The Cranford Planning Board on Aug. 6 agreed to adjourn application PB24-002, an amended site-plan request from Wonder Group Inc., to the board’s Aug. 20 meeting after multiple residents and a Linden councilman described persistent noise, truck traffic, litter and health concerns tied to the site near Burwood Drive.

The application, filed for 40–42 Jackson Drive and 677–679 Reardon Road (Block 640, Lots 6.012 and 3) and owned by 40-42 Jackson Drive LLC, seeks approval for a 30-by-60 refuse enclosure, three permanent cold-storage trailers to support food production operations and two modified-atmosphere-packaging (MAP) gas tanks on a concrete pad surrounded by chain-link fence and 11 bollards. Trevor Endler, attorney for the applicant, requested the adjournment and said the company would present full testimony on Aug. 20. Endler also agreed to an extension giving the board until Oct. 31 to decide the application.

Why it matters: Residents said the proposed equipment and additional trailers would worsen existing disturbances they attribute to Wonder Group’s operations on a parcel that abuts a residential neighborhood. Several speakers asked the board either to deny the expansion or to impose strict conditions that would keep new equipment and trailer activity away from the residential side of the property.

Neighbors described long-standing problems they said predate this application. Dan Shaughnessy, a nearby resident, told the board “they run trucks at all hours with loud refrigeration units that never seem to turn off,” and said trucks and trailers often use the residential side of the site instead of the commercial docks. Alfred Rodriguez, a Ninth Ward councilman from Linden who said he spoke on behalf of residents, urged the board to block the expansion: “If you allow this expansion, you're telling every resident in my ward that the quality of life ... is negotiable,” he said.

Other residents documented similar complaints. Rob Bianco said the operation frequently starts before dawn: “Trucks running all night. Refrigeration trucks running all night. Employees come in at 04:00 in the morning,” he said. Barbara Pichlow and other neighbors raised concerns about odors, fumes from diesel trucks, vibrations from heavy vehicles, loss of parking, increased vermin, and the location of gas tanks and outdoor compactors close to homes.

Board procedure and next steps: The board allowed public comment as a one-time accommodation because the applicant had asked to adjourn; each speaker was limited to five minutes. No witnesses for Wonder Group formally testified on Aug. 6. The board found it had procedural jurisdiction over the application and carried the matter to Aug. 20 “with no need for further notice,” but warned that the Aug. 20 hearing will not start earlier than 8 p.m. unless the applicant re-notices to allow an earlier start time. The board also noted that if it grants approval it can impose conditions addressing both proposed operations and existing problems; if it denies the application the planning board’s jurisdiction does not itself provide enforcement of current operational complaints.

Regulatory context cited at the meeting included the municipal notice rules under the Municipal Land Use Law and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection noise standards (cited at NJAC 5:29-1) for noise limits at residential property lines. Board members and the planner advised residents with current operational complaints (noise, alarms, or suspected violations) to contact the township zoning officer or NJDEP enforcement, because the planning board’s review is limited to the application before it.

The applicant’s counsel confirmed Wonder Group will present its full case on Aug. 20. The board’s chair also recorded that Mayor Curran will recuse himself from hearing the application. The meeting closed after a voice vote to adjourn the hearing to Aug. 20.