Developers Revise Plan For Charlie Brown’s Site In Edison

EDISON, NJ — A developer's controversial plan to build 23 townhomes on the site of the former Charlie Brown's restaurant on Plainfield Road will be back before the Zoning Board on Dec. 14.

But this time, the developers have revised their plan to make the homes age-restricted. The earlier plan was to build 23 three-bedroom townhouses on the 2-acre site.

MarKim Developers, LLC is proposing to build a 23-unit age-restricted multi-family townhouse on 222 Plainfield Road, near the Metuchen Golf and Country Club. The area is located within the G-C Golf Course Zone and there's a Charlie Brown restaurant building, which will be demolished to make way for the new development.

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According to the revised application, the age-restricted units will be for persons aged 55 and over. The height of the proposed building has been reduced to 33 feet 10 inches, which is less than the maximum height of 35 feet permitted in the G-C Zone. The application also includes restricting the access driveways on Plainfield Road to prohibit left turns out of the site, eliminating the third-floor rear balconies on the south and north buildings, and adding a second row of trees at a planting height of 10 feet to 12 feet to screen the properties to the south of the site.

The applicant is seeking preliminary and final site plan approval, a use variance to permit a multi-family age-restricted residential use within the Gold Course Zone, in which golf courses are the only permitted use, a variance with regard to maximum floor area ratio, and bulk variances with regard to the minimum required lot area, lot depth, and rear yard setback.

Residents have been opposing the developer's plan for months now. They expressed concern over the "changing character" of the neighborhood and said the townhomes would add to traffic woes and overcrowding of schools.

The proposed development is located near the entrance of Woodrow Wilson Middle School and Woodbrook Elementary School. A little further, on the border of Metuchen is St Joseph High School. These areas witness heavy school traffic and other traffic during the day. Residents say the new development will only add to traffic issues in the area.

Read Related: Edison Residents Oppose Plan For Former Charlie Brown's Site

The Edison Zoning Board meeting will be held on Dec. 14, at 7 p.m..

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