By Jessica Ercolino, Staff Writer
ROBBINSVILLE — Amid concerns from residents and officials about creating what one critic called “truck terminals”, Township Council has voted to amend the township’s Planned Commercial Development (PCD) zone to include freight forwarding warehouses.
The township’s Planning Board and council reviewed the land use code to clarify the definition of freight forwarding and determine the effect of its inclusion as a permitted use with respect to the Matrix Business Park at the intersection of the New Jersey Turnpike and I-195.
Both the Planning Board and Township Council approved the measure by close votes last week during their respective meetings. Councilwoman Sonja Walter and Councilman Bill Lesniak cast the dissenting votes in the Township Council’s 3-2 motion to approve.
A freight forwarding warehouse is a facility primarily used in the transferal of goods from one truck to another while goods are en route from their origin of destination, according to the approved ordinance.
Alexander Taylor, of Matrix Development Group, said the permitted use would be favorable for the township from an economic standpoint, specifically during the current difficult times. “This allows us to widen our net and sell to a larger warehouse population,” he said during the Nov. 13 Township Council meeting. “This allows us to keep growing our park.”
The freight-forwarding warehouse would be between 40,000 and 50,000 square feet on a lot that can accommodate a 260,000-square foot building. While the warehouse would produce more traffic per square foot, Mr. Taylor contended that the traffic would be less than would be for a “big box” warehouse on a per-lot basis. He added that the freight forwarding warehouse would be more aesthetically pleasing because its height would be half that of a big box warehouse and less visible from the roadway.
But officials and residents had their concerns.
Councilwoman Sonja Walter questioned the traffic impact, noting that people she spoke with in Cranbury Township — where they permit freight forwarding — noticed an increase in truck traffic. Mr. Taylor, however, said the perceived increase was not necessarily due to the freight forwarding use. “Certainly there would be an increase over what it produces now as it is an empty lot, but compared to a big box (warehouse), it should be less,” he said. “I’d have to believe that a building one-fifth the size of a big box would need to create five times as much traffic (to be comparable), and that’s hard to see from a common sense perspective.”
Councilman Bill Lesniak noted the number of doors on a freight forwarding warehouse — between 80 and 120— would be the same as a big box, and could greatly impact traffic. He also questioned whether allowing freight forwarding in the zone would be viable in the future. “If in two years from now the economy is back up and the township wants to put a big box warehouse in there, it’ll be too late,” he said. “We would lose all that tax revenue.”
Councilwoman Sonja Walter agreed. “I’m just having difficulty changing an entire zone to accommodate what we hope and pray is a temporary economic bubble,” she said, adding she was concerned that other already-approved buildings in the park would alter their uses based on the amendment.
Mr. Taylor suggested that council include stipulations in the ordinance that would limit the freight forwarding permitted use to the proposed building, but Township Attorney Mark Roselli advised against it. The township would be in danger of litigation due to “spot zoning,” he said.
Gordon Road residents living next to the park expressed concerns about traffic, noise and aesthetic issues.
Resident Tim Lynch said that Gordon Road is “getting ruined” and called freight forwarding warehouses “truck terminals.”
”There are serious differences between warehouses and trucking terminals (and) there are a lot of good reasons why this shouldn’t be here,” he said. “The buildings get beat up, become eyesores. They get noisy. They don’t have good ratables. You have to use common sense here.”
Others mentioned the sparse berm, a manmade earthen sound barrier, between the park and homes, but Mr. Taylor said Matrix does not own that property. Council President Chris Ciaccio said that officials would look into creating a better buffer for residents.
