Pizza Planned for Eyesore on Roxbury/Mt. Arlington Line

ROXBURY, NJ - Roxbury, a town with no shortage of pizza parlors, could get one more if approval is granted by township officials.

The newest purveyor of pies would be called "Pizza Paradise" and it would be built in a currently ramshackle structure on Mt. Arlington Boulevard on the Roxbury/Mount Arlington border, according to public records. The building, at 402 Mt. Arlington Blvd., long ago served as home to an Asian restaurant, but it's been abandoned for more than a decade.

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Parsippany resident Illyas Sarwari is asking the Roxbury Zoning Board for variance relief not only to completely refurbish the disheveled commercial structure but also a residence that sits on the hill behind it. He bought the property, from Daniel Thomas and Yvonne Stevens, in 2021, according to records.

"The property is in a complete state of disrepair and renovations will only benefit the public with no negative impacts," wrote Sarwari on the township form that asks applicants to "explain how approval can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good or impairment of the intent and purpose of the township zoning regulations."

Before the project can move forward, the zoning board will have to grant Sarwari so-called "hardship" relief from several zoning regulations.

"In addition to the existing non-conforming conditions relative to front and rear yard setbacks, the applicant will require relief from impervious coverage, building height and an expansion of the mixed-use," says the application which was filed late last year but - due to repeated requests for postponement - has yet to be heard by the zoning board. It is currently on the board's Sept. 9 agenda.

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