Pompton Lakes planning board approves amended site plan and variances for commercial property

The Pompton Lakes Planning Board on April 16 approved preliminary and final amended site-plan approval and variance relief for a commercial property that will add parking, a stormwater detention system and an up-to-18-foot retaining wall.

Applicant counsel Bruce Whitaker and the project team presented revised plans and engineering responses, telling the board they had added four electric-vehicle charging stations, updated photometrics for lighting and submitted wall stability and geotechnical reports. Planner Chelsea Gleis testified that the application brings the site into compliance with parking and tree requirements, noting, "It's providing 69 spaces where 66 is required." She summarized the four variances sought: maximum lot coverage (about 60.44% proposed where 50% is permitted), disturbance of steep slopes (greater than 15%), a surface parking setback of 0 feet where 4 feet is required, and construction of a retaining wall exceeding the 6-foot maximum and 100-foot length limit.

Gleis and the applicant advanced a C2 public-benefit case under the Municipal Land Use…