I'd like to thank the Village Alliance for their service.
If I could figure out how to, I would edit the title to "thank". But I can't so it stands as " that k". (Embarrassed emoticon).
The project design was approved with four "conditions". I believe there were two dissenting votes and one abstention, the overwhelming majority of the MVA board was in favor of the project.
It will next be presented to the planning board.
Could you please tell those of us who were unable to attend the meeting what those four conditions were?
http://villagegreennj.com/towns/government/post-office-development-moves-forward-planning-board-review/
One of the most crucial condition was this .
The positioning of the driveway that Kings deliveries uses to fill their shelves lines up with the plaza of the new building . Most deliveries are made early from 7-9 by huge trucks who have difficulty lining up with the present drive. Mayor De Luca was adamant that different materials would allow this feature to be corrected , despite the clear facts that the present proposed alignment site plan does not allow for those deliveries to be made . The two paths line up . Trucks in this plan would drive up on a plaza .so they will see if another plan can be made.
Many expressed dismay that this feature was not addressed by the firm. The denial of the lack of alignment led Fred to present a motion that the approval be delayed pending the correction of this feature .A rep from Kings was publicly chastised by the mayor when he said that they would work with the town IF that was possible to change the alignment . The mayor said it would be done and with the help of Anita de Palma , figures that it was the twps job to correct the mistake .
The other one that I recall was that salty feature behind the building and connecting to the tunnel to the train side needed to be addressed .
It appeared that a deaf ear was in place to all of the reasons that asked the VA to vote NO. Even facts stood in the way. But this marathon building is a turning point to the town and will not bring new visitors or business to town . It will face the prospect of driving Kings away ..a store that everyone wants to keep.
I do not recall the other 2 conditions ..what I do remember is that facts were presented amidst the paintings of Maplewood 's history on the TH's walls surrounding this group .. Will that next panel be the gargantuan planned building ? Truly .do we want that edifice dominating the paths in the village?
All four conditions are outlined in the Village Green article noted above.
The MVA was voting on aesthetic issues only, not technical merits of the site plan. That is for the planning board as stated numerous times during the meeting. One of the conditions of approval is that the PODRS gets to review the design again if it is required to change significantly for any reason, like the resolution of King's deliveries. Several board members did not feel there was a need to delay voting because of this. The "conditions" of approval motioned by the mayor. I'm not sure how much more proof anyone needs that the township is trying to address valid issues that are brought to their attention. That this process, while not foolproof, and everyone could certainly devise their own way of doing it differently, is a significantly improved process than seen before.
I find it also interesting that Fred tried to derail the vote on a legality, but then when questioned to provide the text that indicated a vote last night would not be legal, he had to admit that a vote would not be illegal.
I'd like to thank our Village Alliance for the work they have put into the P.O. redevelopment project.
I attended tonight's board meeting long enough to see the developer presentation and to develop an understanding of the efforts the ad-hock subcommittee has expensed in the interests of this town.
I left before the meeting concluded and I suspect it was contentious.
I just want to thank the volunteers who have expended their time and profession expertise in endeavors for the benefit of our town.