SHAMROCK ENTERPRISES, LTD Land Use Planning and Transportation Consulting Madison House, Ste B 866 Madison Avenue Rahway, NJ 07065 732/388-4765 FAX 388-7938 Shamrock_KOB@Comcast.net

TO: Chairman Hering and the City of Rahway

Zoning Board of Adjustment

FROM: Kevin O’Brien, P.P.

DATE: 30 June 2020

SUBJECT: Optimum Care Medical Transport

313 Regina Avenue, Mill Street and East Inman

Avenue

Block 280, Lot 1; Block 278, Lot 14 (I – H Heavy

Industrial Zone) and Block 288, Lot 10 (R – 2

Residential Zone)

Application #01-20Z

PLANNING REPORT

I. Resources Utilized A. Complete Land Development Application, issued by the City of

Rahway, consisting of 22 pages, dated 1/29/2020;

B. Site Plan titled “Minor Site Plan/Change of Use Plan, 313 Regina

Avenue, Block 280, Lot 1, City of Rahway, Union County, New

Jersey”, consisting of three (3) pages, dated 1/15/2020 revised

4/7/2020, prepared by NewLines Engineering and Survey;

C. Architectural Plans titled “Optimum Care Tenant, 313 Regina

Avenue, Rahway, NJ 07065”, dated 12/11/2019, revised 1/15/2020,

prepared by Netta Architects.

D. Letter from Joshua Koodray, Esq. transmitting the application, 13

April 2020.

E. Response letter from Joshua Koodray, Esq. dated 27 April 2020.

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F. Engineering Report by Jacqueline Dirmann, P.E., dated 12 June

2020.

II. Project Description

The Applicant is requesting Final & Preliminary Site Plan, a Use (“d”) Variance

for a use not permitted in the R-2 Zone, a Conditional Use Variance for an auto

Repair Shop and a number of Bulk (“c”) Variances. The Applicant is proposing

to place a passenger transportation company which serves medical patients and

special needs students throughout the state.

The Regina Avenue building will house offices and auto repair uses. The

parking lot on Regina and Holly Place will be used to park vehicles.

III. Relief Requested

1. Relief

a. Use Variance: Chapter 421-14 R-2 Medium-Density Single-Family

Residential Zone.

The Applicant proposes a parking lot which is not permitted in the R-2

zone.

b. Conditional Use Variance: Chapter 421-60 – Automobile Repair Garage.

The applicant proposes an Auto Repair Garage inside the building.

c. Major Site Plan Approval required: Chapter 349-2.A.

d. Bulk Variances from Chapter 421 Attachment 1.

2. Design Waivers

a. Parking spaces to be clearly marked: Chapter 349-5.A.10. No striping

proposed.

b. Lighting required: Chapter 349-5.A.11. None proposed.

c. Lighting to be a minimum .3 footcandle with an average of .5

footcandles over the entire area: Chapter 349-5.A.11. None

proposed.

d. Parking to be on same lot as main building: Chapter 349-5.A.14.

Parking on lot across Regina Avenue from main building.

e. The lighting plan in and around the parking areas shall provide for

nonglare, color-corrected lights, focused downward. The light

intensity provided at ground level shall be a minimum of 0.3

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footcandle anywhere in the area to be illuminated, shall average a

minimum of 0.5 footcandle over the entire area and shall be provided

by fixtures with a mounting height not to be more than 20 feet

measured from the ground level to the center line of the light source

or the height of the building, if attached, whichever is lower, and

spacing not to exceed five times the mounting height: Chapter 349-

5.A.11). No lighting proposed.

f. Planting in all required buffer areas shall consist of a minimum of

two staggered rows of evergreen trees spaced 10 feet apart and

planted 10 feet on center. Additional planting materials and/or

fencing may be used to supplement the two rows of evergreen trees

but shall not replace them. Chapter 349-7.C.6. Not provided on Lot

10.

g. In all zones where a multifamily, commercial or industrial

development zone line abuts a single-family residential zone, a

twenty-foot buffer must be established and maintained.

Chapter 349-7.C.9. None proposed.

3. Waiver Request

The applicant has not requested any waivers.'

Should waivers be requested, the Zoning Board of Adjustment must review

the requested waivers and decide if they may be granted prior to the hearing

on the site plan application. The Board may request any waived items should

the Board decide that such information is reasonably necessary for the Board

to make an informed decision. 1

IV. Planning Comments

A. NATURE OF APPLICATION The applicant should provide testimony describing the business to the Board.

A number of the particulars were discussed in the Joshua Koodray, Esq. letter

0f 13 April 2020.

I understand it may be repetitive but I think it would help the Board to

understand the application fully by describing the days and hours of operation,

the total number of employees, the total number of employees per shift as well

as the maximum number of employees onsite at any time.

1 Cox, NJ Zoning and Land Use Administration (Gann, 2020), page 298.

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What type of transportation is offered? Who are the clients? Will vehicles be

driving far distances meaning an early start and late finish compared to regular

business hours?

The applicant should also describe the types of anticipated repairs in the repair

facility. Also, the number, type and size of the buses and other vehicles

proposed.

The applicant should also discuss where employee vehicles will park while the

drivers prepare their vehicles for transport.

What types of vehicles are proposed? Minivans? Paratransit buses? Medical

transport? Are they wheelchair equipped? Are they gasoline engines or

diesel? Louder diesel engines may have an adverse impact upon the

adjoining properties due to their unique and loud sound.

B. REGINA/HOLLY PARKING LOT The Regina/Holly Place parking lot abuts a City park and a residence on Holly

Place, and is across Holly from a residence.

The lot has been vacant for some time now and appears overgrown. The

paved area for the seven parking spaces to the north and fencing are on City

park land. This intrusion must be removed. I have enclosed the area tax map

showing the border line in the appendix. Compare the tax map to the site plan

and the encroachment will be obvious. The Zoning Board of Adjustment has

no authority to grant a variance on land that is not owned/leased by the

applicant.

Removing the pavement for the seven northerly parking spaces leaves 42

spaces as shown on the site plan. The applicant states that the striping on the

lot is faded and will not be restriped. The existing spaces shown on the site

plan measure 10 feet wide by 20 feet long.

Paratransit type buses can be as narrow as a minivan or as wide as a minibus

with up to 15 passengers, which can be up to 102”, or 8.5 feet wide. Add a

one foot mirror on each side and the vehicle width is0.5 feet wide. Vehicles

can be up to 20’ to 25’ long. The applicant should give testimony about the

types of vehicles to be parked and where they will be parked, as it appears

possible that the parking lot will not hold as many oversize vehicles as typical

passenger cars.

If the vehicles are regulated by DOT and if drivers possess Commercial

Drivers Licenses pre-trip inspections are required. Is there room to test

wheelchair lifts if so equipped?

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How many vehicles can the applicant park in the lot, remembering that the

applicant only has access to the three existing south rows of parking?

Do the vehicles have sufficient space to maneuver in the parking lot?

Will the parking lot be secured? Will it be accessed through a gate or other

device?

C. REPAIR GARAGE The proposed garage is 1,850 SF. The garage drawing on Sheet 3 of 3 is not

to scale. The drawing shows four vehicles in the repair bays but I cannot tell

their size. As noted above, the applicant should provide vehicle sizes and

discuss if they can access the garage through the door. Will all vehicles be

repaired inside? Will any be repaired outside? If a vehicle in the parking lot

has a bad battery or flat tire will the repairs be done in the lot? Or will the

vehicle be brought into the garage?

D. SIGNAGE Are any signs proposed? If so, are they conforming? Any signs proposed for the parking lot? E. LIGHTING No lighting is proposed. How will drivers inspect their vehicles?

F. REGINA AVENUE PARKING LOT Will the 22 proposed parking spaces be striped? If so, the Land Use

Ordinance requires 9’ x 18’ parking spaces. Of the proposed 49 spaces, two

are required to be ADA accessible. Where will they be located?

G. BUFFER A substantial buffer is required, as described above in the relief required.

Because the Regina/Holly parking lot abuts a City park and residences, a

buffer is quite important at this location. The applicant proposes none.

H. BULK STANDARDS The R-2 standards listed on Sheet 1 of 3 are applicable to single family homes.

The applicant should use the standards listed for “all other uses.” The

applicable standards should be corrected on the site plan and application.

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This lot is nonconforming in lot area, lot width and lot depth along with

impervious coverage.

I. TRASH Where will the building trash go? Where will the parking lot trash go? And

how will it be collected?

V. Master Plan

The City Master Plan (revised December 2008) lists a number of goals and objectives on page 2-1. Among them are:

Maintain a proper balance between land uses so that the City's population is adequately served by a sound employment base and sufficient services.

Ensure that new development on vacant or underutilized land is in keeping with existing neighborhood character.

The Land Use Plan discusses the R-2 Residential Zone on page 3-34:

The purpose of this designation is to restrict residential uses in these areas

to single family homes. Although some of the homes which exist in this

area are two family homes, and some may even be three or four family

homes, permitting such uses throughout this land use designation could

result in severe detrimental impacts. The vast majority of homes were

designed and built as single family residences and are located on small lots

which have limited open space and limited space to accommodate off

street parking (some have no garages at all, others only a single garage).

In addition, the Land Use Plan discusses the I – H Heavy Industrial Zone

District on page 3-39:

The purpose of this district is to allow heavier manufacturing developments

which exist in this designation to continue to operate without the threat of

nuisance suits and complaints so long as such uses adhere to the

performance standards established in the Rahway Zoning Code and other

mandated federal and state environmental laws and requirements. In

addition to all the uses permitted in the light industrial designation, heavy

manufacturing uses (petrochemical and metalworking facilities) would be

permitted, along with bus and truck depots and automobile and truck repair

and body shops. The adoption of better onsite parking and loading

standards (i.e., fencing, sidewalks, lighting, landscaping, curbing, drainage,

etc.) should be adopted.

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The Board should consider whether the present application is compatible

with the Master Plan.

VI. Required Proofs

An application for a D – 1 use variance to establish a nonconforming use has to

satisfy a three-pronged burden:

a) that special reasons exist that would allow this application to be approved,

b) that it meets the first part of the negative criteria in that the application can be

reconciled with the Master Plan and Zoning Ordinance, and

c) that it meet the second part of the negative criteria in that it have no negative

impact on surrounding properties and the City.

An application for a D – 3 conditional use variance should be should be

considered in this way according to the Planning and Zoning Handbook2.

Accordingly, proofs to support a conditional use variance need only justify

the municipality's continued permission for a use notwithstanding a

deviation from one or more conditions of the ordinance which suggest that

the site itself might well be unsuitable for the use. Accord Cell v. Zoning Bd.

of Adjustment, 172 N.J. 75, 83 (2002). Similarly, the Coventry Court limited

the focus of the negative criteria to the impact of the deviation, not the

impact of the use. Coventry Square, 138 N.J. at 299.

The bulk or “C” variances requested are typically considered as part of the

greater “D” variances. But if they were to be considered on their own, the

applicant must demonstrate to the Board that either of the following two proofs

can be met as well as showing that the application can satisfy the negative

criteria:

1) Hardship (c1)

Peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties exist which do not allow the

property to be developed in accordance with the Ordinance, or undue

hardship arising from:

A. Exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific piece of property;

B. Exceptional topographic conditions or physical features uniquely affecting a specific piece of property;

C. Extraordinary and exceptional situation uniquely affecting a

2 Cox, NJ Zoning and Land Use Administration (Gann, 2020), page 742.

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specific piece of property.

2) Flexible “C” (c2)

A. Application advances the purposes of the Municipal Land Use Law.

B. Benefits of granting the variance substantially outweigh any detriment.

The applicant must demonstrate that they meet the negative criteria by

showing that the requested variances can be granted without substantially

impacting surrounding properties and the neighborhood. The applicant must

further show the Board that the variance requested can be granted without

substantial detriment to the public good and will not substantially impair the

intent and purpose of the zone plan and zoning ordinance.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment should weigh the testimony carefully and give

due consideration as to whether the applicant has met the burden of proof

required by the Municipal Land Use Law.

Please don’t hesitate to call if I may be of further assistance.

CC: Board staff For the applicant: Joshua Koodray, Esq.

End of Report Optimum Transport 01 20Z Planning Report V2 063020

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APPENDIX AERIAL VIEW OF RESIDENTIAL ZONE PARKING LOT AT REGINA AND HOLLY

The blue outline shows City owned property occupied by the applicant. Yellow shows the extent of the owned parking lot.

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NORTH SIDE OF PARKING LOT

MIDDLE OF PARKING LOT

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SOUTH END OF PARKING AND HOLLY PLACE

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TAX MAP SHOWING PARKING LOT

The red outline and yellow star show the parking lot. Note how the north property line extends straight to the east. Compare to the site plan which shows the parking lot extension to the north.