By unanimous vote, the Maplewood Township Committee adopted the Dunnell Road Police Station Redevelopment Plan. The Town will now move forward in negotiations with developers, using the plan as a guideline.

The plan was amended at the last meeting of the Township Committee to include recommendations by the Planning Board. However, several public commenters complained that a number of recommendations by the Planning Board had been omitted.

The amended and adopted ordinance included a 25' setback in the front of the property and a height limit of 50' "all in." Both stipulations had been recommended by the Planning Board. All language referencing "transit village" had also been removed from the plan.

However, recommendations related to the preservation of mature trees and the rear embankment were not included. Also, a recommendation to create similar height restrictions and setbacks for other properties on Dunnell Road was not included. Finally, the 42' roofline cap discussed at previous Committee and Planning Board meetings had been dropped (see update below).

Members of the public opposing the plan continued to express concerns about mass and bulk and possible ruination of the character of the park neighborhood. The meeting was more sparsely attended than previous Township Committee and Planning Board meetings addressing the redevelopment plan.

Tom Carlson, Chair of the Planning Board was the first member of the public to speak. Carlson immediately clarified that he was "here on my own initiative" and not speaking as Planning Board chair. Carlson explained that his thinking on the plan had evolved and that he now opposed its adoption.

"This is not easy for me," said Carlson, "because my nature is to be supportive."

Carlson continued to say that he felt the plan was "inadequate" and did not present "a vision for the entire block." He said that "precious little has been done to reduce the scale and mass."

"What's the hurry?" Carlson said and concluded, "Guys, this time you haven't gotten it right yet."

Carlson was respectful of the Committee members as were several other speakers including architect Marvin Clawson, John Kaufman and architect Inda Sechzer. Clawson asked the committee to work with the local design community to limit the size and bulk of the building and create design standards. Kaufman worried that the proposed plan would alter the character of the town and Sechzer argued for the preservation of the existing building which has been designated by Preservation New Jersey as one of the ten most endangered buildings in the state.

But a few speakers spoke of mistrust of the Committee members. Adam Licht cited the new police building cost overruns in saying "you don't have a good track record." Diane Fish stated, "It seems fairly obvious that this is going to pass no matter what is said." She concluded, "I'm not going to go away, neither will a number of us. We are still watching the process."

Ms. Fish's comments echoed those of some other residents who expressed the opinion that the Township Committee had already made up its collective mind and was not listening.

In response, the Committee members all assured the public that they were listening. Mayor Vic DeLuca in particular said, "There has been a lot said and, believe me, we've heard it." 

DeLuca elaborated: "The Township is in the driver seat. We are asking for some trust here. We did look at preserving the building and ultimately came to the decision that there was no market for preserving the building." DeLuca recounted the task force process and the feedback received from seven developers. 

But ultimately DeLuca said that the plan was merely a tool for negotiating with developers and assured the public that, once a developer submits a proposal and site plan, "If we don't like the look, size, financials, we can tell them."

Both DeLuca and Vice Mayor Fred Profeta assured attendees that potential developers had been told that the Town wanted to see the trees at the rear of the property preserved if at all possible. Profeta in particular stated, "I'm going to be vigilant about the trees going forward."

Regarding the issue of trust, Committee member Jerry Ryan said, "There 's not much I can say to change your mind. I will say this: I'm not going to be in favor of something big, massive, that doesn't belong on Memorial Park."

Ryan ended his comments saying, "I'm not voting for something that doesn't fit the park. I live here too."

Kathy Leventhal pointed out, "Reflect on one thing. All five of us are potentially in agreement. That doesn't usually happen." She added, "We want your continued imput."

Lester Lewis-Powder's comments were similar to Ms. Leventhal's. Lewis-Powder assured the public that only 25% of the process had been completed. Said Lewis-Powder, "It's not over. We expect to see you again and we are certainly grateful."

The Committee then voted unanimously to adopt the plan. 

Outside, opponents were resigned. "We all knew this was what it was going to be," said resident John Kaufman.

Tom Carlson was both resigned and cautiously optimistic: "I think it's very possible and likely that development on the site will be sufficiently modest in scale--but we don't know for sure."

Update: One Maplewood resident emailed Patch looking for a clarification on the adopted height limit. The resident felt that the amended plan still allowed for four floors of residential and up to 55' (with a 10% variance).

Mayor Vic DeLuca responded:

"The 50 feet is a maximum and does not allow for the 10% variance or any other height above 50 feet. The 42 cap [previously reported by Patch as a roofline height cap] is also wrong. The plan states that any and all parts of the building cannot be more than 50 feet. Here is the language from the plan: 'Building height shall not exceed a maximum of 50 feet and 4 stories of residential development, inclusive of all rooftop appurtenances and structures as measured vertically to the highest point of the building from the average elevation of the finished grade around the foundation of the building.' So 50 feet is it, nothing more."