The Cranford Planning Board on Wednesday approved a site-plan application to convert 140 Bryant Avenue into the Cranford Performance Institute, a recreational and sports training facility, after the applicant secured an off-site parking lease and agreed to several conditions.

The board granted variances for parking, impervious coverage and other design exceptions, and approved the application on a roll-call vote with seven members voting yes.

The approval follows testimony from the applicant and the project’s engineer and planner that revised plans addressed the board’s June 4 concerns, added an ADA-accessible entrance and EV-ready stall, reduced driveway width, improved parking stall dimensions and committed to landscape and lighting upgrades. Applicant co-owner and operations manager Judy Woffsey said the business will focus on one-on-one instruction and small events and that staff will assist with managing overflow parking so patrons can access the facility.

John Dunley, the project engineer and planner from the Neglia Group, told the board the application originally proposed 11 on-site parking spaces and sought to lease 60 spaces at 129 Dermody Street; that combination yields a total of 71 available spaces compared with a 70-space requirement stated in the application. Dunley described site revisions that reconstruct the rear parking lot to provide 10-by-18-foot stalls, a 24-foot drive aisle, a van-accessible ADA stall and a new ADA ramp in place of a former loading dock. He said the project will reduce some existing nonconformities (for example, by bringing driveway widths into compliance) but will still require relief for existing building coverage and front-yard setback conditions that are unchanged.

Woffsey, a co-owner and manager of day-to-day operations, told the board the facility will primarily host one-on-one instruction and lessons, with occasional small events such as birthday parties. She said staff will prioritize on-site spaces for patrons and use the leased off-site spaces for employees or overflow. Woffsey also confirmed the applicant will be responsible for any special striping or signage identifying the leased spaces for Cranford Performance Institute, and that trash will be stored inside the building with private commercial pickup.

Board members and professionals questioned the applicant about the off-site lot’s existing capacity and how the required number of spaces at 129 Dermody Street was calculated. Board planner/engineer testimony and a review of the tax record supported the applicant’s count of available spaces at the off-site lot: assessor records and site counts produced an estimate of roughly 114 existing spaces at 129 Dermody, with a calculated parking requirement for that property of about 47 spaces under the borough code’s parking schedule (section 255-44), leaving an excess the applicant could lease without creating a variance at the off-site property.

The board and applicant negotiated several conditions before the vote. The applicant agreed to execute the parking lease in a form satisfactory to board professionals before receiving building permits, accept township third-party enforcement rights under the lease (so the township could enforce the lease as a third-party beneficiary if necessary), and reappear before the board if the lease is terminated. The applicant also committed to implementing landscaping (replacement planting for four removed trees with five new trees), an irrigation system with a rain gauge, shielded wall-mounted lighting with a six-month engineering reinspection provision, an ADA ramp in place of the loading dock, and an on-site drop-off zone with signage to be located to the satisfaction of the township engineer. The applicant also agreed the township could require the project to return to the board if the off-site parking arrangement changes.

During deliberations board members said the revised plans addressed prior concerns and that the proposal offered a public benefit by improving a vacant or underused building and adding community recreational services. A single member of the public spoke in support, describing local youth-sports needs and praising the applicant’s coaching resources. The board’s roll call shows the motion to approve passed with votes in favor from Planning Board members Dunn, Lieber, Peta, Jandoli, De Balas, Commissioner Black and Kellett.

The board’s approval includes explicit distinctions between discussion items, directions and formal actions: board questions and professional comments were part of the hearing record but the formal action taken was the approval motion with the conditions noted above. No rezoning or ordinance changes were enacted; the board granted site-plan approval and the variances needed under the borough code and state municipal land-use law. The applicant and the board’s professionals agreed to final technical compliance reviews before issuance of building permits.

The applicant’s next steps are to execute the parking lease and complete any resolution-compliance items identified by board professionals. If the lease terminates in the future, the applicant agreed to return to the board with a new parking plan or justification for continued operation.