By: centraljersey.com
WEST WINDSOR – The first major component of the township’s redevelopment plan has been given the green light by the Planning Board, just after 1 a.m. at the board’s meeting Wednesday.
The board voted unanimously to approve property owner Irv Cyzner’s site plan application, the Windsor Plaza Revitalization Plan, for the renovation of the former Acme site on Route 571 and Alexander Road. The decision concluded four lengthy hearings that began in October and countless hours of public comments and testimony from the township’s professionals and Mr. Cyzner’s consultants.
Wednesday’s meeting dealt primarily with Mr. Cyzner’s request for waivers to permit two tenant-identification signs at the site, one facing Route 571 and one at the Alexander Road entrance. The board approved Mr. Cyzner’s application and granted a waiver for a 13-foot-high, 103-square-foot sign on Route 571, and an 11-foot-high, 84-square-foot sign on Alexander Road. Both signs will contain 20 panels for listing the center’s tenants.
A contentious three-hour discussion about the necessity and safety of the signs’ size was unexpectedly interrupted by an ultimatum from Mr. Cyzner’s attorney, Frank Petrino, who said Mr. Cyzner would consider walking away if the signs were not approved that night.
To meet the concerns of the professionals, Mr. Cyzner had re-designed the signs three times before arriving at the final design, which were shorter but wider than the ones first proposed. The request required a waiver of town ordinance, which permits only one sign at 30 square feet.
At the meeting, Mr. Petrino brought in one final witness, Richard Crawford of Mercer Sign Consultants, who responded to the board and the public’s concerns that the signs would distract drivers from the road. Mr. Crawford testified that Mr. Cyzner’s original proposal met certain standards of on-premise signs by the U.S. Sign Council and the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute. He agreed that both signs were appropriately sized and legible, after explaining his calculations of the speed of traffic and the average driver’s reaction time for acting upon signage text.
Traffic engineer Ted Ehrlich refuted Mr. Crawford’s research, stating a driver cannot read 20 names in the few seconds before passing it.
Board members questioned whether all 20 tenants should be listed on both signs. Township planner John Madden suggested two smaller signs to fit 10 names on one side of the sign and 10 on the other.
Current tenants of the former Acme shopping center attended the meeting to support Mr. Cyzner’s request for the two signs. They said having their businesses listed on a large, visible sign from the street would attract new customers and remind the locals that they still exist. Some of them said that since the Acme closed, fewer customers have stopped into their businesses because it’s less convenient.
Carlo Puglise, owner of Aljon’s pizzeria, said after 15 years at the location, he is barely surviving from the patronage of West Windsor customers. He said he needs all the extra business he can get from drivers on Route 571.
"I’m living month to month," he said. "The place is falling apart, people tell us. If I can’t pay my rent, I have to move because I can’t afford to live in West Windsor." Regarding the signs, he said, "the bigger, the better."
Suniti Chandani, owner of the center’s salon for seven years, echoed the need for a sign because new customers cannot easily locate her.
"This is a dilapidated shopping center," she said. "I run the place all by myself and I can’t afford to hire a cosmetologist at $12 an hour to shampoo hair."
Mr. Cyzner said having a tenant-identification sign is crucial to the success of the center.
"The business owners have spilled their hearts out about how they need new business," he said. "This is retail 101. We’ve been in the business a long time and we know what we’re doing. I know from 30 years of experience that this center needs that sign."
Other comments from the public encouraged the board to support the sign, stating frustration with the lengthy process and fear that the community would be back at square one if Mr. Cyzner decided to walk away.
Only a couple of residents said the signs would be unnecessary, since the locals would frequent the center and would quickly become familiar with the tenants.
While the board and professionals discussed the public comments and Mr. Ehrlich and Mr. Crawford’s testimony, Mr. Petrino interrupted to say Mr. Madden’s alternative was not acceptable and that a straw vote on Mr. Cyzner’s signage requests should be held before proceeding further.
"We don’t want this to go beyond tonight," Mr. Petrino said. He added that if the straw vote showed board members would reject the signs, Mr. Cyzner would consider withdrawing his application entirely.
"I cannot afford to continue paying the township experts for a fifth meeting," Mr. Cyzner said. "These signs have to be noticed. Route 571 sees about 10,000 cars a week. If only 1 percent of those drivers come in, the signs will be successful. All I’m asking for is a shot of my tenants surviving in their businesses."
Board members, who seemed caught off guard by the statement, said they wished to discuss signage further before holding a straw vote. Mr. Cyzner, who had begun packing up his presentation materials, consulted with Mr. Petrino and agreed to continue if a compromise could be met.
"I have been compromising on this project since day one," he said, raising his voice and pounding his fist to the table. "How patient do you expect one person to be?"
As a compromise, Mr. Cyzner had agreed to reduce the Alexander Road sign by 20 percent, to minimize the visual impact but still achieve his goal. The board held a straw vote to approve the sign for Route 571, as proposed, with a 20 percent reduction of the Alexander Road sign. The vote was 7 to 1. The final vote approving the entire application was 7 to 0, as one board member left before the meeting ended.
Since getting board approval, phase one of the project can commence, board Chairman Marvin Gardner said. Mr. Cyzner will begin securing the necessary approvals from the county and the state, as well as a building permit from the township. Mr. Gardner said. He will work with the Department of Environmental Protection to remediate contamination on site. He can then begin renovation to the center and attract tenants to the center.
The second phase of the project would deal with Mr. Cyzner’s future intentions for the property to meet the goals of the redevelopment area. Adding greenery and benches on the sidewalk of Route 571 is an example of such action, but Mr. Gardner said the board cannot compel him to build further, as it was not part of his application.
Mr. Gardner said he does not regret the lengthy discussions because the property is important to the future of the community.
"This hearing is on record and is directly appeal-able to the courts," he said. "If I’m arbitrary or capricious in permitting testimony, I can subject the township to litigation. I gave the developer the full opportunity to give his case."
The approved plan permits Mr. Cyzner’s proposed design renovations to the center’s faeade, gutting the former Acme to create more tenant space, a cupola for outdoor seating at the proposed site of Starbucks, 342 parking spaces, and a second driveway for truck deliveries across from Harris Road.
Mr. Cyzner will meet with county officials in the future to discuss keeping designated right lanes in and out of the Route 571 entrance. The board supported Mr. Cyzner’s goal of keeping the lanes, which are under consideration for elimination.

