MILLSTONE – A business that has operated in Millstone Township for many years is seeking to relocate as a mixture of business and residential uses amid concerns from residents.
Charles Noreika, a co-owner of Noreika Sales, is seeking approval from the Zoning Board of Adjustment to construct a mixed-use commercial and residential development that will have five residential units on the second floor, eight single-family dwellings on their own lots, and one storm water management lot on Paint Island Spring and Millstone roads. The proposed lots will be combined with an existing single-family home for a total of 11 lots on the 30-acre parcel.
Representatives of Noreika appeared before the zoning board at a public hearing on June 27. Attorney Vincent Halleran presented the application. No decision was made by the board members and the hearing is scheduled to continue on July 25.
The mixed-use building would function as the primary commercial structure of the property, according to engineer and planner Pat Jeffries, representing the applicant, and will replace the existing Noreika Sales building, which is scheduled to be demolished by Monmouth County as part of a project to construct a traffic roundabout at the meeting point of Stagecoach Road (Route 524), Millstone Road and Paint Island Spring Road.
Noreika Sales’ current location is known in the township as Scooter Corner.
Noreika Sales, which sells and services lawn and garden equipment, has been in operation since the 1940s. The business began when there were no zoning regulations in Millstone Township and is in a zone which is now designated for residential uses.
According to Jeffries, the current building is 2,900 square feet and is split between retail sales and service.
He said the proposed mixed-use building will have a total footprint of 11,000 square feet (8,700 square feet for retail and office space, and 2,300 square feet for service). The five proposed apartments on the second floor of the new building will total 5,000 square, for a total gross area of 16,000 square feet.
There is an existing 4,900-square-foot barn to be used for service and storage and a propane filling station that will be maintained as part of the business. Two other barns will be removed from the property.
“The applicant contends the uses [of the application] themselves are inherently beneficial to the community and that all of the uses that are proposed on the site are noted in the township’s master plan in the Neighborhood Commercial zoning district,” Jeffries said.
“The applicant believes the subject property is in the area of town that is not inconsistent with similar areas of town where neighborhood commercial zoning is permitted. The applicant believes the existing site and the fact it contains a commercial use helps to mitigate from the fact that commercial expansion of the use is proposed,” he said.
“The applicant notes this property existed as a commercial site and that the community was developed largely around the subject property,” Jeffries said. “The applicant also notes that all the uses on the site currently and proposed will support and be used by members of the community primarily, which is also encouraged in the Millstone Township master plan.
“The applicant believes there is no unreasonable impact to neighboring properties. And the applicant has met with Monmouth County to review traffic and some other considerations, which have been determined from the county’s perspective to have a negligible impact on the subject application,” he said.
Noreika’s application prompted concerns from residents due to its proposed expansion of the business. Residents said they believe the expansion of the business would have a negative impact on the surrounding area.
“This greatly expanded use and the scope of the project will have a significant negative impact on the community, our neighborhood, the traffic, the environment and the values of our individual homes,” resident Jeff Torno said. “These changes will alter [this] residential neighborhood forever, changing a central interior crossroad of Millstone’s rural, residential community. The scale of the nonconforming project is much too extensive and definitely not desired.”
“I’m not certain an 11,000-square-foot building with apartments above it belongs in an already dangerous intersection,” resident Delores Jenkins said. “I’m not certain if Mr. Noreika’s neighborhood commercial building should be permitted to quadruple in size and include apartments. I just ask that the board members listen and don’t allow this to harm your fellow owners.”
“I don’t think anybody here would be concerned if [Noreika] wanted to rebuild the building that is being taken down by the county,” resident Linda McGrath said. “He’s looking (to) change the landscape of what we see every day when we drive to and from work.
“I drive a Jeep [and] if any vehicle of at least my size is also coming down Paint Island Spring Road at the same time, one of us has to drive on somebody’s property to be able to make it down the road, exactly where (he is) trying to do this (project). So now you have to consider expanding Paint Island Spring Road. It’s not wide enough for even two cars to drive,” she said.
