JACKSON – Members of the Jackson Planning Board have approved an application that proposed the construction of three buildings for warehouse space on West Commodore Boulevard (Route 526).
Representatives of the applicant testified that the proposal conforms to what is permitted by the municipality at that location.
The application submitted by 340 West Commodore, LLC, was approved in a 7-2 vote by board members on April 15.
Board members Joseph Riccardi, Jeffrey Riker, Timothy Dolan, Martin Flemming, Michele Campbell, Township Councilman Ken Bressi and Township Administrator Terence Wall voted “yes” on a motion to approve the application.
Board members Robert Hudak and Richard Egan voted “no” on the motion.
340 West Commodore sought and received preliminary and final major site plan approval from the board. The applicant plans to construct three buildings for warehouse space (293,488 square feet) and mezzanine office space (29,400 square feet), for a total of 322,888 square feet, on a 22-acre parcel in the LM Commercial Office/Light Industrial Zone.
Attorney Ray Shea and traffic engineer John Rea represented the applicant at the board’s April 15 meeting.
“This is a fully conforming application seeking no variances or waivers. We represent to you that no goods will be sold, or retail, on the premises. All items will be stored in a completely enclosed building and there will be no warehousing or storage of hazardous chemicals,” Shea said.
The attorney said the Jackson Police Department made two recommendations to the applicant and said his client has agreed to both recommendations.
One recommendation is that “vehicles traveling eastbound on West Commodore Boulevard have a left turn lane implanted to assist vehicles, we said yes we will do that; and the police suggested vehicles traveling westbound have the same turn-in lane and we said yes and agreed to that,” Shea said.
Rea said he prepared a detailed traffic impact study in conjunction with the application. He said vehicle counts were conducted during peak hours at two intersections on West Commodore Boulevard.
“The first is the intersection of Diamond Road and West Commodore Boulevard, where we have a flashing signal, and the second is the intersection of West Commodore Boulevard with Wright-Debow and Burke Roads,” Rea said.
Rea said traffic volume through 2028 was projected and the level of service at each intersection was reviewed.
“We found that all of the movements at (those two) intersections and at the (warehouse) driveway would operate at a level of service of C or better (on a scale of A to F). The conclusion we reached was that the two off-site intersections and the (warehouse) driveway would operate within acceptable traffic engineering parameters,” Rea said.
The applicant proposed 365 parking spaces at the warehouse property where 354 parking spaces are required by the municipal code.
Rea said it was his opinion local roads would not be impacted by trucks heading to and from the proposed warehouses. He said trucks would primarily use nearby Interstate 195 and roads designated as Ocean County highways.
Rea said for the morning peak hour of 7:45-8:45 a.m., the applicant is anticipating 94 entering vehicles and 22 exiting vehicles for a total of 116 driveway movements. For the afternoon peak hour of 3:30-4:30 p.m., the applicant anticipates 22 entry movements and 78 exit movements for a total of 100 driveway movements.
During public comment, resident Lisa Tracey said she lives 100 feet from the property and said she has a “deep background” in distribution.
“I can tell you those places are humming 24/7. Not only are the trucks going in and out, that is not the worst (part), the worst (part is that) most of the trucks that are there are idling, they wait until they get them to where they need to back up to,” she said.
She said idling trucks can cause environmental concerns and added, “To be frank with you, this discussion of peak hours is somewhat amusing to me because most truck drivers do not run at peak hours. They leave very early in the morning; unless they are going on a short haul they are gone by 4 a.m., so that means all the neighbors get to hear them crank up.”
Shea said, “trucks can go in at any time, but there will not be any shipping or receiving in the third shift, which has been defined as 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.”
