpike because they would do anything to avoid a toll road.
Mr. Nathanson also said he was concerned that the impact of the warehouse is unclear because it would be built on speculation, making it impossible to know how the tenants, yet to be determined, would use the facility.
Mayor Frank Gambatese said that despite his "no" vote, he wants Matrix, which owns several other warehouses in the township, to stay in the community. He said the township should rely on the recent decision in the Riya Finnegans LLC case, in which an appellate court ruled that a developer’s plans to build a strip mall in Brunswick Acres could be denied because of residents’ objections.
"We have a responsibility to listen to the opinions of our residents," Mayor Gambatese said. "We have to look at what is the common good."
However, the mayor took issue with the confrontational attitude of some people in the crowd, who he said seemed to think that a decision had been made ahead of time in favor of Matrix. Mayor Gambatese added that warehouses bring in about $35 million in tax revenue every year.
"Without that revenue, none of us could afford to live in the township," he said. The mayor said he resented the implication that township officials did not consider the impact of industrial development.
"We’re absolutely concerned with the quality of life and the environment," he said. "That’s why we fought Route 92." He said the township previously tried to have the land included in an agricultural zone, but the N.J. Turnpike Authority objected because of its plans to build Route 92.
Board member Paul Prodromo called the participation of the Four Seasons residents "a wonderful exercise in democracy," but he said that some people went too far with "shameful" signs carrying threats not to vote for people on the board.
Dr. Prodromo said that the major problems posed by the warehouse proposal were on Friendship Road and at the intersection of Route 130 and Route 32, where he said the stacking area for trucks coming from the N.J. Turnpike would be insufficient. He said the township will have to decide whether it wants warehouses west of Route 130.
Mr. Pantel had argued that while the intersection of Route 130 and Route 32 may be a problem area, it is not under the jurisdiction of the Planning Board.
Lester Ray, a Four Seasons resident who led the opposition to the Matrix proposal, said he was "extremely pleased" with the Planning Board’s decision.
"It showed the Planning Board weighed all the testimony from both sides to come up with the only logical conclusion," he said. "There were serious issues regarding how well (the application) conformed, especially to the township code."
Mr. Ray said the opposition to the warehouse plan was a "team effort" involving groups from all over the township that are concerned about land use issues. He said Four Seasons residents would like to meet with Matrix to determine a mutually acceptable use for the 68-acre lot.

