Proposal to build 125,000-square-foot storage facility in Clifton faces opposition

SUNDAY PLUS – CITY GREEN ANNUAL PLANT SALE – Shoppers at the annual plant sale at City Green in Clifton, NJ on Thursday May 11, 2023. City Green is a not for profit organization on a 5 acre farm which provides fresh vegetables to food deserts, an educational center and more.

CLIFTON — A proposal in front of the city’s zoning board to build a 125,000-square-foot storage facility on a 2.6-acre lot off Route 46 east was met with lots of opposition on Wednesday night.

Going before the board because it does not meet the lot’s residential zoning requirements, the proposal by applicant Geeland LLC calls for a four-story complex with about 31,000 square feet of storage space on each floor. The zone allows buildings with a maximum height of 30 feet.

Other variances sought for the project include a reduction in parking spaces from 67 to 14, because, the applicant said, the use will be low-intensity and only two employees are expected to be at the site. The application also calls for two loading spaces rather than the 13 required.

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The application saw significant opposition, in part because of the area’s flooding issues and the site’s location, adjacent to the City Green Farm Eco-Center, the city-owned farmland.

Resident Ann Schnakenberg and City Green Executive Director Jennifer Papa said they take issue with the proposal. Schnakenberg and other residents said they are concerned about how water runoff would affect flooding in the region.

Torrential rainstorms in recent years have led to significant flooding along the Weasel Brook and Third River. The concern is that additional development would exacerbate stormwater runoff.

Although the engineer for the project, Marc Walker, said the applicant plans to install a water detention system that exceeds requirements, residents were not convinced. The planned removal of trees on the lot also caused concern.

The project, as proposed, calls for tearing down the existing one-story building on the property, which fronts on Route 46, as well as cutting down the trees that blanket the property.

“This is a wooded lot in what is supposed to be a residential zone,” Schnakenberg said, adding that “192 trees are slated for removal next to an important and flood-prone intersection where the Morris Canal once flowed.”

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Walker, in his testimony, said the detention facility would handle runoff up to a 100-year storm, slowly releasing water into the stormwater system.

Papa said the proximity of the project to the farming areas is a problem. City Green’s vegetable growing area is right up against the property line.

City Green members also expressed concern that lights from the storage facility would affect its apiaries.

After reviewing the applicant’s environmental impact statement, the city’s Environmental Commission said the project should be rejected.

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“There is no mention of the impact to surrounding properties, i.e. the farm in particular, when it comes to surface runoff,” commission Chairman Stephen Shukaitis said. “I recommend that the application be denied.”

The applicant agreed to make some amendments to its plan, including more stringent stormwater runoff standards. The public hearing is scheduled to continue on April 3.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Proposal to build 125,000-square-foot storage facility in Clifton faces opposition