UPPER FREEHOLD — A self-storage facility will be developed on the corner of Routes 537 and 539, but will have one less building than originally planned.
Township Engineer Glenn Gerken said the site plan had called for one office building and ten self-storage buildings, but New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) buffer requirements precluded one of the storage buildings. The Planning Board unanimously approved the site plan at its Oct. 27 meeting,
Gerken said that the township’s EnvironmentalAdvisory Committee voiced concerns about endangered species on the 23-acre property.
He said threatened or endangered species had been seen within a mile of the site, resulting in the DEP requiring the 150- foot buffer.
When the DEP determined that the project requires a 150-foot rather than a 50-foot buffer, one building was removed from the plan and all other buildings made a lateral shift of 150 feet. Four of the nine storage buildings will measure 8,400 square feet and five will measure 6,300 square feet.
Gerken said a 6-foot fence would be erected around the storage facility compound. The township’s ordinance regarding fences does not permit them in a front yard area.
However, the township could allow the fence, since the office building has a front yard and the storage facilities are set back 500 feet from the road, he said.
Both Gerken and Township Planner Charles Newcomb agreed that a waiver should be granted for the fence.
Yong Sim, a township resident and owner of the property, said he has been in the storage business for 20 years, with several facilities in Burlington County. All of his storage buildings have orange doors, and he wants to stick with that color despite objections made by board members at a meeting in 2008.
Sim said that orange is “eye-catching” and that using a different color would be a hardship for him from a business point of view.
Board member Bob Freiberger said the color is more of an eyesore, but considers its use a practical matter for the business owner if all of his other buildings are the same color.
Chairman John Mele asked for more landscaping in front of the fence.
“I know you want people to see it,” Mele said. “Our concern is that some people don’t want to see it.”
Board member Jeff Doherty noted Upper Freehold’s country code, and the board’s role in upholding the code. Sim agreed to install more shrubs in front of the fence.
The applicant’s architect, George Fett, presented the plan for the office building in the front of the complex. He said the symmetrical building would have two separate offices, a conference room, and bathrooms for the public and employees. The exterior would have shingles and a stone ledge.
Board member Patricia Dorey pointed out that the color palette for the office building is different than that one used for the self-storage units.