Planning Board Approves Church Parking Lot Expansion

The New Providence Planning Board unanimously approved the expansion of the parking lot of the Presbyterian Church of New Providence during its regular meeting on Tuesday night.

The expansion, requested by Pastor Jeff Ebert, will add 28 additional parking spaces to the back portion of the church’s existing lot, located at 1307 Springfield Ave.

The parking lot currently gets very crowded on Sunday mornings between 8:30 a.m. and 12 p.m., when the church holds four services, Ebert said. Church staff members use the eight parking spaces next to the church. When the lot is filled up, staff, parishioners and volunteers usually park on Passaic Avenue, South Street, or other areas nearby.

Tom Murphy, engineer for the project, answered a number of questions by the board, including whether the proposed gravel used to cover the new parking area would spill out onto Passaic Avenue, and whether lighting would be needed in that area.

The engineer told the board that the lot would have “long access,” so there would be no real danger of big pieces of gravel spilling out onto Passaic. He added that a gravel lot would provide better drainage.

Murphy said that there is no need for additional lighting in the new portion of the lot, as it will only be used by church staff and volunteers except when there is a large event, which is rare. The board agreed that part of the lot should be chained off at night to block access.

Board members Dan Henn and Vincent Vyzas expressed concerns about the flow of traffic in and out of the parking lot, and the board generally agreed that the two proposed entrances from Passaic Avenue should be marked as entrances, and the center road between them will be an exit only.

The new lot will be at the back of the existing parking lot, which is wooded, Murphy said. But it is more than 300 feet from a nearby stream, so there will be no impact on the adjacent wetlands.

Murphy also said that while there is an approximate two-foot drop off, there will be curb bumps installed for safety.

Mayor J. Brooke Hern, a member of the church, recused himself from the public hearing.

There were no public comments on the issue.