Franklin Township Zoning Board reappoints officers, names board attorney, grants PsyData extension; several zoning applications approved or carried
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Summary
Robert Thomas was returned as chairman of the Franklin Township Zoning Board of Adjustment and the board selected Bob Shepherd as vice chair; the board also appointed Eric M. Bernstein & Associates as counsel, swore in planner Mark Healy, carried a Levin Properties hearing to March and granted PsyData a one-year extension to Nov. 24, 2025.
Robert Thomas was returned as chairman of the Franklin Township Zoning Board of Adjustment and the board selected Bob Shepherd as vice chair at its recent meeting, which also approved Eric M. Bernstein & Associates as board attorney and swore in Mark Healy as the board—s professional planner. The board carried a Levin Properties hearing to March 20, 2025, and voted to grant a one-year extension for PsyData—s previously approved application, extending the approval period to Nov. 24, 2025. Several zoning applications on the agenda were approved with roll-call votes by the eligible members.
The meeting opened with nominations and roll calls for officer positions. After nominations and a second, board members voted to reconfirm Robert Thomas as chairman; members also nominated Bob Shepherd for vice chair and recorded his communicated willingness to serve despite his absence. The board then moved to appointment items, approving Eric M. Bernstein & Associates as the board—s attorney for 2025. Eric M. Bernstein told the board, "We should thank the board for its confidence in us, and, we're looking forward to serving you for 2025." Mark Healy took the oath of office as the board—s professional planner.
The board handled routine business including approval of minutes and the 2025 meeting calendar. Members noted a clerical error in the calendar resolution (a reference to January 2025 that will be corrected to January 2026 before posting). The calendar resolution and the minutes motions passed on roll-call votes.
On land-use matters, the board announced that the Levin Properties hearing (ZBA case beginning with ZBA24...) for a preliminary/final major site plan to construct a four-story apartment building at 940 Easton Avenue (Block 385) was carried to March 20, 2025; the board stated no further notification is required. During discussion of a time-extension request for PsyData (ZBA1900037), applicant counsel Jim Stahl said the original approval dated February 2022 was delayed by septic and leadership changes at the religious organization that owns the project and that engineers still need to finalize septic plans. Stahl said, "I'm here on an extension request for PsyData." The board approved the applicant—s request for an extension to Nov. 24, 2025 (the one-year request), noting the applicant could seek the maximum three-year extension if necessary but asked the applicant to proceed.
Multiple other ZBA matters on the agenda were taken and approved in separate roll-call votes. For several cases the chair noted that only a subset of board members were eligible to vote because others were excused or recused; the transcript identifies which members were able to vote on each matter, and those members cast affirmative votes on the motions before the board.
Votes at a glance
- Officer selections: Robert Thomas, chairman — approved by roll call (members recorded as voting "yes"); Bob Shepherd, vice chair — approved (Shepherd was not present but had communicated willingness to serve).
- Board attorney: Eric M. Bernstein & Associates, LLC — approved (unanimous among voting members).
- Professional planner sworn: Mark Healy — sworn and accepted oath.
- Board calendar resolution (2025) — approved; clerical correction noted (January 2025 will be corrected to January 2026 before posting).
- Levin Properties, preliminary/final major site plan (ZBA24..., 940 Easton Avenue) — hearing carried to March 20, 2025; no further notification required.
- PsyData (ZBA1900037) — motion to grant extension of time to Nov. 24, 2025 (one-year extension) — approved by roll-call (Cheryl Bathia: yes; Richard Prokhanick: yes; Vaseem Verdas: yes; Gary Rosenthal: yes; Michael Dougherty: yes; Kunal Lakir: yes; Robert Thomas, chairman: yes).
- Somerset Properties (ZBA2300016) — approved (eligible voters recorded; roll call in transcript shows affirmative votes by the members eligible to vote).
- Gregory Booth (ZBA2400013) — approved (eligible voters recorded; roll call affirmative).
- Carl Bambo Parry (ZBA2400014) — approved (eligible voters recorded; roll call affirmative).
- Charles DiFilippo (ZBA2400012) — approved (eligible voters recorded; roll call affirmative).
- Carmel Builders application — approved (eligible voters recorded; roll call affirmative).
Why it matters
Officer selections and the appointment of counsel and planner shape how the board conducts hearings and interprets land-use matters through the coming year. The PsyData extension preserves the applicant—s current approvals while engineering and on-site conditions (notably septic design) are finalized; carrying the Levin Properties application to March delays board action on a proposed four-story apartment project at 940 Easton Avenue.
What happened next
Board members completed remaining votes on consent and regular agenda items, confirmed the calendar correction would be made before posting, and adjourned the meeting. Applications that were carried were set for the board—s March 20, 2025 hearing at 6:30 p.m. at 475 DeMott Lane in council chambers.
(Reporter note: The article summarizes motions and roll-call outcomes recorded in the meeting transcript. Where the transcript listed eligibility limitations for particular votes, the summary reports that only the named eligible members voted and that those members recorded affirmative votes on the motions listed.)
