Edison Zoning Board Delays Vote On Charlie Brown Site Development

EDISON, NJ — The township’s Zoning Board will not be voting on the controversial plan to build 23 age-restricted townhouses on the site of the former Charlie Brown's restaurant on Plainfield Road, until after Easter.

On Tuesday, the Zoning Board held a meeting that went on for over five hours. Members then decided to resume hearing on April 26. They are also expected to vote on that day.

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 earlier plan was to build 23 three-bedroom townhouses on the 2-acre site.

The area is located within the G-C Golf Course Zone. The Charlie Brown restaurant building will be demolished to make way for the new development.

This development requires a use variance which can be granted by five of the seven-member panel on the board.

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.

They will eliminate the third-floor rear balconies on the south and north buildings, and add 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.

Residents have been opposing the developer's plan saying it could change the character of the neighborhood and add to traffic woes.

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