HOWELL – The Howell Zoning Board of Adjustment has granted preliminary and final site plan approval to an applicant who proposed to construct a one-story assisted living facility on Route 33.
Testimony presented during an application filed by SMC Properties LLC and the owner of the property, V&S Lawn and Landscape Inc., indicated that the 18,680-square-foot one-story building will be constructed at 985 Route 33, Howell.
The parcel is in the vicinity of The Cabin restaurant.
The assisted living facility will consist of 30 one-bedroom, one-bathroom living spaces and will be home to senior citizens who are in need of memory therapy, with conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, according to the testimony.
The applicant sought a use variance from the zoning board because an assisted living facility is not a permitted use in the Highway Development zone in which it was proposed. The variance was granted by the board in April.
On June 12 the applicant sought and received preliminary and final site plan approval. Attorney Todd Cohen and engineer Richard Di Folco presented the case on behalf of the applicants.
Di Folco said that access to the assisted living facility will be from Route 33 via a driveway which leads to a 32-space parking lot. A 50-foot buffer and a 10-foot easement will be between the new building site and neighboring farmland.
The assisted living facility will share a driveway with the neighboring property due to a state Department of Transportation regulation regarding the number of curb cuts that may be permitted on Route 33.
The zoning board noted that the owner of the adjacent property agreed to share the driveway with the assisted living facility.
Testimony provided by Di Folco indicated the assisted living facility will have a fenced-in area for the disposal of garbage and recyclable materials.
The disposal of medical waste that may be generated at the facility will be handled through a private contractor who will retrieve the medical waste from inside the building and properly dispose of it, according to Di Folco.
“This is more of a treatment facility for memory care, as opposed to medical procedures,” Di Folco said. “They are going to have a visiting nurse or doctor come in (occasionally) to check (residents’) eyesight or hearing, or to answer general questions, but it is not a medical facility where they are doing procedures.”
Board Vice Chairman Michael Sanclimenti recommended that two parking spaces near the front of the building be removed to improve the building’s pick-up and drop-off area. The applicant will work with Jack Mallon, the board’s engineer, to make the necessary changes.
A motion was made to grant site plan approval for the assisted living facility and board members Ian Bloom, John Kyle Turk, Richard Mertens, Daniel Cardellichio, Thomas J. Posch and Sanclimenti voted yes.
Board Chairman Wendell Nanson voted no because of the relief needed for the driveway going through the buffer zone.
The June 12 meeting was Jennifer Beahm’s final meeting as the zoning board’s planner. Officials said Malvika Apte will be the board’s planner going forward.
