The Florence Township Planning Board unanimously approved an application from Burlington Coat Factory for preliminary and final major site plan for the expansion of their headquarters on property located at 1830 Rt. 130 North.
The decision came from the board at a meeting on Feb. 26 after the applicant’s representatives provided testimony to the board in January for approval, but the board deemed it conditionally complete if the applicants provided additional testimony on multiple items.
Erin Szulewski who was present on behalf of Burlington Coat Factory at the January meeting, explained that the subject property is part of a “redevelopment plan.” She said that the property is located in a highway commercial zone and is the site of the existing Burlington Stores corporate headquarters building.
Szulewski said that this application for preliminary and final site plan sought approval for the construction of a multi-story office annex building adjacent to the existing corporate headquarters of approximately 218,000 square feet.
She pointed out that the application also includes associated site improvements including rearranged parking improvements, modified stormwater management facilities and lighting on the site. Along with her testimony, the applicant’s engineer, Robert Stout of Stout & Caldwell, received a completeness review letter from township engineer, Hugh Dougherty.
Szulewski stated there were multiple submission items that were listed as “not applicable” by the applicant with the submission due to prior approvals received for the existing headquarters building or not applicable at all.
Of the submission items listed on the letter, Szulewski and Stout wanted to address particular ones that evening with the completeness review letter.
Dougherty explained that there were 19 submission items for completeness; however, he said that because this is an existing site previously approved by the board and previously constructed, the following items were considered “not applicable.”
The five items the applicant sought waiver for were an Environmental Impact Statement, which has previously been submitted which he has no objection to granting that waiver; site triangles at the intersections that he recommends the Florence Township Planning Board defer that to the site plan stage due to the current and the proposed intersections; architectural scale drawings, which he is seeking dimensions on those plans as the colored rendering did not provide sufficient information; legal documentation that supports the granting of easements by an adjoining property owner is required; and an executed sewer agreement shall be provided.
Since the applicant plans to add a total 218,000 square feet of gross floor area, officials said that there will be a modification to the original sewer agreement, so that would be a condition of approval as well.
Dougherty stated that overall the first item was waived, items two and three were deferred to testimony, and that items four and five were a condition of approval. With this, the board could declare the application complete if they so choose.
With a decision set forth by the board to find the application conditionally complete subject to providing testimony at the substantive meeting on items two and three of Dougherty’s letter, and provision of items four and five as potential approval conditions, the board heard further testimony from the applicant regarding these items at the Feb. 26 meeting to deem the application complete.