Hopewell Borough Planning Board update

Planners hear auto repair shop proposal

By Aleen Crispino, Special Writer
   Hopewell Borough Planning Board considered three designs for a proposed new auto repair shop at 83 E. Broad St., a residential property that has not been purchased for this use.
   Tamara L. Lee, a Hopewell Township municipal planner and landscape architect, represented Jim Satnowski, operator of Hopewell Sunoco at 40 E. Broad St., and his brother Steve Satnowski in their second informal presentation before the board Sept. 5 to gain input before making an offer on the property.
   Ms. Lee first appeared before the board in August, describing the brothers’ plans to purchase the property, which is zoned “B-R” for business use, and construct a “barn-style,” four-bay garage for use as an auto repair shop. The original plan was to convert a portion of the existing house into a waiting room and office, with the rest of the house to serve as a residence for the Satnowskis’ father.
   Borough Planner Carl Lindbloom said in August the Satnowskis would need to apply for a conditional use variance to operate a motor vehicle service in a B-R zone and he asked Ms. Lee to return with several alternative plans involving the demolition of the house as well as the original plan.
   The property is on the south side of East Broad Street between Maple Avenue and Elm Street. There are houses to the left and rear, and Castoro & Co. lies to the right at 89 E. Broad St.
   The first plan presented to the board on Sept. 5 would preserve the house but eliminate the garage and breezeway, creating the least impervious cover, said Ms. Lee, but would require a parking variance. It is the option still favored by her clients, she said.
   The second plan would involve demolishing the house and building a new structure closer to the street. This plan “almost completely avoids” a FEMA-designated flood plain surrounding “a ditch in back confined by a stone wall,” said Ms. Lee. It would also require a parking variance, with most of the parking spaces in the back, she added.
   A third plan also would involve razing the house but would set the new building further back from the street and place all the parking in the front, similar to the layout of the adjacent Castoro property, said Ms. Lee.
   Planning Board member Mark Samse apologized for not being present at the August meeting to hear the first presentation, but said he has since visited the site. “What’s labeled as a ditch is really a stream,” he said. “I am concerned about the flood plain and its influx into the site.
   ”I don’t think that this is an appropriate use for East Broad Street,” added Mr. Samse, noting that the adjacent business owned by Mr. Castoro was a different matter as it was a pre-existing use. He added he had three concerns: intensity of use of the property, its “gateway” position for people entering the borough and the impact on the flood plain.
   ”I agree with Mark in terms of the number of variances that would be required,” said Planning Board member Jackie Perri. “It’s a great idea to keep them in the borough, but the wrong place.”
   Planning Board member Peter Macholdt said he also agreed with Mr. Samse that the plans were too intense “for a very small piece of property.”
   ”I agree it’s a tricky site,” said Planning Board Vice Chairman Paul Buda. However, Mr. Buda, who is also an architect specializing in historic preservation, said he was “happy to see that the house was maintained.”
   ”We’re here to get some direction,” said Ms. Lee. “We’re just looking at the property right now.”
   ”You’re faced with an uphill battle,” advised Planning Board Chairman Bob Donaldson, before opening the floor to public comment.
   ”My pet peeve,” said Dave Reynolds of 111 E. Prospect St., “is the contamination of the active stream that runs down Elm Street behind the Blue Bottle Café and into my property.” The Blue Bottle Café is at 101 E. Broad St.
   He said he recently filled the back of his pickup truck with “tires, a wheelbarrow, bags of bottles and other effluent,” which he removed from the stream on his property. He said he had sought and eventually received Hopewell Township approval to build a fence on Route 518 to keep roadside garbage out of the stream.
   IN OTHER BUSINESS, attorney Christopher Costa of Lawrenceville, representing Dr. Pamela Moss, a Hopewell Township psychiatrist, gave an informal presentation of his client’s plans to purchase a house at 13 Hamilton Ave., at the corner of Hamilton and Lafayette Street, and convert it into a first-floor office and second-floor apartment.
   ”It would require a use variance for an area that doesn’t allow office use in a residential zone,” said Mr. Lindbloom of the property, which is zoned R-75 but lies across the street from the Hopewell Center, an office building at 57 Hamilton Ave.
   Dr. Moss does not have Saturday appointments, and there would be no emergency care and no deliveries at the site, said Mr. Costa. When questioned by board members, he said his client would consider having the upstairs apartment certified as a COAH affordable housing unit.
   ”I think it’s a good solution,” said Planning Board member Joseph Zito. “The house is really on the cusp of two different kinds of areas. Come back with a plan and we’ll take a look at it,” he added, referring to an application for site plan approval and a use variance.
   In another informal presentation, attorney Alfred L. Kettell Jr. of Pennington, representing Clark Reed, sought the board’s input on Mr. Reed’s plan to request the subdivision of a property he owns at 35B E. Broad St. The plan involves the demolition of an old barn in the front of the property and its replacement with a two-story building with three small professional offices on the first floor and the construction of a duplex to the rear of the property.
   Portions of the barn date back to 1860, said Mr. Reed, with the remainder added in 1950. “I’ve been in this building to do inspections since I had it under contract and it’s so dilapidated,” said Mr. Reed, owner of The Paddle Company at 27 E. Broad St. and a member of the Hopewell Borough Economic Development Commission.
   The barn is the only “steep-roofed, Victorian-style barn in the borough,” said Mr. Buda, who suggested the façade might be saved. Mr. Samse suggested replicating the 1860 portion of the barn in the design of the duplex.
   Mr. Donaldson said the project looks “intriguing” and asked Mr. Reed and Mr. Kettell to return for a concept review, followed by an application for approval of a site plan.
   At the close of the meeting, Planning Board Secretary Maria Andrews raised the issue of how to handle lengthy presentations that were not on the agenda, and a discussion ensued. In all, the board had just heard six informal presentations, three not on the agenda.
   Chairman Donaldson said the board wants to encourage public comment. “Certainly, as the chairman, you could change the order around for the meeting,” placing non-agenda items at the end or carrying them over until next month, said Planning Board Attorney Christopher DeGrezia, adding Mr. Donaldson could also set a five-minute time limit for each non-agenda item.
   Mr. Donaldson said in the future he would set a five-minute time limit for non-agenda items.