The Paramus Board of Adjustment approved a Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurant to open in the Mall at IV on Route 4 west and heard more testimony about the proposed Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch on Midland Avenue at their meeting Thursday night.
After the first hearing of the Chuck E. Cheese’s application, the board had several concerns about the signs that the owners proposed. They came back with a plan with signs removed from one side of the mall, but not the side facing Route 4. Board members had concerns over the number of colors on the sign. Paramus code only allows four, but the applicants said they could not use less than five because of the cartoon mouse on the sign.
“This is Paramus, and what we do gets seen,” said board member Patrick O’Brien.
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The board did not give Chuck E. Cheese’s a variance for the number of colors on the sign, but otherwise approved the application.
The board also heard additional testimony from Edward Arcari, the architect of a proposed Syriac church on Midland Avenue. According to Arcari, the highest point of the new building, the dome, will be 49.3 feet tall. Other points will also be above what is allowed by Paramus code, including a 46-foot bell tower and a 36.3-foot vaulted roof. The existing building on the site, which will remain, is 72 feet tall. Neighbors were concerned about the height of the building, which Arcari said was designed to create a feeling of holiness.
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“49.3 feet? How close is that to heaven?” asked Joseph Niland, a deacon at the Church of the Annunciation across the street, which is 57 feet tall at its highest point.
According to Arcari, only 9 percent of the building is above the 32-foot height allowed by the ordinance.
“I think we did a pretty good job of keeping over 90 percent of the building below ordinance,” Arcari said.
Neighbors were also concerned about the retaining wall on the property. According to Arcari, the wall will be removed and the foundation of the existing building will be extended as needed to keep it stable without the soil next to it.
Engineer Alex Lapatka will be back at the next hearing to answer additional questions from neighbors about his testimony. The applicant will also have a traffic expert testify. The next hearing will be on Aug. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Borough Hall.
