Wonder Foods told the Cranford Planning Board on Aug. 27 that it will enforce new delivery windows, require vendors not to idle adjacent to the facility, and replace noisy 8-yard dumpsters with enclosed compactors as part of operational changes at 42 Jackson.
The applicant’s representative, Mr. Botcher, said the site will not accept commercial deliveries before 7 a.m. Monday through Friday and after 9 p.m.; on weekends deliveries will not be allowed before 9 a.m. or after 9 p.m. He said the same windows apply to refuse pickup. “We have put a policy in place that Monday through Friday, we will not accept any deliveries before 7 a.m. Refuse is not allowed … before 7 a.m. and nothing after 9 p.m.,” Botcher told the board.
Board members and residents said trucks had idled on Moen Avenue while waiting for acceptance and that drivers sometimes arrived early; the applicant said it had instructed purveyors not to idle adjacent to the building and that site managers will ask drivers to turn off engines or move to alternative parking if they arrive too early. Botcher said the company will escalate recurring vendor violations to the venders’ employers.
Why it matters: neighbors said early arrivals, engine idling and loud compactor pickups contributed to sleep disruptions. The applicant said replacing the 8-yard dumpsters with a compaction system and changing trailer orientation should reduce the sharp, echoing noises associated with dump-and-drop emptying.
Supporting details: the applicant said the operation currently uses two blast freezers and two 40-foot refrigerated trailers and proposed positioning three 40-foot trailers parallel to the building to reduce compressor noise directed at the property line. The applicant agreed compactors would be fully enclosed and operate only within the delivery/pickup hours described. The board’s civil and fire-review comments will be addressed in later engineering testimony.
Follow-up and documentation requested: board members requested cut sheets for compactors and refrigeration equipment, a description of refuse enclosure construction (the applicant described a 60-by-30-foot partially enclosed structure), and confirmation of pickup schedules and the material surface for the refuse pad (applicant said existing asphalt would remain). The hearing was continued to Sept. 17, 2025.