Developer Considers Appealing Rejected Strip Mall Plan

A developer has withdrawn an application to build a strip mall on Kinderkamack Road and is considering appealing the Westwood Zoning Board's decision to reject his plan to build another strip mall at the former Chevy dealer.

Developer Nicholas Aynilian had proposed to build a pair of five-unit strip malls at the former Chevrolet of Westwood building on Kinderkamack Road and the empty lot across the street.

Whether or not Aynilian will pursue the appeal will depend on whether he wants to "invest any further in this effort at costs which, even if successful, may jeopardize the financial viability of the project," he wrote in an email.

The first plan, for the defunct showroom and garage at 39 Kinderkamack Road, was rejected by the board in two separate applications under the name KMACK North. The first application was denied last May after board members voiced concerns over a requested "general retail" use variance.

Aynilian filed an appeal of the rejection, but later agreed to hold off the appeal while the board heard a second application which requested a more specific variance for a convenience store use to allow a 7-Eleven to occupy a portion of the 8,051-square-foot mall. The board denied that application last month.

He recently withdrew the second plan, under the name KMACK South, for the empty lot at 40 Kinderkamack Road.

"If we were to appeal the board’s decision on the North application and succeed, it would then create a basis for the other side of the street," Aynilian wrote in an email. "That being said, continuing on the existing application at this time in light of the current denial that was just published would be fruitless."

One issue raised by board members at hearings for both KMACK North applications was the recent Master Plan re-examination, which was completed by the Westwood Planning Board in late 2011. The Master Plan is a document used by municipalities to set what types of uses are allowed in different neighborhoods and individual properties.

Borough law allows for some retail use in the LB-3 zone where the former Chevy dealer is located, but only "bulky, durable items" like appliances, furniture, medical equipment or antiques, among other uses. Officials reportedly discussed adding more retail uses to the zone during the re-examination, but ultimately only added adult senior day care and health club uses.

Aynilian called the permitted uses in the zone "passé and unrealistic."

Bruce Meisel, an influential local property owner who publicly opposed the plan, previously said he believed it would be "a detriment to the town" to grant the use variance "when the ink is not even dry" on the Master Plan changes.

Aynilian told Patch he believed it was "very sad that, after months of no objections and primarily positive comments, one or two individual’s opinions swayed so dramatically the vote of the board."

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