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NorthJersey.com, NJ
Jan 6 2012
Emerson land use board approves Armenian Home application
BY KIMBERLY REDMOND
STAFF WRITER, Pascack Valley Community Life
The Emerson Municipal Land Use Board has approved a controversial
application put forth by the Armenian Home for the Aged, one that
plans to construct a new facility and then knock down the existing
one.
Before a packed council chambers filled with residents who live in the
neighborhood surrounding the Main Street nursing home, the board voted
6-1 in favor of the project at its Thursday, Jan. 5 meeting. Board
Member Germaine Ortiz cast the lone, dissenting vote.
According to the plans filed, the new building, a 2.5 story, 120-bed
health care facility, would be constructed on the west side of the lot
on 70 Main St. The existing 86-bed home, located on the eastern part
of the property bordering Glenwood Avenue, would be demolished upon
construction of the new facility and the patients would be
transferred. The application does not require any waivers since it
conforms to all regulations of zoning ordinances and all requirements
of subdivision and site plan review ordinances.
When neighborhood residents first learned of the plan last summer,
they began attending meetings of various borough bodies, including the
mayor and council, land use board and environmental commission, to
ensure officials were aware of their concerns. Some of those concerns
voiced repeatedly by residents include increased traffic, additional
flooding issues and diminished quality of life.
Allen Bell, the applicant's attorney, pointed out on Thursday that the
Armenian Home's plans have been modified several times based upon
comments by residents. Some of those revisions include relocating a
loading dock, trash receptacle and generator away from the view of
homes, changing which driveway delivery people can use to drop off
goods and increasing an existing easement pipe to help address an
existing drainage problem in the area of Broad and Samuel streets.
"The applicant has gone out of its way to try and respond to concerns.
...I know there are a lot of people sitting behind me that are opposed
to this project and I understand their concerns. Frankly, I doubt
there's anything that either I, the applicant or its experts can say
that will ever address those concerns. All the board can do is rely
upon its experts. ...We have tried to create an application that meets
the needs of the community and meets the needs of our client, but one
that is aesthetically pleasing, one that would be an asset to the
community down the road and one that will certainly enable the nursing
home to better fulfill its function and its mission,' Bell said.
On Thursday evening, the applicant presented its most recent set of
revisions, which included adjustments to the drainage system at the
proposed site. At last month's meeting, Board of Education President
John DiNiro said the board had concerns about water coming onto the
property of Emerson Jr./Sr. High School, which sits across the street
from the Armenian Home. Subsequently, an engineer retained by the
board of education, along with the applicant's engineer and borough
engineer, coordinated to come up with adjustments that have allayed
the concerns of school board members, DiNiro said.
Also the applicant had its traffic engineer, William Stimmel of Neglia
Engineering, deliver the findings of a traffic study of the area that
was undertaken during the fall. According to Stimmel, the project
would result in a minimal traffic increase - about 20 additional
vehicles on the road during the morning rush hour and 26 during the
evening rush. Basically, he summarized, "What it is now, is what it'll
be in the future."
Board Member Gary Schwinder, prior to voting, commended the applicant
for "accommodating the concerns of the residents."
"That is not something that is done lightly, it's an expensive
proposition," Schwinder said of modifying the plan. "It takes a lot of
thought and a lot of engineering to figure out how to rework the
building. They are trying to figure out how to improve their building
and also, improve the community. ...I think they've demonstrated a
spirit of neighborliness and quite frankly, I'm impressed with what
they've done in answer to the concerns of the community."
Board Chairman Mark Orecchio said that after hearing countless hours
of testimony by professionals regarding the project - and in
particular, Thursday's findings of the three engineers regarding
drainage, he has a greater piece of mind that "the engineering is
sound" and "the project will be constructed correctly and benefit the
community."
Ken Hoffman, a former councilman and former environmental commission
member, told the board before its vote, "As we have learned in this
town, engineers are far from infallible. We have seen them make
mistakes repeatedly and repeatedly, so they are not perfect by any
means. ...I think that when you vote, in your mind, you have to
reasonably guarantee that this project will not cause significant
problems for the residents. If you can't answer yes to that in all
confidence, then you have to vote no on this."
Hoffman said his concerns range from potential sedimentation buildup
in the Oradell Reservoir due to run-off from the site to pedestrian
safety on Main Street to ground water saturation.
"There are so many issues and so many unknowns in this application,"
he said, "that I don't see how you could vote yes."
Richard Massiello, a resident of Clinton Street, said, "We've lived
with this flooding in this area for all of our lives and we never made
a big deal out of it. But we ain't going to stand by and have someone
put a project in there that's going to increase the flooding and
affect our property values. We will be at borough council meetings
demanding the borough does something about the flooding," he promised
Cathy Haffler, a Westwood resident whose mother resides in the
Armenian Home, was one of a few members of the public who spoke of the
need to improve the site.
"Their care and kindness there is just something I can't describe.
Unfortunately, the home is lousy looking. Nobody would want their
parent to live there," said Haffler.
Thursday's approval from the land use board is only the first step of
many required to move the project forward.
According to Board Attorney Christopher Martin, the board's vote in
favor of the application is contingent upon approval from the state.
Given that the nursing home falls within the 300-foot buffer of a
Category 1 (C1) waterway on the Emerson Jr./Sr. High School property,
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approval is required for
the project.
Bell said the applicant will go to the DEP after the land use board
wraps up its proceedings and "will comply with whatever necessary DEP
permits are needed."
Also, he said, since the project is a nursing home, it must receive
approval from the New Jersey Department of Health.
About five years ago, the land use board approved a previous plan, one
designed to expand and modernize the facility, however, when the
applicant went to the state, it was rejected because it called for
some of the home's residents to stay at the facility during the
construction period.
In recent months, residents have said they would consider pursuing
legal action against the borough should the project be approved.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/136818393_Emerson_land_use_board_approves_Armenian _Home_application.html?page=all
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Jan 6 2012
Emerson land use board approves Armenian Home application
BY KIMBERLY REDMOND
STAFF WRITER, Pascack Valley Community Life
The Emerson Municipal Land Use Board has approved a controversial
application put forth by the Armenian Home for the Aged, one that
plans to construct a new facility and then knock down the existing
one.
Before a packed council chambers filled with residents who live in the
neighborhood surrounding the Main Street nursing home, the board voted
6-1 in favor of the project at its Thursday, Jan. 5 meeting. Board
Member Germaine Ortiz cast the lone, dissenting vote.
According to the plans filed, the new building, a 2.5 story, 120-bed
health care facility, would be constructed on the west side of the lot
on 70 Main St. The existing 86-bed home, located on the eastern part
of the property bordering Glenwood Avenue, would be demolished upon
construction of the new facility and the patients would be
transferred. The application does not require any waivers since it
conforms to all regulations of zoning ordinances and all requirements
of subdivision and site plan review ordinances.
When neighborhood residents first learned of the plan last summer,
they began attending meetings of various borough bodies, including the
mayor and council, land use board and environmental commission, to
ensure officials were aware of their concerns. Some of those concerns
voiced repeatedly by residents include increased traffic, additional
flooding issues and diminished quality of life.
Allen Bell, the applicant's attorney, pointed out on Thursday that the
Armenian Home's plans have been modified several times based upon
comments by residents. Some of those revisions include relocating a
loading dock, trash receptacle and generator away from the view of
homes, changing which driveway delivery people can use to drop off
goods and increasing an existing easement pipe to help address an
existing drainage problem in the area of Broad and Samuel streets.
"The applicant has gone out of its way to try and respond to concerns.
...I know there are a lot of people sitting behind me that are opposed
to this project and I understand their concerns. Frankly, I doubt
there's anything that either I, the applicant or its experts can say
that will ever address those concerns. All the board can do is rely
upon its experts. ...We have tried to create an application that meets
the needs of the community and meets the needs of our client, but one
that is aesthetically pleasing, one that would be an asset to the
community down the road and one that will certainly enable the nursing
home to better fulfill its function and its mission,' Bell said.
On Thursday evening, the applicant presented its most recent set of
revisions, which included adjustments to the drainage system at the
proposed site. At last month's meeting, Board of Education President
John DiNiro said the board had concerns about water coming onto the
property of Emerson Jr./Sr. High School, which sits across the street
from the Armenian Home. Subsequently, an engineer retained by the
board of education, along with the applicant's engineer and borough
engineer, coordinated to come up with adjustments that have allayed
the concerns of school board members, DiNiro said.
Also the applicant had its traffic engineer, William Stimmel of Neglia
Engineering, deliver the findings of a traffic study of the area that
was undertaken during the fall. According to Stimmel, the project
would result in a minimal traffic increase - about 20 additional
vehicles on the road during the morning rush hour and 26 during the
evening rush. Basically, he summarized, "What it is now, is what it'll
be in the future."
Board Member Gary Schwinder, prior to voting, commended the applicant
for "accommodating the concerns of the residents."
"That is not something that is done lightly, it's an expensive
proposition," Schwinder said of modifying the plan. "It takes a lot of
thought and a lot of engineering to figure out how to rework the
building. They are trying to figure out how to improve their building
and also, improve the community. ...I think they've demonstrated a
spirit of neighborliness and quite frankly, I'm impressed with what
they've done in answer to the concerns of the community."
Board Chairman Mark Orecchio said that after hearing countless hours
of testimony by professionals regarding the project - and in
particular, Thursday's findings of the three engineers regarding
drainage, he has a greater piece of mind that "the engineering is
sound" and "the project will be constructed correctly and benefit the
community."
Ken Hoffman, a former councilman and former environmental commission
member, told the board before its vote, "As we have learned in this
town, engineers are far from infallible. We have seen them make
mistakes repeatedly and repeatedly, so they are not perfect by any
means. ...I think that when you vote, in your mind, you have to
reasonably guarantee that this project will not cause significant
problems for the residents. If you can't answer yes to that in all
confidence, then you have to vote no on this."
Hoffman said his concerns range from potential sedimentation buildup
in the Oradell Reservoir due to run-off from the site to pedestrian
safety on Main Street to ground water saturation.
"There are so many issues and so many unknowns in this application,"
he said, "that I don't see how you could vote yes."
Richard Massiello, a resident of Clinton Street, said, "We've lived
with this flooding in this area for all of our lives and we never made
a big deal out of it. But we ain't going to stand by and have someone
put a project in there that's going to increase the flooding and
affect our property values. We will be at borough council meetings
demanding the borough does something about the flooding," he promised
Cathy Haffler, a Westwood resident whose mother resides in the
Armenian Home, was one of a few members of the public who spoke of the
need to improve the site.
"Their care and kindness there is just something I can't describe.
Unfortunately, the home is lousy looking. Nobody would want their
parent to live there," said Haffler.
Thursday's approval from the land use board is only the first step of
many required to move the project forward.
According to Board Attorney Christopher Martin, the board's vote in
favor of the application is contingent upon approval from the state.
Given that the nursing home falls within the 300-foot buffer of a
Category 1 (C1) waterway on the Emerson Jr./Sr. High School property,
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approval is required for
the project.
Bell said the applicant will go to the DEP after the land use board
wraps up its proceedings and "will comply with whatever necessary DEP
permits are needed."
Also, he said, since the project is a nursing home, it must receive
approval from the New Jersey Department of Health.
About five years ago, the land use board approved a previous plan, one
designed to expand and modernize the facility, however, when the
applicant went to the state, it was rejected because it called for
some of the home's residents to stay at the facility during the
construction period.
In recent months, residents have said they would consider pursuing
legal action against the borough should the project be approved.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/136818393_Emerson_land_use_board_approves_Armenian _Home_application.html?page=all
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress