SCOTCH PLAINS — The planning board on Monday was briefed about some revisions to earlier-approved plans to develop a tract of land on North Avenue into apartments and townhomes.
Three years ago, the board approved an application by Villane Building & Development. LLC., to construct a seven-unit apartment building and five attached townhomes on the wooded property located to the west of the Charlie Brown’s restaurant and parallel to the railroad corridor. The property is one of the sites identified as a component in the township’s affordable- housing settlement, and two of the apartments will be designated as affordable-housing units.
The apartment building – with three ground-floor units and four second-floor units – will be situated facing North Avenue and close to the Charlie Brown’s property. The two-bedroom townhomes, which will include driveways and a garage, will be located on the western side of the property and face east. At the rear of the property, there will be seven detached garages for use by the apartment dwellers. A slice of adjacent land further to the west will be donated by the developer to the township and serve as a buffer between the new housing and the single-family homes to the west.
At Monday night’s meeting, board planner Michael Mistretta spoke about the changes to the plans, which were necessitated when Villane was seeking site-plan approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection. The agency requested the addition of an emergency-services driveway along the east side of the property from the rear parking lot out to North Avenue. In order to accommodate the new driveway, the apartment building will be slightly altered in size and configuration, but will still contain the same number of units, Mr. Mistretta said. A single parking space in the rear also will be eliminated. The townhomes on the other side of the property will not be affected by the changes.
The planning board had a subdivision application on its agenda as well, but due to issues with the public notice, that hearing will be held instead on Monday, March 11. Anne Albert, executrix for the estate of Patricia Mullane, is seeking approval for the subdivision of the property at 1110 Raritan Road.
