Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • March 6, 2013 Franklin Lakes Borough gets two bids for special needs housing by Frank J. McMahon The Borough of Franklin Lakes has received two bids from housing developers to build, maintain, and manage a special needs affordable housing project on the vacant property at the corner of Colonial and McCoy roads. The borough has contracted to purchase that land from Temple Emanuel of North Jersey. The bids were submitted by the BCUW/Madeline Partnership, comprised of The Madeline Corporation and the Bergen County United Way; and The Albert Group, LLC and the Housing Development Corporation of Bergen County. The Bergen County United Way and the Madeline Corporation are both New Jersey-based non-profit organizations that formed a partnership in 2004 for the sole purpose of providing safe, affordable housing to serve families, seniors, and special needs individuals throughout the state. The Albert Group is a family-owned and operated fullservice real estate management and development company based in Bergen County that has over 40 years experience. The Housing Development Corporation of Bergen County is a non-profit housing development corporation that was incorporated in 1978. According to Thomas M. Toronto, the president of the BCUW, the approach of the BCUW/Madeline Partnership to the development of the Colonial and McCoy Roads site is to use the contours of the land to create a distributed network of nine structures that present as a single family home development in a semi-rural setting. Their strategy is based on maintaining the character of the neighborhood, fulfilling the borough’s desire to create housing opportunities for special needs individuals, including those who may currently live in Franklin Lakes, while adding returning veterans with special needs to the mix, and to be in harmony with the New Jersey Department of Developmental Disabilities’ new policy of avoiding concentrating people with disabilities in large living clusters. The BCUW/Madeline Partnership plan treats the site as two separate developments with their own entrances and exits, and diverse housing styles all reflecting the characteristics of a neighborhood of single-family homes. “We believe our development plan achieves a mix of home ownership, rental apartments, and rental group homes creating a variety of desirable housing for 40 individuals with special needs and different supportive service needs to live meaningful lives,” Toronto stated. The BCUW/Madeline Partnership conceptual site plan shows an entrance off Colonial Road leading to a circle with two main parking lots and six buildings, with two being for- sale homes for veterans and four buildings for special needs rentals. There are two entrances from McCoy Road, with one accessing a group home serving four residents with a parking lot, and the other a cul-de-sac leading to a parking area with two buildings for special needs homeownership. The Alpert Group/Housing Development Corporation of Bergen County plan would create 40 units of affordable, permanent and supportive rental housing for low-income persons with disabilities. According to the developer, the project would be designed and operated as permanent, supportive housing for independent living with every apartment a private unit with one bedroom and a complete kitchen and bath. Each resident would have a lease for his or her apartment and there would be no time limit for residency. All 40 apartments would be targeted for low-income persons with disabilities. Thirty-six of the 40 apartments in the project (continued on page 15) The Franklin Lakes Zoning Board of Adjustment has approved a revised site plan, a use variance, and several other variances to permit the construction of a child day care facility for children from infants up to the age of five. The facility is to be built on a 45,781 square foot, splitzoned piece of property on Franklin Avenue. The Learning Experience of Mendham, the contract purchaser of the property, intends to demolish an existing vacant building on the site, formerly the Wyckoff Peddler, which is located on the north side of Franklin Avenue diagonally across from the Franklin Crossing Shopping Center. The plan calls for the construction of a new 11,000 square foot, two-story building on the site. The subject property is located in two zones, with the front portion of the site in the limited business LB-1 zone and the rear portion in the A-22.5 acre residential zone. The property will have two access points from Franklin Avenue, with the parking area containing 36 nine by 18 foot parking spaces near Franklin Avenue. The original plan called for a 10,000 square foot, onestory building. That plan was opposed by Guldeep Sethi, a residential neighbor who lives on Mardinly Avenue at the rear of the site. The applicant then revised the plans, which now call for a two-story building in the commercial zone that will be 69 feet deep as opposed to the 125 foot depth of the original building. The play area that will be located in the residential zone at rear of the building will be reduced from 3,700 square feet to 2,400 square feet. Civil Engineer Matthew Clark described the change as beneficial because it will require less land disturbance, which will help create a better storm water management plan, reduce the impact on steep slopes on the property, eliminate some of the variances that were originally required, and reduce the building coverage from 23.9 percent to 13.5 percent and the impervious coverage from 61.3 percent to 47.6 percent. Clark also pointed out that the revised plan will reduce the solid vinyl fence from the six foot height in the rear of the site to a four foot height along the sides. The color of that fence has been changed from all white to tan and white. In addition, arborvitae will be planted along the outside portion of most of that fence. Board approves day care center Architect James Cutillo advised the board that the building would be increased by ten percent to 11,000 square feet due to the need for an elevator and stairwells. The building materials will consist of brick, siding, and roof shingles. The board directed the applicant to use red brick, HardiePlank siding, and a predominately gray roof that would all be residential in nature. Cutlillo said the roof parapet would hide the mechanical structures on the roof, and the board approved a 37 foot height where 32 feet from the existing grade is permitted in order to ensure the mechanical equipment could not be seen from ground level. Cutillo said the sign over the entry would be lit from below, and there would be one free-standing sign, but the signage lights will be shut off an hour or two after the building is closed each night. Professional Planner Brige�e Bogart described the site and explained that the lot could not be developed without variances due to the split-zone nature of the site, but said a school is a compatible use for the site. She said the facility falls under the definition of an inherently beneficial use in the state’s municipal land use law. In addition, she said she studied the borough’s 2004 and 2010 master plans, and found that the proposed use would further the goals of those master plans. Bogart also said she reviewed all the variances being requested and concluded that there would be no negative impact from any of those variances. Sethi, the neighbor who objected to the original plan, told the board he is now satisfied with the revised plan and feels it will be a benefit to the area. “I have no objection to the use,” Sethi said. “I like the plan.” According to Susan Johnson, the area manager for The Learning Experience, the franchise business has 200 locations that are open or under construction in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and 10 other states. This new facility will have a maximum of 175 children with about 149 or so attending the center each day for five days a week. She said the state-mandated play area behind the building would be used by eight to 10 children at a time twice a day. F.J. McMAHON