ShopRite Hearings Expected to Start in July

Inserra Supermarkets expects to proceed to Planning Board hearings next month on its proposal to build a ShopRite at the Greenwood Avenue shopping center.

Attorney James Jaworski, of the firm Wells, Jaworski and Liebman, had 18 sets of final plans dropped off at Town Hall Thursday which reflect some of the changes made to the project since it was initially filed in the fall. Since the application was declared complete by the Planning Board in November, Inserra representatives have seen their landscaping plans reviewed by the Shade Tree Commission and their architectural specifications vetted by the Design Review Board.

"You should now have everything needed to solidify our July 14th scheduling. Having worked hard running the gauntlet of both Design Review and Shade Tree, we look forward to presenting what we think is a readily approvable application to your full Planning Board next month," Jaworski wrote, in a letter addressed to board secretary Susan Schilstra that accompanied the 18 sets of plans.

While Design Review looked favorably on the sketches created by project architect Thomas Ashbahian, Shade Tree members have indicated that they are not entirely pleased with the state of Inserra's landscaping plan.

"I'm not wowed by it," said Chairman Mark Borst at the commission's Tuesday meeting. "There are still some concerns," said member Scott Fisher, who heads the Department of Public Works.

Shade Tree had drafted a report signed by Borst in February after members reviewed Inserra's initial submission and walked the site, now home to a vacant supermarket and a strip mall that is slated for demolition should Inserra earn approval of its 62,174-square-foot ShopRite. Inserra had proposed more greenery than the township demands for a project of its size, but Shade Tree members asked for specific plantings along the perimeter of the site as well as throughout the planned parking lot. Additional trees were suggested along the railroad tracks, partially to screen the building for passersby on Main Street; plantings in front of the supermarket; more trees along Greenwood Avenue and a standing wall facing that thoroughfare, to both shield nearby residents from car lights and trap debris. Shade Tree also asked for parking stalls to be removed in favor of more green space.

The current landscaping plan does incorporate additional trees and plants along the Main Street elevation, plantings in front of the ShopRite, 12 trees in the parking lot, among other measures. 

"We note that the Landscape Plan is identical to what was submitted early last month (May 3) directly to the Shade Tree Commission. That plan, along with a point-by-point analysis of plan changes and 10-scale versions of the full plan added 193 trees and eliminated over thirty parking stalls. The net effect of embracing these Shade Tree Commission suggestions was an increase in green space by almost another full percent over our original submission. We hope and expect Shade Tree was pleased to review these many revisions at yesterday's regular meeting," Jaworski wrote in his letter accompanying the plans.

Shade Tree wasn't entirely pleased, with Borst saying he thought the plan "should have been more detailed" on specific plantings. "I'm a little concerned about the way they drew it," he said, "while the area that still concerns me is the area around the railroad tracks.

"I'm still not happy about how open this is," Borst said.

Members felt that ash trees planned for that location would do little to screen the building during the fallow winter months, although Borst wondered "if we're getting carried away with the tracks."

Committeeman Kevin Rooney, liaison to the Shade Tree Commission, said Thursday that the trees and plantings suggested for near the railroad tracks are "still not acceptable.

"It's not what Shade Tree was looking for," said Rooney, who wasn't in attendance at the meeting due to a conflict.

The landscaping plans note the placement and variety of trees and plants throughout the site. However, Shade Tree felt "it should have been more detailed," Borst said.

Jaworski said Thursday that the Inserra team, including landscape architect Scott Koenig of Lapatka Associates Inc., did its best to comply with Shade Tree suggestions and will look for further guidance at the Planning Board level.

One distinct area of disagreement has been the suggested standing wall on Greenwood Avenue, which is not included in the latest set of plans. Inserra representatives had disagreed with the need for such a structure, feeling that an earthen berm could accomplish the same objectives as a standing wall. They'd prefer to proceed without the wall, although Jaworski said that it would be added if the Planning Board also feels its necessary.

Rooney said it would be the "applicant's prerogative" to proceed to the Planning Board, although he felt that Inserra should fully satisfy Shade Tree before moving on. Both Design Review and Shade Tree's work is not binding; rather, the volunteer boards vet specific aspects of the submission in assistance to the Planning Board, which has ultimate authority over site plan approval.

Jaworski's Thursday filing also contains sketches of the building elevations that incorporate aesthetic suggestions recommended by the Design Review Board; changes to traffic patterns as recommended by police Chief Benjamin Fox, township Engineer Mark DiGennaro and consulting engineer Peter Ten Kate, of Boswell Engineering; drainage calculations; a stormwater management plan; a revised site layout; among other documents.

Planning Board Chairman Rich Bonsignore confirmed today that hearings will likely begin July 14, pending submission of all final plans and reports. He said the board would still expect a final review from Boswell, the township's consulting engineers.

The Planning Board will next meet at 7 p.m. June 9, with a public hearing scheduled on proposed Master Plan revisions.