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Washington Township Zoning Board

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Board Members 'Insulted' by CVS Planner's Testimony

Professional planner Richard Preiss testified that the proposed site for a new store in Washington Township is not suitable for its current residential use.

Members of the Washington Township Zoning Board questioned testimony presented by planner Richard Preiss during a hearing for the proposed CVS on the corner of Pascack Road and Washington Avenue Tuesday night. Preiss testified about the current conditions at the site and the surrounding properties, highlighting that there are other businesses nearby in the residential zone and that the owner of the proposed CVS site — 660 Pascack Realty, LLC — also owns several of the surrounding properties, thereby minimizing any negative effects the project would have on neighbors, he said. Several board members disagreed. "I just disagree fundamentally with your point of view that the greatest impact is to five lots regarding this whole development," …

WTF

7:40 am on Thursday, May 30, 2013

If Pascack and Washington intersection is so dangerous why would groups get permits to collect nickles and dimes while distracting motorists in 2 ton machines. Can't be that bad. More people standing in traffic and bring on the CVS !   more ›

Monday, May 20, 2013

Washington Township CVS Hearing Continues Tuesday

CVS plans to build a new 14,500-square-foot store on the corner of Pascack Road and Washington Avenue.

The Washington Township Zoning Board is scheduled to continue hearing an application for a proposed CVS on the corner of Pascack Road and Washington Avenue during their meeting Tuesday night. At the previous hearing, sign expert Robert Oelenschlager testified about changes he had made to the planned signs for the site. Board members had expressed concern about the size and number of signs during the prior hearing. Two of the originally-proposed signs on the side of the building facing Pascack Road were removed from the plan, according to Oelenschlager. The various signs planned to appear on the building total about 285 square feet, down slightly from before, though the letters were still proposed to be the same size as originally planned. …

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Ouija

4:26 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013

I hope you're right Pauline...but have you seen the monstrosity on the corner of Broadway and Jefferson in Westwood? Plenty of shrubbery and trees? There's barely room for a sidewalk.   more ›

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

DEP: Proposed CVS Site Owner Violated State Law

Work done to the Pascack Road site in Washington Township violated the state Flood Hazard Area Control Act.

The owner of a Washington Township property being considered for use as a CVS violated New Jersey's Flood Hazard Area Control Act, according to officials from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). In a February 4 letter to 660 Pascack Realty, LLC, the owner of the properties, Bureau of Coastal and Land Use Compliance and Enforcement Regional Supervisor Armand Perez wrote that the violations included the removal of vegetation, placement of fill and construction of a retaining wall. The DEP previously found that the stream which passes behind the site is a Category One waterway, meaning that any major developments to the site require their permission. The letter gave the property owner 15 days to submit a plan to correct the …

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B@B

10:37 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013

kdkins: WT is doing a revaluation this year, but don't think it will reduce your taxes. When they do a revaluation, your assessment may be reduced, but the tax rate will go up to offset the difference. If you had a successful appeal in the last few years, your assessment will in all likelihood not be reduced, and may be raised because of a slight recovery in the housing market. So those of us who…   more ›

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Proposed CVS Signs To Be Revised

Plans for a CVS in Washington Township include 15 signs.

Plans for the proposed CVS on the corner of Pascack Road and Washington Avenue include 15 signs of various sizes, but those plans will be revised by next month, according to signage expert Robert Oelenschlager. Several Zoning Board members and experts, as well as members of the public, expressed concern with the signs during a hearing Tuesday. Those who spoke were particularly concerned with the size of two proposed monument signs, one of which would include an electronic message board. "It's unappealing," board Vice Chairman Michael Ullman said. "The mass is just tremendous." The original plan called for three signs along the roofline and one smaller sign with the hours near the door on the side facing Washington Avenue, four roofline …

B@B

1:01 pm on Monday, March 18, 2013

And isn't it funny how our local government is essentially saying, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" when the state has essentially put a moratorium on development until and unless they grant the environmental variances to a development company, the owner of which gets in his car and goes home to an upscale town at the end of the day, leaving those who live here with blight and …   more ›

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Engineer Proposes Changes to CVS Traffic Plan

Zoning Board Engineer Chris Statile made three suggestions for changes before a traffic engineer representing the proposed CVS took questions from the public.

There may still be some changes to the plans for a proposed CVS in Washington Township that would affect traffic going through or past the site. Board Engineer Chris Statile recently met with the county's engineer and a rep from the county planning board to discuss the project. Statile made three suggestions for changes to the plan, including a left turn lane going into the entrance on Pascack Road, the elimination of a second proposed entrance/exit on Pascack Road and the addition of an exit to a proposed entrance on Washington Avenue. No changes have been made yet based on the suggestions, which Statile presented in a letter the day of the Washington Township Zoning Board meeting this week. A traffic engineer representing the plan for a …

Jeffrey Tammen

11:36 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013

Well said B@B could not have said it better myself . I hope the residents wake up and smell the coffee . What's amazing is we had to buy the latest brine truck a few years back and have not seen it out yet while other towns around have done the roads or at least the major arteries which is great. Hopefully it doesn't rott like our street sweeper we once had. I must say my road was the best it's …   more ›

Thursday, December 20, 2012

CVS Impact Would Be 'Imperceptible,' Engineer Says

A proposed CVS in Washington Township is closely intertwined with a county plan to improve a busy intersection.

Building a proposed CVS would increase the wait for drivers at the intersection of Pascack Road and Washington Avenue by less than a second if an intersection improvement were completed, according to traffic engineer Gary Dean. Dean, an expert testifying on behalf of applicant First Hartford Realty, previously said the intersection improvement would help traffic run more smoothly through the busy crossroads. At the previous hearing, board members asked Dean what impact the improvement would have if the proposed CVS were not built. "The impact of CVS would be imperceptible," Dean answered Tuesday. According to Dean, the average delay at the improved intersection would be 28.5 seconds without the CVS. The delay would be 29.3 seconds with the…

Jeffrey Tammen

10:12 am on Sunday, January 20, 2013

I would ask cvs and seasons to live in the houses on pascack and Washington ave for a month and truly live there and operate and see how they feel later and let them tell us if we need anymore traffic.   more ›

Thursday, July 19, 2012

CVS Resumes Application Despite DEP Decision

CVS may be able to get a permit from the DEP to allow them to build a new store on the corner of Pascack Road and Washington Avenue despite a required buffer area around a nearby stream.

The Washington Township Zoning Board resumed hearing testimony about the application for a proposed CVS on the corner of Pascack Road and Washington Avenue during their meeting Tuesday. The fate of the project may still be determined by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP decided in April that the stream behind the site is a Category One waterway, which means all major developments — those on an acre or more of land — require a 300-foot buffer from the stream. Tendai Richards, an attorney objecting to the plan on behalf of the Northgate Condominium Association, said the board should not continue hearing the project as long as the DEP has not given its approval. "As things stand today, nothing can be done on this …

Gerald T. Brown

5:49 am on Monday, July 23, 2012

Give me a break, CVS is facing a 'hardship" with their application. The only group facing hardship are the residents of this community and all the commuters who have to go through the intersection on a daily basis. There are another group that have a "hardship", CVS competitors. What about the Ride Aid in town and the Walgreens in Hillsdale. Their attroney should have his head examined. Resident…   more ›

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Board Votes Against Diesel for Expanded 5 Star Gas

Residents began circulating a petition to have the mayor and council overturn the plan's approval.

There will be no diesel fuel at the expanded 5 Star Gas, but the plan for the gas station has otherwise been approved. The Washington Township Zoning Board voted 5-2 Tuesday to add a final condition prohibiting the sale of diesel fuel to the approval of Sky Trading, LLC's plan to renovate the gas station on the corner of Pascack Road and Washington Avenue with additional pumps and a new 1,206-square-foot convenience store. The board made the decision to grant use variances at their May meeting and memorialized their decision Tuesday. Residents said they were happy to get one more compromise on the plan, which neighbors previously said will be too big and disruptive at an already-too-busy intersection in a residential zone. They had been …

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Falcon Fan

11:08 am on Wednesday, June 20, 2012

"The town will burn down". I continue to be amazed.   more ›

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Residents Still Objecting to Convenience Store Plan

Washington Township's attorney said the residents opposed to the expansion of 5 Star Gas may be able to appeal to the council.

Washington Township residents who have opposed the expansion of 5 Star Gas said they intend to continue fighting the plan, despite a decision from the township's zoning board last month to approve the requested use variances for the project. The plan, which the board approved with numerous conditions, calls for two more gas pumps and a canopy to be added to the gas station, which is located on the corner of Pascack Road and Washington Avenue. There will also be a 1,206-square-foot convenience store built to replace the garage currently on the site. The zoning board will have to pass a final resolution at their next meeting, on June 19, to officially approve the plan. Residents who live near the site have criticized the plan for being too …

Concerned

8:21 am on Thursday, June 14, 2012

Just quoting Joe D'urso. GUess job's too tough for him.   more ›

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Planning Board Members Disagree with Sky Trading Approval

The Washington Township Zoning Board approved a plan to upgrade 5 Star Gas with more pumps and a convenience store against the direction of the Master Plan.

Washington Township Planning Board Chairman Gus Calamari said he wished members of the township's zoning board had followed the lead of its chairman in voting against a variance for Sky Trading's plan to add a convenience store to 5 Star Gas. The zoning board granted variances to Sky Trading at their last meeting that will allow the gas station to add an additional two-pump gas island and a canopy to the exisiting gas station use and to add the new use of the convenience store, despite the protests of residents who criticized the plan. While voting on each variance, Zoning Board Chairman William Johnson voted against the convenience store use, citing the township's Master Plan. The site, at the corner of Pascack Road and Washington Avenue…

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