Council approves ordinance for former Stop & Shop site Setbacks remain at 15-20 feet despite concern from residents BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer METUCHEN - The Borough Council voted in favor of the land development ordinance for the D-1 Downtown Development District last week; however, some residents were concerned about the ordinance's vague language. "No changes were made to the setback standards in the ordinance that [the council] is voting on tonight," said Joni Scanlon at the Borough Council meeting on July 16. "How do we guarantee that we get the enhanced setbacks the planner promised?" Borough Planner James Constantine said the proposed town center buildings abutting the Middlesex and Lake avenues would have a setback of a 15- to -20-feet from the street. Constantine displayed photographs of the Java's Brewin' building on Middlesex Avenue, which has an 18-foot setback from the street and photographs of the setback from the Appearance Plus Day Spa on Main Street, which has a 15-foot setback from the street. "We should be looking at something like that," he said referring to the setback of 18-feet or more. The ordinance says the minimum front yard setbacks are 5 feet, except along Central Avenue. Buildings shall be setback a minimum of 15 feet from the edge of curb of the street upon which such building fronts, except along Central Avenue, where the setback from the edge of curb shall be 10 feet. Steps leading to a first floor, balconies, awnings, and landscape planters shall be allowed to project within the right-of-way. Eileen Frowenfeld said she had concerns about the setback. "Our roadways are not as wide as they are in Boca Raton [Florida]," she said. "A setback of only 15 feet without a shoulder on the road will feel like the building is right on top of you." The Borough Council voted 5-0 in favor of amending the D-1 Downtown Development District ordinance at the council meeting on July 16. The council made a change to the ordinance, which enables the third floor of the proposed town center to be a mixed use of residential and office use. The ordinance allows a mixed-use neighborhood in the D-1 zone. "The borough has a lot of leverage on what goes in the former Shop & Stop site because the borough has control of the supermarket block and the New Street parking lots," said Constantine. Scanlon, who is the coordinator of the grassroots group Metuchen Citizens for Responsible Development formed last year, also asked the planner and the council why they could not put down a minimum of 5 percent for the open public green space. "How are we hurting ourselves by putting down that we want a minimum of 5 percent of open green public space?" she asked. Constantine said the borough's focus would be better put on the start of the Middlesex Greenway and it would be better not to rely on formulas. "This application has changed and evolved since it began," he said. "There are no set plans right now." Councilman Timothy Dacey added that the danger of putting a set number of 5 percent for public space could lead to a detention basin. "Neighboring towns like Woodbridge, Edison and South Brunswick have made strict ordinances on open space and their usable public space became a 5 percent detention basin," he said. Constantine presented a PowerPoint presentation to the board and residents on the history of the D-1 Downtown Development District and what the area could become, by displaying what has been done throughout the country in places like Plano, Texas, Bethesda, Md., Boca Raton, Fla., and Boston to revitalize downtowns. The proposed town center sits on approximately 6 acres of land and would consist of specialty retail stores, bistro-style restaurants, a bank and a specialty gourmet market on the first floor, offices on the second floor, and residential units and offices on the third floor. The proposed sports club for the second floor was taken out of the plans. David Minno's architectural firm represents the Old Bridge-based Renaissance Properties Inc., the owner of the site as well as the three houses on Central Avenue. Minno presented the proposed plan in the D-1 Downtown Development District to residents who jammed the Metuchen High School cafeteria in May 2006. The borough had a total of six public meetings on the proposed plan. Residents have expressed they would like to see their downtown look like the downtowns in Ridgewood, Red Bank and Westfield. Constantine displayed architectural drawings depicting two, two-story buildings abutting Lake Avenue, four three-story buildings not to exceed 55 feet, abutting Middlesex Avenue, and two, four-story buildings, not to exceed 60 feet, abutting the rail line. Constantine said there is a trend to turn old shopping centers into lifestyle centers. "This is not just a fleeting trend," he said. "These centers would attract single-person households - under 30 years old, and empty-nesters - over 50 years old, into town." There have been discussions about connecting the proposed plan to the Middlesex County Greenway and possibly marking it with an archway pinpointing where the greenway begins. The planner also offered a suggestion that the borough could make the open space in the town center into a magical theme since David Seth Kotkin, who is better known as Magician David Copperfield, grew up in Metuchen. "This could be a draw for people to come into the borough," said Constantine. "I don't know of any other magically themed park in the United States." Christopher Morrison, who is seeking a three-year council seat in November as a Republican, said the proposed plan has many great attributes, but now is the only time to fix traffic issues at the intersections of Middlesex and Central avenues and Middlesex and Lake avenues. "This is the last time we can fix the intersection before the plan is implemented, or else that intersection will be like that forever," he said. Constantine said the intersections have been dubbed the "worst intersections" in Middlesex County because of the limit of two lanes coming from the underpass of the Northeast Corridor rail line on Lake Avenue and two lanes coming from the St. Joseph High School side on Plainfield Road. "The intersection just hasn't gotten any better," he said. Constantine said the traffic congestion would be addressed. The ordinance requires the developer to make off-tract improvements as part of an overall development integration plan, including but not limited to vehicular and pedestrian circulation elements and linkages and storm water management. The ordinance says that parking lots in the interior of the town center would be designed as a parking plaza, which shall be spatially enclosed by buildings and designed with an emphasis on visual and functional pedestrian elements such as colored textured paving, pedestrian-scale lighting, shade trees, landscaping and rich streetscape treatments and details. Lincoln Richmond said he moved into the borough with his wife and family in the late 1990s because they were attracted to the direct train line to New York City. "That is what made Metuchen unique to us," he said. "But now places that didn't have a direct train line have one now and it has made Metuchen less and less unique. This [town center] will help make Metuchen a sexier place." Another resident questioned why Metuchen refused to let national chain stores such as Panera Bread, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, and Footlocker to come into the borough. Mayor Edmund O'Brien said the borough does not prohibit national chain stores to come into the borough. "We want them to come," he said. "Our problem is we are near the two biggest malls - Menlo Park Mall in Edison and Woodbridge Center Mall - in the state." There have been discussions on how to connect downtown Main Street to the proposed plan. Constantine said Renaissance Properties Inc. is still in negotiations with Ken McPherson, who owns the strip mall, which includes the Carvel and bakery and the Blockbuster on Lake Avenue. "We had a meeting with all the business owners today [July 16] and Ken McPherson was present at the meeting," he said. Constantine said there would be additional public meetings as planning and designing of the town center take place.