This public notice was published today
CITY OF PLAINFIELD
Notice of Public Hearing
In accordance with the ordinances of the City of Plainfield, and the statutes of the State of New Jersey, notice is hereby given that MUHLENBERG REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, INC. (the "Applicant") has applied to the City of Plainfield Planning Board (the "Board") Application #PB 14-12 for preliminary and final site plan approval and all variance and waiver approvals as may be required in order to renovate the existing (? 24,000 sq. ft.) two-story (Kenyon House) building located on the property identified as Block 13, Lot 38.02 on the Tax Map of the City of Plainfield and located at the intersection of Park Avenue and Randolph Road, Plainfield, New Jersey. Applicant proposes to renovate the first floor (? 11,970 sq. ft.) of the existing (Kenyon House) building for use as a hospital satellite emergency medical department and for out-patient medical services including diagnostic services and the community hospital group. No changes are proposed to the building's second floor (? 11,970 sq. ft.) which will continue to be used for dialysis services. A ? 890 sq. ft. building addition is proposed to house emergency response vehicles. Additional changes are proposed to the site and building to facility the proposed use including expansion of driveway, the installation of a free-standing drive-up canopy and a dumpster enclosure. Applicant is not proposing any changes to the existing parking area. Additional access to this property is also provided by easement through Block 13, Lots 38.01 and 38.03.
Applicant will also seek any and all variances, waivers, or other relief as may be deemed necessary upon review of the application by the Board and its professionals including, but not limited to the following variances: driveway location within 5' of property line (? 17:9-42A), driveway services more than one lot and one use (? 17:9-42B); driveway size 24' wide and 40' wide curb cut exceeds maximum width permitted (? 17:9-42H); two roof signs proposed on the drive up canopy (? 17:9-51F.2); and number of signs proposed exceeds number permitted by ordinance (? 17:9-51F.2). Applicant is also seeking a waiver from the following design and performance standard: dumpster area (11' x 11') not fully buffered and screened (? 17:11-16A1).
A public hearing will be held before the Board on Thursday, April 17, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at the Plainfield Public Library, Ann Louise Davis Meeting Room. 800 Park Avenue, Plainfield, New Jersey to consider this application.
At said public hearing, any person or persons affected by this application will have an opportunity to be heard either in person or by attorney.
All documents relating to this application may be inspected by the public Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., except on legal holidays, at the Division of Planning and Development, Second Floor, City Hall, 515 Watchung Avenue, Plainfield, New Jersey.
Wendy M. Berger
Attorney for Applicant
Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman & Leonard, P.A.
(201) 525-6203
Dated: April 2, 2014
Friday, April 4, 2014
No Handbills on Vehicles, Please
The political season has its own annoyances, as Dr. Yood notes regarding phone solicitations. Another one is the practice of sticking fliers or handbills under the windshield wipers of cars, especially in church parking lots on Sundays. The owners of the vehicles may lose some of the spiritual uplift from the service through having to remove and dispose of the unwanted handbills, which may contain scurrilous claims about candidates. Will churchgoers be able in 2014 to maintain their sanctity or will they be thrust into the venal world of dirty politics as soon as they get to their vehicles? We shall see.
Sec. 10:5-9. Placing commercial and noncommercial handbills on vehicles.
From the Plainfield Municipal Code:
Sec. 10:5-9. Placing commercial and noncommercial handbills on vehicles.
(a) No person shall throw or deposit commercial and noncommercial handbills in or upon a vehicle.
(b) This Section shall not apply to the distribution of, without charge to the receiver thereof, a noncommercial handbill to any occupant of a vehicle who is willing to accept it.
(R.O. 1957, 10:11-8, adopted Oct. 2, 1967; MC TY 1991-10, § 1, adopted June 17, 1991.)
Former Red Cross Building Will Become Apartments, Retail
Google image
The Planning Board granted preliminary site plan approval Thursday for Shun Cheng LLC to convert a four-story office building at 332 West Front Street to retail use on the first floor with nine apartments on three upper floors.
The vacant building housed the Tri-County Red Cross before the agency relocated to Westfield and was previously Gregory's Music Center (scroll down to see an ad from 1945).
Plans call for removal of metal panels from the exterior and restoration of the facade "to its former glory," architect George Sincox said. There will be space for three retail tenants on the first floor and each story above will have one 2-bedroom unit and two 1-bedroom units.
Board members questioned a layout for the two-bedroom units that had a dining room accessible from the kitchen only by passing through the living room. Other concerns were that a den in the 1-bedroom units and the dining room in the 2-bedroom units would be converted to bedrooms and lead to overcrowding. Sincox agreed to reconfigure the layouts to meet the board's concerns.
There was no provision for open space except a basement "community multi-purpose area," and parking will be off-site at a city parking lot on West Second Street. The tenants will have to obtain parking permits from the city Parking Bureau before certificates of occupancy will be issued.
Storage space was another issue that Planning Director William Nierstedt urged Sincox to address in the final site plan.
Board member William Toth raised the issue of rear windows being blocked if another structure was built behind the building, and suggested "light wells." Sincox agreed to incorporate them into the design.
With a number of proposals for apartments downtown, Nierstedt said several of the issues raised Thursday will recur, such as lack of parking, provision of open space and designs that could lead to overcrowding. Someone asked whether residents could use the roof as open space, which attorney Lawrence Vastola remembered as being called "tar beach," but Sincox said the pitch of the roof precluded its use.
The solution to conversion of space to bedrooms was not anything the board could control, but might be addressed through annual inspections, members said.
Before giving preliminary approval, the board also called for certain changes in trash disposal plans and confirmed that a building manager will move the bin outside for pickup.
--Bernice
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Benefit Saturday at Crescent Presbyterian Church
Tim Keyes
When I moved to my present location in 1992, I met Tim Keyes as my downstairs neighbor. Since then, he has moved on and become a cultural force as director of the Tim Keyes Consort. He is still my neighbor in a way, as his organization is now based at Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church.On Saturday, the Tim Keyes Consort will perform "7 Last Words of Christ" at 8 p.m.in Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church. A free will offering from those who attend will benefit the Building Restoration and Food Ministries of the church.
This church is not only one of Plainfield's most historic, it is an asset to the community as a magnificent venue for music. I hope you will learn more about both Tim Keyes and the church from the links above.
--Bernice
Zoning, Planning Boards Hear TOD Cases
A Zoning Board applicant seeking to locate a "national retailer" on South Avenue found his goal frustrated Wednesday by lack of a certificate of occupancy for a previous retail use..
Richard Dunn gave the board detailed evidence of the prior retail use at the site, but the only certificate of occupancy on file was for a welding company when the property was in an industrial zone. Retail uses are now permitted there under the new Transit-Oriented Development Netherwood (TOD-N) zoning, so the "certification of non-conformity" that Dunn wanted was not needed. After much discussion, the board agreed to dismiss the case, but Dunn said the need now to take the case to the Planning Board for site plan approval would push a decision past his client's May 1 deadline for resolution.
An automotive store, Hyper Harry's, formerly occupied the site at 829-925 South Avenue, which Dunn said had been vacant for several years and was now "an eyesore." Dunn declined to name the retailer now interested in the site, but said the client was alternatively looking at locating in Scotch Plains or Fanwood.
"There really isn't anything we can do," Board Chairman D. Scott Belin said after the board mulled the legalities.
In 2006, a proposal to build 64 condos on the site was hailed as the first major transit-oriented development in the city, but the Zoning Board rejected the case after board members and residents disputed experts’ testimony on its viability.
At the time, the former administration of Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs was proposing four "transit villages," two around the downtown and Netherwood train stations and two around the sites of the defunct Grant and Clinton stations. The TOD-N zoning did not take effect until last year and the city only received "Transit Village" designation last week.
In another land use matter, the Planning Board is expected to hear an application tonight (April 3, 2014) to convert the former Gregory's Music Store at Grove and West Front streets to retail use on the first floor and three apartments on each of three upper floors. The vacant building, most recently used as offices for the Tri-County Red Cross, is in the new Transit-Oriented Development Downtown (TOD-D) zone. The meeting is 7 p.m. in City Hall Library.
--Bernice
Richard Dunn gave the board detailed evidence of the prior retail use at the site, but the only certificate of occupancy on file was for a welding company when the property was in an industrial zone. Retail uses are now permitted there under the new Transit-Oriented Development Netherwood (TOD-N) zoning, so the "certification of non-conformity" that Dunn wanted was not needed. After much discussion, the board agreed to dismiss the case, but Dunn said the need now to take the case to the Planning Board for site plan approval would push a decision past his client's May 1 deadline for resolution.
An automotive store, Hyper Harry's, formerly occupied the site at 829-925 South Avenue, which Dunn said had been vacant for several years and was now "an eyesore." Dunn declined to name the retailer now interested in the site, but said the client was alternatively looking at locating in Scotch Plains or Fanwood.
"There really isn't anything we can do," Board Chairman D. Scott Belin said after the board mulled the legalities.
In 2006, a proposal to build 64 condos on the site was hailed as the first major transit-oriented development in the city, but the Zoning Board rejected the case after board members and residents disputed experts’ testimony on its viability.
At the time, the former administration of Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs was proposing four "transit villages," two around the downtown and Netherwood train stations and two around the sites of the defunct Grant and Clinton stations. The TOD-N zoning did not take effect until last year and the city only received "Transit Village" designation last week.
In another land use matter, the Planning Board is expected to hear an application tonight (April 3, 2014) to convert the former Gregory's Music Store at Grove and West Front streets to retail use on the first floor and three apartments on each of three upper floors. The vacant building, most recently used as offices for the Tri-County Red Cross, is in the new Transit-Oriented Development Downtown (TOD-D) zone. The meeting is 7 p.m. in City Hall Library.
--Bernice
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Election Update
Assemblyman Jerry Green called to say a campaign flier stating Third Ward Councilwoman Gloria Taylor is up for re-election has been corrected. Taylor is an appointee who is now seeking election to the unexpired term of former Third Ward Councilman Adrian O. Mapp, who took office as mayor on Jan. 1. Plaintalker had pointed out the discrepancy in a post on voter education.
Green, who is also chairman of the Democratic Party for Plainfield and for Union County, said the Regular Democratic Party of Union County will be reaching out this year to independents to vote for the party line. He noted that the city has a large number of independent (unaffiliated) voters and that they can declare a party affiliation at the polls for the June 3 primary.
The League of Women Voters of New Jersey explains the rules on its web site.
Plaintalker checked the Union County Board of Elections Voter Registration Summary and the latest, dated March 4, shows Plainfield has 13,158 registered Democrats, 874 Republicans and 7,998 unaffiliated voters. Three City Council seats are up, for four-year terms in the First Ward and in the Second & Third Wards at-large category, and for an unexpired term to Dec. 31, 2016 in the Third Ward. By ward, the breakdown is 3,072 Democrats, 112 Republicans and 2,054 unaffiliated in the First Ward; 3,886 Democrats, 461 Republicans and 2,145 unaffiliated in the Second Ward and 3,827 Democrats, 226 Republicans and 1,760 unaffiliated in the Third Ward. There is no council seat up in the Fourth Ward this year.
The Board of Elections posts voter registration numbers before the primary and again before the November general election.independent (Scroll down to see Plainfield's numbers by ward, district and affiliation.)
A lawsuit was filed last month to open the primary to all registered voters. The state funds the primary election, but at present only Democrats and Republicans can take part. The lawsuit says unaffiliated voters make up 47.6 percent of registered voters, but must join a party to take part in the primary. The lawsuit seeks to allow unaffiliated voters to take part without having to join a party.
--Bernice
Green, who is also chairman of the Democratic Party for Plainfield and for Union County, said the Regular Democratic Party of Union County will be reaching out this year to independents to vote for the party line. He noted that the city has a large number of independent (unaffiliated) voters and that they can declare a party affiliation at the polls for the June 3 primary.
The League of Women Voters of New Jersey explains the rules on its web site.
Plaintalker checked the Union County Board of Elections Voter Registration Summary and the latest, dated March 4, shows Plainfield has 13,158 registered Democrats, 874 Republicans and 7,998 unaffiliated voters. Three City Council seats are up, for four-year terms in the First Ward and in the Second & Third Wards at-large category, and for an unexpired term to Dec. 31, 2016 in the Third Ward. By ward, the breakdown is 3,072 Democrats, 112 Republicans and 2,054 unaffiliated in the First Ward; 3,886 Democrats, 461 Republicans and 2,145 unaffiliated in the Second Ward and 3,827 Democrats, 226 Republicans and 1,760 unaffiliated in the Third Ward. There is no council seat up in the Fourth Ward this year.
The Board of Elections posts voter registration numbers before the primary and again before the November general election.independent (Scroll down to see Plainfield's numbers by ward, district and affiliation.)
A lawsuit was filed last month to open the primary to all registered voters. The state funds the primary election, but at present only Democrats and Republicans can take part. The lawsuit says unaffiliated voters make up 47.6 percent of registered voters, but must join a party to take part in the primary. The lawsuit seeks to allow unaffiliated voters to take part without having to join a party.
--Bernice
Be an Informed Voter on June 3.
Over the next two months, be prepared to hear lots of rhetoric from candidates for the June 3 primary.
Not all of it will make sense, and some of it will not even be true. Voters need to inform themselves of the election process as well as what the candidates stand for.
Take the photo above. You are urged to "vote Democrat." Well, all the local contests are among Democrats, three running for the First Ward City Council seat, two for the Second & Third Wards at-large seat and three for the Third Ward seat. Republicans are running unopposed in the latter two races. I guess it is very nice of the Regular Democrats to urge a vote for any three of the eight Democrats.
There is a small flier in the window that lists the three RDO candidates. However, it misstates the status of the party's choice in the Third Ward when it says, "Re-Elect Gloria Taylor," because she was never elected, she was appointed on Dec. 30 to fill the vacancy caused by the Dec. 27 resignation of the former Third Ward councilman. She is now running for the balance of the unexpired term.
Plaintalker does not make political endorsements, but one of this blog's purposes is to inform voters on the election process and significant dates. The June primary does not always bring out a lot of voters, but it does eliminate some candidates from being on the ballot in November. Between now and June 3, candidates will seek your support. Make sure you are ready on June 3 to give it locally to the ones that you feel will serve the city best.
--Bernice
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