Lawrence board runs out of time to consider application.
By: Lea Kahn
The Educational Testing Service unveiled its proposed expansion plans before the Lawrence Planning Board on Monday night, but the testing giant will have to wait until next month to find out whether the planners approve.
About 30 people crowded into the Lower Level Conference Room to listen as the Planning Board heard three hours of testimony from the civil engineer, traffic engineer and architect representing ETS.
There was not enough time to complete the application before the Planning Board’s 10:30 p.m. curfew, so it has scheduled a continuation of the public hearing for its Aug. 4 meeting. The public will have a chance to comment at that meeting, which starts at 7:30 p.m.
ETS is seeking to build 427,500 square feet of office space in three buildings, proposed to be built north of the loop road that bisects the 355-acre campus. ETS is located off Rosedale and Carter roads. It also is seeking approval for a five-level parking garage containing 1,124 parking spaces. There are 2,229 parking spaces in parking lots now.
ETS also wants the Planning Board to extend its approval of a fourth office building that was approved in 1995, but never built. The approval for that building would expire in 2005. ETS wants to extend the approval for that building plus the three new buildings that it has proposed for 10 years, or to 2013.
ETS plans to construct the office building that was approved in 1995 after the three new buildings are completed. The previously approved office building would be located south of the loop road.
Under the state Municipal Land Use Law, a Planning Board may grant approval for an application for three years. If the applicant needs more time, the board may grant a total of two, one-year extensions.
An applicant also may ask for extended vesting or a longer time but it is up to the Planning Board. ETS gained this exception in its 1995 approval of the office building. At that time, the Lawrence board granted ETS a 10-year period in which to construct the addition.
Engineer Thomas O’Shea told the Planning Board Monday night that his client wants to demolish three buildings north of the loop road Conant Hall, which houses administrative offices, and the cafeteria next to it, plus Brigham Hall, which serves as the company’s library. The three new buildings would be constructed on the site.
The parking garage, which would contain 1,124 parking spaces, would be built on part of an existing parking lot next to Anrig Hall, said project architect Gregory Sczary. Because of the slope of the land, only three levels would be visible from the loop road, he said.
Attorney Mark Solomon, who represents ETS, said neither the new buildings nor the parking garage would be visible from Rosedale or Carter roads. ETS made an effort to cluster the buildings together, rather than spread the buildings across the campus, he said.
Carter Road resident Robert Stockman said that from his home, he can now see the flagpole outside Conant Hall. The Stockman property is located on a hillside in Hopewell Township, near Elm Ridge Road on the same side as ETS. He asked whether the new buildings would be visible.
Paul Weichler, ETS’ executive director for facilities and property management, said the new, three-story buildings would be about 15 feet taller than the two-story Conant Hall.
Mr. Stockman said that he has "some concerns" about the new buildings, because at least a portion of the new structures would be visible from his home. He said he can see the flagpole in the winter, when the trees have lost their leaves.
When Carter Road resident John Sheets asked about light pollution from the office buildings and parking lot lighting fixtures, Mr. Weichler replied that the lights are turned off inside the buildings by 9:30 p.m. or 10 p.m. The parking lot lights are on a timer, he said. They are darkened by around the same time as the buildings.
Traffic engineer Ken Mackiewicz outlined several proposed road improvements to accommodate the additional 800 employees who likely would be hired as ETS expands. The current workforce at the Lawrence campus totals 1,652.
At the intersection of Carter Road and Elm Ridge Road, Mercer County officials have indicated they would like separate left- and right-turn lanes on Elm Ridge Road, Mr. Mackiewicz said. There may be enough traffic to warrant a traffic light at the intersection, he said, adding that ETS would contribute its fair share toward those improvements.
At Carter and Rosedale roads, he suggested modifying the timing of the red and green traffic signals, so that the green light would stay on longer on Carter Road during the morning peak rush hour of 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. It would stay green longer on Rosedale Road during the 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. evening peak rush hour.
Mercer County officials want to install a traffic light at Rosedale Road and Province Line Road, Mr. Mackiewicz said. ETS would contribute its fair share toward the cost of that traffic light, he said.
Mr. Mackiewicz outlined three proposals to improve the intersection of Carter Road and Cold Soil Road. Each of the proposals calls for softening the turn onto Cold Soil Road from Carter Road, by varying degrees. The present configuration means cars and trucks must make a sharp right turn onto Cold Soil Road. The proposal would smooth it out and make it less sharp.
One of the proposals would widen Carter Road to form a separate right-turn lane onto Cold Soil Road. A second proposal would add some pavement to the intersection to soften the hard turn, and the third would add even more pavement to the intersection.
Mr. Mackiewicz and Mr. Weichler told the Planning Board that ETS already has a flex-time schedule and staggered working hours in place for employees. Those measures would stay in place.
ETS employees may arrive at work between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., and leave work between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., Mr. Mackiewicz said. About 40 percent of ETS employees arrive during the 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. peak morning rush hour.
Planning Board traffic consultant Charles Carmalt suggested building a new driveway from the campus across ETS-owned land to Province Line Road, on the north side of Rosedale Road. The new driveway would allow employees to use the new traffic light to safely make left turns onto Rosedale Road, he said.
Mr. Solomon, ETS’ attorney, said his client does not favor a new driveway to Province Line Road. It would put more cars on that section of Province Line Road, which does not experience much traffic now because it is a dead-end street, he said.
Noting that it is sometimes difficult to make a left turn out of ETS’ Rosedale Road driveway, Mr. Mackiewicz said that two traffic lights one at Rosedale and Carter roads, and another one at Rosedale and Province Line roads would create gaps in traffic to allow cars to make that turn out of the ETS driveway.
"We don’t want a Province Line Road entrance," Mr. Solomon said. "Our preferred first step (to solving the problem of left turns) is to have a traffic control officer at the driveway at the peak hour."
Planning Board Chairman Tom Wilfrid thanked Mr. Carmalt for "thinking outside the box," adding that the safety of ETS employees is a concern.
Rosedale Road resident Marc Brahaney, who lives near the intersection of Rosedale and Province Line roads, said he would rather that "the thinking stay inside the box."
He opposed the Province Line Road driveway, because it would destroy the rural character of that segment of Province Line Road.