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Morris Township planning board continues South Street Gardens use‑variance hearing; planner outlines parking, sign and noise controls
Summary
The Morris Township Planning Board continued the South Street Gardens hearing after the applicant updated plans to show 81 parking spaces (72 required), a roofed refuse enclosure, and a relocated monument sign; the board and public focused on noise, outdoor music limits and pedestrian safety.
The Morris Township Planning Board heard continued testimony in the application by South Street Gardens (the Bruin family) seeking use variances to operate a 2,000‑plus‑square‑foot event space and a small coffee/retail area inside existing commercial buildings on the property. The board did not close the hearing and carried the matter to Oct. 27, 2025 for further testimony and public comment.
Attorney Larry Tally and planning witness Michael Tobia summarized revisions to plans and a package of proposed conditions intended to address concerns raised at the prior hearing. Key plan changes and commitments on the record included:
- Parking: The applicant updated the parking table to reflect 81 provided spaces versus 72 required; two electric vehicle charging spaces were included for credit and three parking stalls in front of the loading area were removed to keep the loading zone clear.
- Refuse enclosure: The applicant introduced a roofed, gated enclosure with hardy plank siding and a stone water table; the plan detail was submitted as a design exhibit and marked into the record.
- Signage: The existing monument sign was moved off the South Street sight triangle and re‑positioned approximately 12.5 feet from the South Street right‑of‑way; proposed stone columns would match town aesthetics and sign area would not increase.
- Uses and operational limits: Tobia framed the event space and coffee/retail as complementary to the garden center and argued that the uses are consistent with the municipal land‑use law goals. The applicant proposed a set of self‑imposed conditions for the board’s consideration, including a 10:00 p.m. curfew on site activities generally, no outdoor events in the South Street front yard, limits on the number and character of events, and health, county and environmental approvals to be obtained as required.
- Noise and music: The applicant proposed that any amplified outdoor music would end by 9:00 p.m.; indoor events would be capped at 48 persons by the applicant’s operational limit (the fire code occupant load for the room is higher, but applicant proposed 48 as the zoning cap). The applicant agreed to no signage advertising the coffee shop or event space beyond the relocated monument sign.
Several residents asked questions about pedestrian safety (sidewalks and crosswalks on South Street), acoustics and noise control, stormwater/runoff, and the potential for increased pedestrian traffic for coffee customers. Planner Tobia and counsel said the applicant would work with township engineering, the construction official and the county where required; they emphasized that certain items (for example, a town‑level crosswalk) require separate township committee or county approvals and are not unilateral applicant actions.
After public questioning and board discussion the board continued the hearing to Oct. 27, 2025 at 7 p.m. The applicant was told to file any additional reports and that public objectors who plan to offer expert reports must provide those materials to the board in advance in accordance with the board’s submission rules.
