Planners OK project for defunct Gerber site BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer WOODBRIDGE - Continental Developers Inc. will soon convert the old Gerber property site on Green Street into 192 age-restricted multifamily apartment units. The Zoning Board unanimously approved Continental's application at the Oct. 26 board meeting, over the objections of several residents. Most of the residents live on Lyman Avenue, a street behind the Woodbridge Sanitary Pottery manufacturing plant. A 10-foot-high ridge of toilets, urinals, bidets and sinks has slowly accumulated on the site over the past four decades. Michael Rouse, who has lived on Lyman Avenue for 16 years, believes there will be a lot more traffic on Green Street when the apartment units are built. "There was a time when I was able to pull out of my street," said Rouse. "I believe this will bring in a lot more traffic on Green Street. There is a lot of traffic on Green Street already. People don't understand. Woodbridge has changed, We have lived there every day." Gerber Plumbing Fixtures, which owns the Woodbridge Sanitary Pottery property, began operations in Woodbridge during the 1930s. Company officials have been trying to sell their property to Continental Developers Inc. "The applicants have come back to the board with a much-improved application," said board member Frank D'Arcio. The application calls for demolishing all the existing structures on the 22.22-acre site, which currently houses the manufacturing plant. Continental wants to construct a 192-unit adult housing project, which will contain 154 market-rate, two-bedroom units and 38 one-bedroom affordable units. The plan also calls for six three-story buildings, each containing 32 units, with a total of 387 total parking spaces. The parking spaces include 132 garage spaces, 132 driveway spaces, and 123 parking lot spaces. The proposal also includes a clubhouse with a pool. The developers will not disturb the 8 acres of wetlands along the eastern property line, which are owned by the state. "We have reduced our application from 234 units to 192 units," said Continental Properties Vice President Susan Berninger. "We have decreased the parking spaces from 535 to 387 spaces and we have also eliminated the multispace underground parking garages." Age-restricted unit means at least one resident has to be 55 years old or older. No children under 18 are allowed to live in the unit. Lyman Avenue resident Judith Linde said even though the applicants reduced the size of the project, she is still opposed to it. "The residents that will buy these apartments will live a couple hundred feet closer to the Norfolk-Southern train line [that carries ethanol]," said Linde. "We see the train when the leaves fall off the trees. There are four to six trains that go in and out a day and they sit idle for periods of time. The noise will be unbelievable and it will be detrimental to their quality of life." D'Arcio said the applicants have agreed to put a wall of evergreen trees that will block the sight of the trains. The board denied the developer's first application, which called for 234 age-restricted apartment units, in December 2005. The vote was 4 to 3 in favor of the application, but state law requires five yes votes to approve a use variance. The developers took their case to New Jersey state Superior Court. The judge sent the application back to the zoning board to hear it again, after substantial changes were made. D'Arcio, who voted no in December, discussed his three concerns, which included the multifamily issue, an increase of local traffic, and a safety concern for older residents traveling northbound on Route 9 when the state starts a road construction project on Route 9 in two years. But D'Arcio said the substantial changes made to the application makes the age-restricted units a good use for the property. "The positives in the new application outweighed the negatives," said D'Arcio. "The application is a good use of the land. The change to 192 units will bring in much less traffic than what the developers first proposed." D'Arcio also said Continental's planner said the 192 units will count toward an additional percentage to satisfy the state Council on Affordable Housing's (COAH) mandated requirements. A township ordinance allocates 20 percent of units to COAH for any project over six units. "The building height was reduced by 8 feet, which is beneficial to the surrounding area," he said. "Yes, I would have ideally liked to see single-family use, but we knew something was going into that property. No developer can develop in those 8 acres of wetlands, so the multifamily homes is a better transition for the site." D'Arcio said he knew that some residents are still upset that the application was approved. "They came back with a much better application," he said. "If you look at the alternatives, would you like something industrial or office- type building to move into the site or go with the low intensity, age-restricted apartment units? We definitely would go with the units." Resident John Vrtaric was worried about the high-pressure gas line and the train line that runs near the site. "We don't want another high-pressure gas line explosion that happened in Edison over 10 years ago," said Vrtaric. "These residents are right next to this gas line. Norfolk-Southern trains carrying ethanol near Pittsburgh derailed, causing hundreds of people to evacuate the area recently. The trains were heading to New Jersey. What if the trains derail over here? It will be a disaster." Continental attorney Steven J. Tripp said the plan is good for the area. "We are taking this obsolete industrial site and developing on it," he said. "Everything was addressed."