HIGHTSTOWN: Planners may want Minute Maid traffic study

By Christina Whittington, Special Writer
   HIGHTSTOWN — The Planning Board continued the public hearing Nov. 13 regarding plans for the former Minute Maid plant on Route 33.
   The applicants, owners Bruckner Southern LLC and Mercer Street Warehouse LLC, are seeking a use variance that would allow for additional warehousing while adding manufacturing production at the plant.
   Currently, this is not allowed because the area is zoned highway commercial, which does not permit these additional uses. To date, some warehousing is operational at the plant.
   As previously reported by the Herald, the Planning Board unanimously deemed the use variance application complete at its Aug. 13 meeting upon the recommendation of Borough Engineer Carmela Roberts in a letter dated July 23.
   The public hearing initially began at the Sept. 10 Planning Board meeting in which the applicants brought with them three experts, an architect, a traffic engineer and a professional engineer who testified why they believed the use variance should be granted.
   At that meeting, Gary Dean, traffic engineer and principal of Dolan and Dean Consulting Engineers of Martinsville, said it was his opinion that using the location for additional warehousing and manufacturing yields less traffic than the current highway commercial zoning, office and retail in which the site is zoned for.
   Mr. Dean based his opinion on findings using trip generation comparisons.
   James Kochenour, a traffic engineer retained by the borough for the use variance hearing process, did not agree with Mr. Dean’s findings.
   Mr. Kochenour said that in his 40-plus years of experience, he could not recall representing a developer for a use variance application or advising a board who was hearing a use variance application without a traffic impact study being submitted.
   Mr. Kochenour’s concern was that the Minute Maid property had been vacant since 2003, and the Hightstown Bypass, also known as Route 133, was constructed in 1999. He said the proposed use would generate traffic that has not been there for nearly 10 years.
   Mr. Kochenour recommended a traffic impact study be prepared and submitted in support of the use variance application.
   At the Tuesday night meeting, the applicant’s attorney, Ken Meiser, asked the board to reconsider its position on the traffic impact study.
   ”This is a use variance where the negative criteria must be examined, and one of those negatives is always traffic . . . I think we are looking for a focus study, which our expert can discuss with Mr. Dean,” said Gary Rosenweig, Planning Board attorney.
   ”In general, the representation made by the applicant’s traffic consultant is that highway commercial use tends to generate more traffic than an industrial type, and I would refer to warehousing and light manufacturing as an industrial type use because in the institute of transportation engineers trip generation document, those types of uses fall under the general industrial land use category,” Mr. Kochenour said.
   Mr. Kochenour also went on to say that, in general, highway commercial uses, offices, retail do tend to generate more traffic than an industrial type use.
   ”However, there are certain caveats that have to be explored and to take into consideration,” Mr. Kochenour said.
   One of the considerations, according to Mr. Kochenour, is that full use of the site has not been in operation since 2003 when Minute Maid ceased operations at that location. Mr. Kochenour also referred again to the Route 133 bypass.
   ”In the last 10 to 14 years, there has been no comprehensive study done of the area through which a lot of this traffic — be it highway commercial, be it industrial related — would have to pass,” Mr. Kochenour said.
   Mr. Kochenour said his opinion is that in order for the Planning Board to make an informed decision, it really needs to know what the traffic conditions are today in that area and surrounding roadways.
   Mr. Kochenour also pointed out another important element is the nature of the traffic. He said highway commercial tends to generate a large percentage of general vehicular traffic and delivery vehicles such as standard UPS style trucks, which can come and go from a location with little intrusion and some tractor trailer traffic. An industrial use would yield a higher percentage of large vehicular type traffic, he said.
   Planning Board members agreed with Mr. Kochenour’s advice that a revised criteria for the traffic study be made to the applicant.
   Also speaking on behalf of the applicants were an industrial engineer and a real estate appraiser.
   The hearing on the use variance will continue at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at the next Planning Board meeting when the applicant will have a planner speak on its behalf.