No Vote Yet, as Residents Worry Over Speedwell Avenue Apartments

The Morris Township Board of Adjustment heard hours of questions and comments Monday from residents concerned about seven proposed apartments at at building spanning from 146 to 150 Speedwell Ave. But the board wasn't yet ready to vote on the plan.

An application at the site allowing for two floors of commercial use was already approved by the Morris Township Planning Board on Feb. 8, 2010, but the application presented to the Board of Adjustment Monday sought a variance that would allow for the second floor to include seven apartments. One apartment at the location was previously approved in 1978.

More testimony will be heard at the May 23 board of adjustment meeting, but the only issue that will be discussed is that of a buffer zone between the proposed building and surrounding residencies—one of many concerns raised at Monday’s meeting.

Maureen Carlin was the first resident to discuss a buffer zone—with trees of a certain height between the building and the surrounding residential area—at the meeting. With people potentially living in second floor apartments, and with a neighborhood full of families, including many with children, privacy was one of Carlin’s main concerns.

Chairman of the board Timothy Kronk and board member Paul Woodford were among the board members that agreed.

“I’m very concerned with the buffering along the residential zone line,” Kronk said.

“I’d like to see the buffering,” Woodford said. “I think the public has the right to see it.”

The only member of the board who voted against a motion to push of a vote on the matter was Rick Haan.

Allan Rich, a lawyer for Joseph Lobozzo, the applicant, said that they were prepared to create a buffer zone, but that after waiting months for approval they would prefer a decision be made at Monday’s meeting. Rich ultimately agreed to postponement, though, after Kronk said the issue could not be adequately addressed during the meeting.

For most of the meeting, the board planner, the township engineer, Lobozzo’s lawyer, his planner and the board answered questions and heard comments from the public.

The biggest concern for many residents was parking. Included in the application is an approval for a variance in the number of parking spaces needed, from the 45 that would normally be required of a building of the type and size proposed to the 29 that are included in the plan.

This reduction in the amount of required spaces, along with two street spots that might be lost because of their proximity to the proposed building, some residents said, might lead to a situation where more people are parking outside of houses along Sherman Avenue, and where increased traffic would lead to a decrease in safety for pedestrians.

A few speakers expressed concern that the parking in front of the building was of particular concern for parents walking children to and from school.

According to Morris Township engineer James Slate, traffic would be worse if the building was used for all commercial use, as was approved in 2010 by the planning board.

“What is proposed here is less intense than what was previously approved by the planning board,” Slate said. “If this does get approved, this is a reduction in the traffic coming off the site, in my opinion.”

Lobozzo’s planner, Peter Speck, said that because of the varied use of the building, with residents potentially not using their parking spaces while at work during the day, and with businesses not using as many spaces at night—the parking situation would be an improvement on the approved proposal.

For variances to be approved, said board planner Adrian Humbert, the use must be found by the board to be particularly well-suited for the site, and the board must find the “general welfare is advanced by the site’s suitability.”

Humbert said that the board should carefully consider the application, weighing benefits against any perceived detriments.

Art Huhn, one of many members of the public that rose to speak multiple times, read from a prepared statement near the end of the meeting.

“I am here this evening to oppose this application, because I believe that it will forever change the character of the surrounding neighborhoods,” Huhn said. “Many of the people here this evening carefully considered where they would like to raise their families, and in making the greatest investment choice of their lives, they chose Morris Township. Tonight we find our neighborhood for sale to those willing to invest in the neighborhood regardless of the zoning, simply because they have a vision and the money to make it happen.”

Ed Myers, another resident who said his family has been in the area for more than 150 years, expressed a similar sentiment.

“For too long what I’ve seen is excusing those [zoning] rules for the benefit of the builder,” said Myers.

Lobozzo declined to comment after the meeting.