Monroe Township — The Monroe Township Planning Board approved a minor site-plan application on May 22, 2025, to reconfigure parking, add a trash enclosure and clean up a long-vacant retail building at 302 Spotswood Englishtown Road (Block 152, Lot 1). The board’s vote concluded after testimony from the applicant’s planner/engineer and a public comment about the trash-enclosure location.

Lawrence Sachs, attorney for the applicant Spotsworth Englishtown Road LLC, presented the application and introduced engineering/planning witness Lorelei Totten of Crest Engineering Associates. Totten said the 1,440-square-foot building sits on an 8,247-square-foot lot that is substantially paved; she described the proposal as organizing circulation into a one-way flow, adding striping, providing a van-accessible handicap stall near the entrance, constructing a trash enclosure and creating landscaped area at the corner where pavement would be removed. Totten said the proposed site would have 10 marked parking spaces and that making one space an EV “make-ready” space would earn a counting credit and effectively bring the parking count to 11 for zoning purposes.

The application triggered multiple preexisting bulk nonconformities related to lot size and dimensions, which Totten said would not be aggravated by the proposed changes; nevertheless the plan requested relief for several bulk standards tied to the lot’s existing condition. Totten described the plan as reducing impervious coverage slightly from an existing 97.7% and improving circulation and site appearance. She said the trash arrangement would rely on rolling wheeled trash containers (not a heavy dumpster that requires truck access) that the owner would place at the curb for pickup; the applicant’s team told the board trash pickup would be scheduled during off-peak hours to avoid conflicts.

A nearby homeowner, Renata Paradysz of 300 Spotswood Englishtown Road, told the board she was concerned about locating the trash enclosure close to her rear yard and pool and asked if the enclosure could be moved farther from the property line. Totten and counsel responded that the team will explore moving the enclosure closer to the building and that the final design would show an enclosed trash area with a lid rather than an open dumpster. Board members and municipal staff asked for a curb-and-sidewalk contribution along Harrison Street (Middlesex County right-of-way) as part of conditions and requested specifics on lighting, landscape details and final dumpster/enclosure dimensions.

Planning staff and the board’s review professionals recommended a number of compliance items, including county approvals for the right-of-way and the finalization of details such as lighting and the trash-enclosure detail (the submitted plan included a smaller 8-by-9-foot detail even though an earlier sheet showed a larger dimension). Totten committed to address engineering comments and to coordinate required county approvals.

The board approved the minor site plan by roll call. The public record shows a unanimous affirmative roll-call tally recorded after the motion: the board answered Yes to the approval vote (members recorded in the roll call included Rothman, Brodsky, Manesh Patel, Slavicek, Weiner, Councilwoman Cohen and Chairman Dockery). The approval included conditions discussed in the hearing: payment or contribution toward sidewalk improvements on Harrison Street as required by ordinance/county practice; final lighting and illumination plans; refinement of the trash-enclosure location and detail to move it further from the adjacent residence if feasible; and compliance with final county right-of-way requirements.

The applicant and planner agreed to return final engineering revisions reflecting the board’s conditions and to complete the township’s tenancy-review procedure before an occupancy or tenant change. The board closed the public portion and memorialized the approval on the record at the meeting.