NORTH HALEDON — The builder of a multi-use development on Belmont Avenue returned to the Planning Board with a list of concessions, hoping to sort out lingering safety issues .
Meryl Gonchar, an attorney for the developer, told the board at a public meeting Thursday night that the plan for the 4.7-acre site would incorporate 4-foot-wide sidewalks, an access road for emergency vehicles and five more parking spots.
Those items were requested by board members when the plan was last heard.
To ameliorate concerns expressed by residents of Vine Street, Gonchar said, her client agreed to scale back the size of its proposed self-storage facility by 702 square feet.
The application by Tulfra Real Estate of Rochelle Park is likely the most controversial that the board has considered in years.
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The project would include the three-story storage center, in addition to a 4,400-square-foot retail building, with a drive-thru lane and a 90-unit residential building. Sixteen apartments would be for affordable households.
The meeting was moved from the auditorium at Eastern Christian High School to the borough hall and the smaller venue did not accommodate the crowd.
There were so many people that they could not all fit in the municipal courtroom. Some residents congregated in an adjacent corridor, peering through the doorway to catch glimpses of the proceedings.
Two architects testified on behalf of the developer.
Robert Nocella, who designed the 74,715-square-foot storage center, told the board that it would be constructed with the same materials as the apartments. It would have 596 units, he said.
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“We really tried to mimic the design of the residential building,” Nocella said, noting its clapboard siding, faux windows and stone veneer.
The second architect, Keith Michels, who designed the apartments, said the appearance of the residential building would be similar to that of existing housing stock in the borough.
However, the design was later criticized by a resident, who said the four-story building would not blend with the bucolic mountainside.
“It just seems that what you’ve designed — it’s going to stick out more like a sore thumb than anything else,” he said to the architect. “It’s not really going to fit in.”
The next hearing on the application is scheduled for Aug. 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the municipal building, at 103 Overlook Ave.
Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: devencentis@northjersey.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen County developer tweaks controversial plan for North Jersey project
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