Residents Sound Off On Gym Plan

The Planning Board finished hearing an application Thursday to build a health club on Route 17 north in the former site of Pearl Paint and Petsmart, though their vote won't come until a later meeting.

Residents testified that the gym would come too close to their homes, given the developer's stance that the parking lot would need at least 300 spaces.

"Three-hundred-twenty-five cars backed against a residential neighborhood is a serious concern for us," said Richard Cacciatore, an Oliver Road resident.

Cacciatore and other residents also said the health club, which is allowed to open on Sundays, violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the Borough's Blue Laws, which strictly limit the types of businesses that can operate on Sundays. While gyms are an exception to the Blue Laws, Cacciatore said no gym in Paramus is so close to a residential neighborhood.

The developer, Laganella Property Management, plans to add the proposed 30,000 square foot health club to the existing building at 776 Route 17 north. In the process of adding enough parking to accommodate the gym, the developer would have to cut into an almost 60-foot wide grassy area between the parking lot and the neighborhood.

"It's a 10-pound bag of product in a 5-pound bag," said Peter Shikar, another Oliver Road resident, who felt the noise and proximity of the gym would reduce the quality of life in the neighborhood.

For the gym plans to go through, the Planning Board must grant a variance for the number of parking spaces on the site. The zoning ordinance requires 427 spaces, while the applicant proposes 372, after sacrificing six spaces to retain some of the existing foliage on the property.

Stephen Sinisi, the attorney for Laganella, said the developer had gone out of its way to accommodate resident concerns. At the Thursday hearing, landscape architect Scott Koenig presented a plan that included two rows of trees along the north and east boundaries of the property to provide a buffer for the neighborhood.

"This applicant wants to be a good neighbor," Sinisi said.

The Planning Board couldn't hold a vote on the hearing, since only four of the members in attendance were at the first hearing on Aug. 19. The Board tentatively scheduled a vote for Sept. 15.