New Warehouse OKed Near Parsippany School Over Neighbor Complaints

PARSIPPANY, NJ — An empty Parsippany office building looks set to become a new warehouse, after the township approved a development that some residents have been fighting against since last year.

Residents in nearby neighborhoods, including Lake Parsippany, expressed their hesitations about the project at Monday's planning board meeting — as they have been since before the township re-zoned the lot last summer.

The developer, Lanidex Urban Renewal LLC, applied to build a warehouse and distribution center at 20-30 Lanidex Plaza West, where a three-story office building has set empty for years. The project would also include office space, loading docks, drive-in ramps, a trash compactor bay, and parking; the warehouse would be able to operate 24/7.

The address is across the street from 500PARQ, the newly-opened luxury apartment complex on the east side of Lanidex Plaza. More homes are underway in the eastern portion.

On Monday, the township planning board voted 5-2 to approve a final site plan and soil removal permit for the lot, which is off of Parsippany Road.

This was after more than an hour of public comment, with residents testifying about how increases in truck traffic, lighting, and noise will affect their homes, the adjacent Eastlake Elementary School, and the nearby Par-Troy Funeral Home.

The elementary school and this warehouse site are only separated by a band of trees, with citizens also saying the project would increase carbon emissions and potentially contaminate the groundwater for students less than 200 feet away.

"Children who once enjoyed field days, outdoor gym classes, and playing on the playground will now face an unsafe and dangerous environment," neighbors wrote in an online petition.

Longtime resident Ellen Caamano, who said she's lived in town for 32 years, said on Monday the whole discussion was "shocking" and "a nightmare."

"I can't imagine anybody with any sanity or with a heart that can — even in their wildest dreams — imagine a trucking warehouse 24/7 so close to children," she said.

As he has previously, Mayor James Barberio — who sits on the board — said that the town is also trying to mitigate the number of housing projects that are going up on privately-owned land.

Barberio said that the property at 20-30 Lanidex may have also been a candidate for a new housing development and bring more stress to township resources, also saying that the warehouse would increase tax revenue for the town.

"We don't like what's going on, but we have to make a decision that's best for the township," he said.

The project site was previously known as Olson's Farm in the late 1960s before being rezoned as an office park, Lanidex Plaza. It is right near the intersection of Routes 287 and 80.