Planning board approves major site plan for 128,150-square-foot warehouse at 7 Campus Drive, recommends conditions on stormwater and wetlands

The Parsippany-Troy Hills Planning Board voted Feb. 10 to approve the preliminary and final site plan submitted by PSIP Saxon Campus Drive Urban LLC to redevelop a vacant office building at 7 Campus Drive into a 128,150-square-foot warehouse with 23 loading docks, 7 trailer parking spaces and 103 car parking spaces.

John Inglesino, attorney for the applicant, told the board the proposal converts a large, underused office property into a modern warehouse and office building that the applicant says will reduce impervious surface and motor-vehicle surface area on site, provide jobs and support the township’s redevelopment goals. The completed design calls for 5,000 square feet of office space, ADA-compliant stalls, four EV-ready parking spaces and a bioretention basin intended to treat stormwater runoff from parking areas.

Board professionals and multiple expert witnesses examined the project. Alexander Lomay, a civil engineer for Bollinger Engineering, testified the site is roughly 10.02 acres and that the proposal would reduce impervious coverage by 4,315 square feet and reduce motor-vehicle surface area by about 62,247 square feet compared with existing conditions. The applicant proposes one consolidated driveway on Campus Drive, truck access from Hilton Court and measures including a bioretention basin on the west side of the site to treat parking-area runoff.

Environmental expert Laura Newgard of EcoSciences described the on-site detention pond. She testified the feature supports native vegetation and wildlife and suggested a “don’t fix what isn’t broken” approach; she recommended permitting and maintenance only if surveys or engineering show the pond fails to meet wet-pond BMP geometry. The board’s engineer and applicant agreed that if the pond does not meet state wet-pond BMP standards, a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection general permit (GP-1) would be obtained and the basin brought into compliance prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy.

Acoustical expert Benjamin Mueller of Ostergard Acoustical Associates testified that, given the building’s configuration and separation from residential receptors to the west, truck and equipment noise can be designed to comply with New Jersey decibel limits (50 dBA nighttime limit for residential receptors). Mueller’s analysis relied on building placement, distance (about 650–800 feet to nearby residential facades) and a planned 6-foot solid fence and landscaping buffer along the western property line.

Traffic engineer Betsy Dolan summarized a traffic-impact study showing the warehouse would generate an estimated 20–23 peak-hour trips (about 240 trips over a weekday), far below thresholds that typically trigger significant intersection mitigation. The site’s truck operations were designed to use Hilton Court for truck ingress and egress; Campus Drive will be signed to prohibit truck access and the Campus Drive left-turn lane into the site was extended to accommodate queuing.

The applicant requested waivers from the Highlands environmental mapping (an EIS waiver was requested because the project reduces impervious coverage) and a limited waiver from the redevelopment plan’s turning-radius and fence-height provisions. Planner Alex McLean testified the deviations satisfy positive and negative criteria for relief and are consistent with redevelopment objectives in the township master plan.

Board engineer Cangiano and other professionals noted outstanding technical stormwater items in the GPI memo and recommended the board condition its approval on final engineering resolution of slight post-development runoff overages and on obtaining any required permits for the existing wet pond before a CO is issued. The board adopted waivers and ultimately passed the application with those conditions. The roll-call approval recorded unanimous board support at the close of the hearing.

The board’s approvals included: a resolution granting the waivers identified in the ARH memo dated Feb. 7, 2025; variances for driveway width/turning radii and fence height (the fence will be used for fall protection and screening); and final site-plan approval conditioned on the applicant working with the board engineer to address minor stormwater quantity overages and to obtain any DEP permits needed to repair or permit the existing wet pond prior to certificate of occupancy.