Westwood Planning Board Officials are Concerned About Traffic with Proposed Day Care Center

Members of the Westwood Planning Board got an overview of the Greentree Developers application to Thursday night.

The developer has proposed a day care facility with 180 students and 25 employees on each shift, according to Borough Planner Ed Snieckus. He explained that Greentree wants to use Green Avenue as a drop off and pick up spot for customers. Snieckus pointed out that there is not a specific crosswalk at that location and suggested the developer consider one.

Snieckus told board members the application is complete and outlined some of the specifics. He said the board can request a traffic study and environmental impact study for the area if members determine they would be helpful and important.

According to Snieckus, the developer would need to obtain variances for several portions of the project since some areas are not in compliance. He cited setbacks and parking as two examples. Some of the setbacks do not match up with what the borough requires and the developer is proposing 40 parking spaces instead of the required 43 spaces.

Planning Board Engineer Louis Raimondi said his main concern was the traffic pattern for the project, and several others agreed. He said he was worried that motorists would have a difficult time making a U-turn on Green Avenue to get back out to Kinderkamack Road.

"This is technically a dead end street and there is a parking complex to the west," Raimondi said. "Some consideration should be given how those cars will be maneuvered."

He also said the county Planning Board has concerns about traffic issues on Kinderkamack Road and suggested the applicant have its engineer meet with the county Planning Department to discuss the front of the proposed building. Raimondi said it could impact the site plan and save the applicant time and money.

Planning Board alternate Keith Doell also pointed out that noise should be considered when evaluating a child day care center because children will be outside playing.

Although members of the board and professionals expressed some areas of concern, Richard Bonsignore said it was positive that the developer was before the body.

"We've pointed out a number of things that concern us, but as a reminder, we've talked about trying to enliven and resurrect this area," he said, "and I think that this application has a good chance of doing it."

Bonsignore said the application will be put on the agenda for the next Planning Board meeting, scheduled for March 24.

Correction: An earlier version of this article reported that the day care center is proposed on the former Chevrolet of Westwood site. It is proposed on another former car dealership site, at 10 and 20 Kinderkamack Road.