Conference and Planning Board Public Hearing

City of Trenton

Planning Board

Conference and Planning Board Public Hearing

Thursday, June 8, 2006

Trenton City Hall

Members in Attendance:

Joe Cooley, Chairperson

Dennis Keenan

Richard Potts

Tywana Smith

Greg Williams

Staff in Attendance:

Andrew Carten, Director Division of Planning

William Valocchi, Supervising Planner

Robert Leventhal, Planning Board Attorney

Cherry Oakley, Planning Board Secretary

CONFERENCE SESSION

A quorum was verified and Chairperson Cooley called the meeting to order at 7:18pm.

Mr. Potts motioned to adopt the minutes from the last meeting. Mr. Gregory seconded the motion and all were in favor.

There were no resolutions to adopt.

Mr. Carten indicated that when the Center City South Redevelopment Area expansion there was objection to it and an assertion that they were not noticed. Mr. Carten and Mr. Valocchi confirmed that they were sent notice but it may not have been to the accurate address since the objectors had not maintained a current proper mailing address with the record keeper that the Division uses to initiate the mailings.

Mr. Carten noted that there was also an objection to the wording in the amendment related to the Landmarks Commission needing to review their plans prior to them being approved. The Division has already met with them about the language change that was concerning and are still in conversation with them because there isn’t a clear plan and agreement on the language that both parties can agree to. As a result Item #1 has been cancelled for tonight and will be continued at another time.

Mr. Valocchi stated that with Item #2 the front loaded garages for these homes have been asked to be moved farther forward so that the homes will more closely emulate the other homes on the street. There is a safety concern with not having the garages set back more from the street when a resident is pulling into and out of their garage, but the Division would like them to talk about the parking plans and options that they can implement related to this issue.

Mr. Valocchi stated that with Item #3 the biggest issue is DOT’s plans to build a continuous walkway and this project shouldn’t interfere with this. DOT indicated that they can design around them since they are entering the area first.

Next Meeting: There will be the presentation of the Train Station Redevelopment Plan. There bakery will be returning and their name will be ‘The European Bakery’. The last case will be Canal Plaza, the lot on North Broad Street below the Battle Monument. Single family homes will be on a portion of the site and the back part will be an open space because of environmental concerns that prevent homes from being built there. The 22nd will be a busy meeting.

PUBLIC HEARING

The meeting was called to order. Chairperson Cooley opened the meeting. A quorum was verified.

Mr. Leventhal made an announcement that the Center City South Redevelopment Area scheduled to be presented tonight has been postponed until the 22nd of June and this matter will not be re-noticed and will be heard on that date. Mr. Carten approached and stated that the matter won’t be carried until that date and it will be re-noticed as to the actual time it will be presented. Mr. Leventhal restated the clarification.

Item #1- CANCELLED--Public Hearing on the proposed amendments to the Center City South Redevelopment Area:The generalized redevelopment area boundaries are South Montgomery Street, East State Street, Chancery Lane, Peace Street, West Lafayette and East Lafayette Street.

Boundary maps were advertised in the Trenton Times newspaper on 5/10/06 and 5/15/06

Part A- Review investigation report and make a determination if the expanded area is “an area in need of redevelopment” in accordance with the Local Redevelopment Laws and recommended such designation to the City Council.

Part B- Adoption of the language amendments to the Redevelopment Plan. The main intent of the redevelopment plan is to encourage the redevelopment of underutilized properties in this area (carried over from the May 25, 2006 hearing).

Item #2- 34716-Final Major Subdivision Application, Final Major Site Plan Application. The applicant intends to consolidate and re-subdivide a group of vacant lots to create four legal size lots to construct four townhomes with off-street parking (front loaded garages). Location of Development 340-348, 352 Jersey Street: City Tax Map: Block 161-E, Lots 31, 74, 78, 225, 226, 227 and 228. Applicant: Goat Hill Commons, LLC, 211 Warrant Street, Suite 405, Newark, NJ 07103.

Ms. Carlotta M. Budd, Attorney at Law with Carlotta M. Budd, LLC of Madison, NJ introduced herself and detailed the applicant’s intention for tonight’s presentation. She states that they have eliminated the only variance they were requesting. She indicated that they will conform to all planning officials’ requests state in their June 8th memo.

Chairperson Cooley asked if there was anyone from the audience that wanted to speak for or against this project. With no answer from the Gallery Mr. Potts made the following motion:

Approval of Major Site Plan Application with conditions as set forth.

Mr. Keenan seconded the motion.

Mr. Valocchi asked to address the Board prior to the vote and was sworn in and testified that there are 2 issues that the applicant has to highlight related to the moving of the buildings forward, closer to the street. There was a discussion today with the engineer about the safety issue that is created by moving the driveways forward. The second issue is regarding the lack of separation between the driveways to avoid long curb cuts and make that area pedestrian friendly. In that conversation by maintaining their plans you can create some on-street parking which is a positive trade-off to what the Division was previously requesting.

Mr. Marc A. Remo, Engineer from Remo Engineering, LLC of Newark, NJ was sworn in to explain what would occur if the buildings were moved forward to a zero off set. He also explained that if the change of putting the driveways together, as requested by the Division, occurred that would create insufficient area for the off-street parking. He also noted that with the improvement of the alley they show that the alley is graded so that there isn’t such a negative impact with drainage. Ms. Budd noted that the applicant will work with the City to improve those alleyways to make them passable.

Mr. Potts rescinded his initial motion of: Approval of Major Site Plan Application with conditions as set forth. Mr. Gregory Williams seconded the rescinding of the motion. All indicated that they were in favor of Mr. Potts’s motion to rescind his previous motion via a roll call vote.

These additional votes were set forth:

Approval of Final Site Plan with the conditions 1, 2, 5, and 6

Member / Aye / Nay / Ab-stain / Motioned / Seconded
Joe Cooley, Chairperson /

X

Dennis Keenan /

X

Richard Potts / X / X
Tywana Smith / X
Greg Williams / X / X

Approval of Final Major Subdivision Application

Member / Aye / Nay / Ab-stain / Motioned / Seconded
Joe Cooley, Chairperson /

X

Dennis Keenan /

X

Richard Potts / X / X
Tywana Smith / X
Greg Williams / X / X

The next case was called before the Board.

Item #3- Review of a Capital Project: The City of Trenton proposes to upgrade the operations of the Water Filtration Plant through the expansion of its facility. Project Location: New Jersey Route 29, adjacent to the Calhoun Street bridge. Applicant: City of Trenton, Department of Public Works, Water Utility.

Mr. Joseph Frissora, Principal Engineer from MWH of Saddle Brook, NJ introduced himself and provided the Board with the history of the treatment facility and the buildings, and topography in the area. Full color slides with Trenton Water Works presentation; drawings for the construction of the facility; and 11x17 full color aerial photos of the area with the proposed additional building superimposed on the photos were provided to the Board for their review. Mr. Frissora referenced these handouts throughout his presentation.

He described that the current plant will not conform to the upcoming regulations for disinfection and there may be future concerns about certain bacteria entering the Delaware River. He stated that there were concerns about how much water the facility could produce at a certain demand with certain conditions. They did an evaluation on the ways to address the concerns and put a valuation on those findings and were able to determine that this additional facility accompanied by the replacement of some of the equipment was needed. Thus, the proposed project was drafted and that’s what they are here to present tonight.

The New Jersey Water Supply Master Plan calls for plants to be able to push water around the State in times of drought. He noted that there have been agreements entered into with Elizabethtown Water Supply and improvements in the current facility are needed in order to meet the requirements of this new agreement. Referencing his slides he detailed what they will focus on and the addition of an emergency power generator, a polymer additive to be introduced to the water at the plant during disinfection to help the particles in the water to stick together and make for easier extraction, a new sludge decant tank, having a new clarifier building, a new pumping system, and some electrical system upgrades. He noted that the security system for the project is to be done under a separate project and won’t be detailed in the plans tonight.

The changes to the site were described referencing a rendering of the building elevations from each direction. Mr. Frissora was able to show where the additional building would be located. He stated they did not believe that it would be possible to install any landscaping to that area because it’s an active driveway. The façade materials will be a brick material that will match the existing material that is there. The windows will be aluminum materials. Regarding the new exterior lighting there will not be a lot of lighting, but there will be lighting for the exits. There will be a wall packet, a high pressure sodium light box over the doorways.

Board Questions:

Chairperson Cooley: There were two comments about the new fencing impeding the DOT upgrades for Route 29. Has the DOT reviewed your plans and if so what were their comments?

Mr. Frissora: The NJ DOT has not reviewed our plans. We contacted Amy Pollachek, of DOT to ask if they wanted to review them as we were willing to make a presentation to them as well, and she indicated that as long as we weren’t making any improvements in the front of the plant there would not be any impact on their plans and she would not want to review them. We are not making any improvements to the front of the plans so they did not need to review them.

Referencing the drawings of the plant he showed the fencing along the back of the plant and alongside Stacy Park. He stated that their plan is to keep that fence in place and extend it further another 200 feet. The fence will extend to the gate alongside the river side to limit access so that if someone came up alongside the river they would have been able to access the stairs that take you into the building. Mr. Frissora indicated that they have worked alongside the Mercer County Soil Erosion Commission.

Mr. Williams: With regard to all of the improvements you discussed, will they address all of the concerns you noted? I wasn’t able to line them (the improvements) all up side by side with the concerns.

Mr. Frissora: Yes, they do. I wasn’t sure how much detail to go into. Mr. Frissora then described which improvement addressed which concern.

Mr. Williams: And your security plan, what is it?

Mr. Frissora: There is a plan underway to install a closed circuit security system and a current project for the card swipe door access.

Mr. Williams: And will all of these improvements make this facility considered to be‘State of the Art’

Mr. Frissora: We believe it will be.

Mr. Williams: No one will be coming before this Board to present information on security. That’s a concern of mine as a resident of the City. I don’t think the security concerns are adequately addressed with closed circuit TV and a swipe card.

Mr. Brandino Cacallori, General Superintendent & Chief Engineer of the Water Treatment Plant was introduced and sworn in. He stated that currently the keyed entry system will be replaced with the swipe card. This swipe system will be incorporated into all of their facilities. He stated that there are existing closed circuit security TVs at the facility. The present system is not functional, even though they are in place. The applicant is hoping that with the upgrades to the plant and through another project, they’ll get to replace the non-working cameras with functional ones that will be integrated into the City’s camera system. Currently the cameras are not monitored 24-hours a day.

Mr. Williams: How do the security measures you have now match up to other water authorities?

Mr. Cacallori: I believe our measures fall short. Part of our issue is that our facility is open to the Route 29 frontage. Whereas other water facilities are in a more secluded areas, and not only have 1 fence but 2 because of the amount of space they have to work with.

Chairpeson Cooley stated for the record that the Board has reviewed the plans for the Trenton Water Works and made their recommendations. The Board thanked them for their presentation.

With no other business before the Mr. Keenan made a motion to adjourn the public hearing. All were in favor and the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted by Cherry Oakley

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