DMH2 LLC, a Sparta-based developer, has been before the board since June with a plan to level the steep, wooded lots and construct 7,000 square feet of commercial space and 14 two-bedroom rental apartments. The project would be roughly the size of the Valente complex further west on Bloomfield Avenue that is now home to 7-Eleven, Lapels, PostNet and the new Anthony Robert Salon.
Though the site is zoned for a mixed-use development under Verona’s master plan, the developer’s proposal requires five variances.
Verona’s zoning calls for an equal distribution of uses in a mixed-use development. DMH2 is seeking a variance to create a property with about 70% residential and 30% retail. In prior hearings, DMH2 witnesses have contended that their plan merits a variance because it would keep the ground-floor commercial usage facing the commercial corridor, Bloomfield Avenue, and the residential usage, two-bedroom rental apartments on the second and third floors, facing the single-family homes on Montclair Avenue, one of the two streets that abut the project. DMH2 eliminated a loft-like area in the upper apartments after the Board of Adjustment expressed concern that the areas could be used as a third bedroom.
The other significant variance concerns the proposed retaining walls. Verona’s current zoning allows walls as high as six feet. DMH2’s proposal calls for terraced walls reaching a total height of 26 feet on one side of the development, with the building tucked into a right angle created by the walls. The property is currently bounded along Bloomfield Avenue by a large retaining wall, which is showing its age.
Residents of Montclair Avenue and Westview Road, the two adjacent streets, have organized to block the development. Many object to the blasting that would need to be done to level the area. But blasting is regulated by the state, so it is outside the purview of the Board of Adjustment.
In October, a witness for DMH2 said the site might require 90 days of blasting to clear it. He described a scenario of five to seven “small” blasts per day, with the area covered by heavy mats designed to control vibrations and rock sprays. He said the blasting would stop nine or 10 feet from a home that is almost at the property line and the rest of the rock there would be removed by drilling.
The group has also raised objections to the 75 or so trees that would be cut down on the site. This, however, is again not an issue regulated by the Board of Adjustment.
Tonight’s meeting will be held in the ballroom of the Verona Community Center, beginning at 7:30 p.m. It is free and open to the public.
In regards to those “small blasts” has anyone seen what they’ve been doing on Route 3? The photos I saw show that those “heavy mats” don’t do much.
This blasting could cause serious environmental issues. Is this legacy that Verona wants to leave???
Beth, there are lots of videos of blasting under mats–the Route 3 project and elsewhere. But blasting is not an issue before the Board of Adjustment. The board is not empowered to regulate blasting. Even if the Board of Adjustment were to deny the variances tonight, the developer could come back with a conforming plan that includes blasting.