Shoppes at Woods Tavern Denied

This evening the Hillsborough Township Board of Adjustment denied the application of The Shoppes at Woods Tavern-Hillsborough Towne Center Associates by a six-to-one vote.

The applicant had proposed a mixed-use development at the corner of Route 206 and Amwell Road. Located on a 5.1389-acre lot on the intersection's northwest corner, the proposal (revised on September 21, 2010) included 27 residential units: 11 one-bedroom units, 14 two-bedroom units, and 2 three-bedroom units.

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This evening's agenda showed the application:

The Shoppes at Woods Tavern – Hillsborough Towne Center Assoc. File #BA-10-13 – Block 163.22, Lots 33 & 34 (formerly known as Block 163, Lots 33 & 34) – Intersection of Route 206 & Amwell Road. Applicant is proposing a new mixed-use development for Town Center which adds one residential unit above the existing 18,324sf retail building fronting on Route 206; retains the existing 2-story office-retail building nearest the intersection of Amwell Road and Route 206; construct a new two-story mixed-use building at the rear of the property line; construct a new 3-story mixed-use building at the northerly property line; and construct a new 2-story mixed-use building between the existing building facing Route 206 and the proposed 3-story building to the rear of the property. Revised Plans (revised 09-21-10) provide the Applicant is proposing to construct a total of 27 residential units in the mixed-use buildings consisting of 11 one-bedroom units, 14 two-bedroom units, and 2 three bedroom units. The Applicant is seeking a ‘d’ USE variance for office uses on the first floor of a mixed-use building; a ‘d’ USE variance; ‘d’ USE variance for residential units; BULK variance from minimum building height; 2 BULK variances from maximum front yard setback; and BULK variance from parking requirements on property located in the TC District.

The Shoppes at Woods Tavern Application

This evening the Board of Adjustment is scheduled to hear the application of The Shoppes at Woods Tavern - Hillsborough Towne Center Associates for a mixed-use development at the corner of Route 206 and Amwell Road.

Located on a 5.1389-acre lot on the intersection's northwest corner, the proposal (revised on September 21, 2010) includes 27 residential units: 11 one-bedroom units, 14 two-bedroom units, and 2 three-bedroom units.

According to the proposal, the applicant would add one residential unit over the existing retail building on Route 206, retain the existing 2-story office/retail building, add a two-story mixed-use building at the rear of the property with three residential units on the second floor, add a three-story mixed use building at the northerly property line to the rear of the existing building with 20 residential units on the second and third floors,and add a two-story mixed-use building with three residential units on the second floor.

The Board of Adjustment meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. at the municipal building.
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The BOA agenda for this evening can be viewed here.

Adesa in Hillsborough - Temporarily?

Adesa New Jersey, LLC, the used-car auction company with acres of cars located in Manville behind the movie theater, apparently has run out of room to store their inventory and has come to Hillsborough with their overflow until they can complete additional storage space in Manville.

The Board of Adjustment approved Adesa’s application to store up to 1,265 vehicles at the former GSA postal warehouse site now owned by the Somerset County Improvement Authority.

Adesa has leased the 15.71-acre site at 360 Roycefield Road for one year from Somerset County with the option to extend the lease for a second year if their Manville expansion is not complete.

The Hillsborough site work includes perimeter chain-link fencing, snow fencing around the cars to decrease their visibility, and a security trailer with some minor related utility and other improvements. The cars will be parked on the remaining floor and foundation of the former postal warehouse. There will be no onsite work done on the cars and no fuel storage. Access will be through the existing drive, there will be no additional signs, and the operating hours will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.

According to the Adesa experts, there should be 30 to 50 road trips a day to the Manville auction site, that is, up to 50 cars out and 50 cars in, each being driven by an Adesa employee. The main route will be Roycefield Road to Dukes Parkway West to Route 206 North and then onto Dukes Parkway East into Manville.

As the lot is not public parking, but vehicle storage, the BOA approved variances for such items as parking space size and aisle width. The Board stated that they would prefer that car carriers not be used, but the applicant did not want to be limited.

While it was pointed out that this lease would provide a revenue stream to Somerset County, what about Hillsborough? As the site will be used for commercial purposes is there any way that property taxes can be collected to offset the increase in emergency services, the increased wear-and-tear on township roads, and increased traffic?

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I don't understand the entire concept of the car inventory increasing: the cars come in, the cars are sold, the cars are removed. Right?

BTW, when is the Board of Adjustment going to be videotaped and shown on Channel 25 like the PB and TC?

For more information on Adesa go here.