MILLSTONE – The Millstone Township Planning Board has granted preliminary site plan approval to a stone distributor for the construction of three warehouse facilities on Wren Haven Drive.
At a recent meeting, 106 Trenton-Lakewood Road, LLC (Instone), a distributor of stone and masonry products based in Millstone, was granted preliminary major site plan approval to construct three buildings on Wren Haven Drive. The buildings will primarily be used as warehouses and are in the vicinity of the company’s headquarters on Red Valley Road.
The three applications were presented together by attorney Peter Klouser and board members voted on each application separately. Klouser said the site was previously a 7Up plant.
According to engineer Jonathan Blank, representing the applicant, one building will be 80,000 square feet, with 74,000 square feet to be used as warehouse space and 6,000 square feet to be used as office space. The facility will have 45 parking spaces and 16 loading spaces. A buffer will be landscaped near Red Valley Road and Trenton-Lakewood Road (Route 526) and the site will be able to accommodate a 55-foot-long tractor-trailer, according to the testimony.
The second building will be 50,250 square feet and used entirely as a warehouse, according to Blank. There will be 35 parking spaces and 22 loading spaces. The building will be able to accommodate a 55-foot-long tractor-trailer.
Blank testified that the third building will be 49,500 square feet, with 44,500 square feet to be used as warehouse space and 5,000 square feet to be used as office space. The building will have 34 parking spaces and 18 loading spaces.
Combined, the three buildings will total 179,750 square feet, with 168,750 square feet dedicated for warehouse space and 11,000 square feet dedicated for office space.
At the request of board members who expressed concern about traffic and safety, the applicant said tractor-trailers will not be permitted to exit the commercial site by turning left onto Red Valley Road and they will not be allowed to idle. Other vehicles leaving the site will be permitted to turn left onto Red Valley Road.
After a resident of Red Valley Road voiced concern about lights from the third building spilling onto his property when nearby trees are bare, Township Engineer Matt Shafai said he would investigate the possibility of planting additional trees along Red Valley Road to obstruct the building’s lights from the homeowner’s property.
Once discussion between board members and the applicant’s representatives concluded, board Vice Chairman Chris Pepe, board members Robert Beck, Stacie Curtis and Thomas Pado, and Deputy Mayor Nancy Grbelja, who sits on the board, voted to grant each application preliminary approval. Board member Jeffrey Ziner voted no on each application.
The applicant is expected to return before the board at a future meeting to seek final site plan approval.