A proposed medical building at Oak Tree Road and Ventnor Drive in Edison has met significant opposition from area residents.
During the May 18 meeting of the Planning Board, residents from the Ventnor Road area spoke against the facility proposed by cardiologist Dr. Rajendra Patel, presenting ordinances, charts, photos and maps to make their case. The board ultimately postponed its vote on the application.
Patel’s proposal would have the existing building on the site demolished and a twostory medical office building constructed in its place. But the project requires variances for issues such as lot width, front-yard setback, maximum impervious coverage and off-street parking.
According to experts for Patel, the proposal has already taken resident reaction into account, with changes made that include placing the only driveway on Ventnor Road instead of directly on Oak Tree Road. In addition, the second floor of the building will be used as general office space instead of medical to reduce the amount of parking required.
During the public hearing, resident and engineer Yuqing Bing attempted to present her findings on behalf of some residents in attendance, but because she was licensed in New York and not in New Jersey, she was not accepted by the board as an expert and could only speak as a resident.
Bing, however, did make assertions about a higher likelihood of car accidents based on information about the nearby bus stops and existing traffic flow.
She also covered environmental impact related to nearby Coppermine Brook.
“This commercial development will cause stormwater pollution,” she said, urging the board to reject the application.
Resident Walter Tencza referenced the township’s master plan, which he said outlines a stream on the property and is subject to laws that protect the bodies of water. He said the neighborhood, which includes a senior center, has flooded in the past and has relied on the site in question to absorb the water. Paving it would compromise that ability, he said.
“You’re making a massive mistake environmentally,” Tencza said. “This is not something we want to play with.”
He said a township ordinance prohibits structures from being built too close to a stream.
In addition, Tencza and other residents took issue with the township map still showing the site as being in a residential zone, not a zone that would permit an office building.
Resident Michele Boccadoro also spoke of flooding issues and aired concerns about traffic and safety — particularly because Oak Tree Road is a five-lane highway in that area.
She said she and her neighbors would have to compete with those going to the proposed office building for lane space on Oak Tree Road.
“And we’re doing it for what? To accommodate a medical office building? We’re going to destroy the neighborhood,” Boccadoro said, adding that she has a son with special needs who rides his bike.
She said this project would increase her fears for his safety.
“It’s a nice neighborhood,” she said. “We want to keep it that way.”
Later, Boccadoro asked for an extension on a vote so that the board could hear Bing’s report. Other engineers named in the report hold licenses in New Jersey but were not at the meeting, according to the residents.
After the public hearing, Planning Board Vice Chairman Dennis Pipala addressed their concerns.
“There were a lot of great points brought up by the residents,” he said, adding however that the application is appropriate for the site, and traffic is nothing new for the township.
Pipala said Patel secured all approvals that were needed before coming to the Planning Board. Obtaining those approvals, according to Pipala, required officials to look into many of the issues the residents addressed, including environmental and traffic concerns. He said, however, that he wanted to look further into some of their concerns.
In the end, the board decided to continue to hear the matter on June 15.