Land swap OK’d despite residents’ objections Planning Board says banquet hall can trade land with Hatco Co. BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer WOODBRIDGE — The township Zoning Board recently approved the application granting Albert Jasani, who owns Royal Albert’s Palace on King Georges Post Road in Fords, the ability to swap a portion of his property with his adjacent neighbor, Hatco Corp. The board voted 5-2 in favor of the application with stipulations, but with some dissent from residents at the board meeting Nov. 30. The property contains an existing banquet hall, restaurant, dinner theater, a four-story motel, a vacant single-family dwelling, and a 150-car satellite parking lot associated with the banquet facilities. Hatco Corp. operates a heavy industrial facility on the eastern portion of the lot. A 63,373-square-foot portion of the adjacent Hatco property is proposed to be subdivided from the larger lot and will be consolidated with Jasani’s property. The southern portion of the 63,373-square-foot lot is heavily wooded and contains steep slopes. “We plan to remove all the trees, pave the area and install a parking lot [which will include 361 valet 8-by-16-foot parking spaces],” said Angelo Valetutto, the applicant’s engineer. The applicant will construct an addition on the north side of the existing restaurant and banquet hall consisting of a 6,000-square-foot cafeteria for hotel customers; a 3,527-square- foot movie studio; a 21,834-square-foot banquet hall including a kitchen, restrooms, storage and stairways; a 22,600-square-foot open second-floor terrace; a 12,168-square-foot third-floor balcony addition and a 4,953-square-foot fourth-floor addition of a photo studio, bridal rooms, storage and stairways. A total of 318 compliant off-street parking spaces will be provided on the site in addition to 59 ground floor parking spaces within the proposed building’s ground level parking area. Barry Andrechick, who lives on King Georges Post Road in Fords, is not happy that Jasani’s application was approved. “It’s been three years, and Mr. Jasani’s place has been in disarray,” said Andrechick, who lives adjacent to the single-family home on Jasani’s property. “They have knocked down trees and never replaced them. On the weekends, they play excessively loud music and shoot off fireworks. That’s illegal and it’s a nightmare.” Tree replacement was one of the stipulations. Jasani must pay $46,750 to the tree fund. Andrechick said there should be some sound barrier between his property and Jasani’s property. “That will be a tremendous help,” he said. “I am constantly calling the police department. Also, from the last application, the building is not even finished. How could you build on something that is not even complete?” The board said they could not do anything about the building not being finished from the last application. “The township building inspectors should be out there checking on the building and issuing tickets,” said board member Thomas Cornell. “That’s not our job.” Traffic is also a problem, Andrechick said. “There is an hour of traffic backup already from Raritan Center to New Brunswick Avenue,” he said. “Now it’s going to be a disaster.” Jasani’s engineer, Angelo Valettuto, said part of the problem is Jasani’s property, which is 200 feet from Andrechick’s property, is in an industrial zone. “All I do is try to please him [Andrechick],” said Jasani. “Everything he said is not true.” Jasani agreed to meet with Andrechick to see if they can alleviate the problems; however, Andrechick said he doesn’t think he will meet with him. “This has been going on for too long, and nothing has been done,” he said. “I am going to hire a lawyer and sue.”