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Planning board recommends updated application checklists, approves RP‑9 redevelopment parking approach and hears parking authority cleanup plan
Summary
The West Windsor Planning Board recommended updated application-checklist ordinances and recommended amendments to the RP‑9 redevelopment zoning to allow overflow parking and event space; the West Windsor Parking Authority described plans to remediate a former bus garage site and create roughly 30–35 parking spaces plus a pocket park.
The West Windsor Planning Board on May 7 recommended revised land-use checklists and draft ordinances to the township council, and reviewed a pair of RP‑9 zoning amendments intended to adapt a former bus-depot parcel for public parking, events and ancillary uses.
Staff summary and board purpose
Planning staff described updates to two checklist/ordinance drafts (2025-O3 and 2025-O4) intended to remove redundancy, clarify submission requirements for applicants, and ensure the board and technical-review committee receive sufficient materials before hearings. The board discussed numbering, duplicated language and whether certain landscape, traffic and photo-overlay items should remain explicit in the checklist.
"So this is really cleanup work," said the planner presenting the draft changes, noting the edits aim to make expectations clearer for applicants and the public.
Motion and vote on checklist drafts
A motion to recommend the revised checklist ordinances to the council as substantially consistent with the master plan (mover: Jerica; second: Anis) passed on a board roll call.
RP‑9 redevelopment ordinance and parking authority presentation
Staff then presented draft amendments to the RP‑9 district (ordinances 2025‑O6 and 2025‑O7) to enable public park uses, supplemental parking coordinated with the West Windsor Parking Authority, event spaces and street furnishings. The parking authority's chairman, Andy Lupo, testified the authority intends to remove a buried tank, remediate contaminated soil, demolish the bus garage and create an overflow parking lot that would provide free weekend parking for residents and permit or daily parking during peak times. He estimated the initial construction would yield approximately 30–35 new spaces and said the authority would pursue an RFP for demolition and remediation.
"We thought this would be an opportunity to remove the bus garage, remove the tank that's buried there. It's contaminated soil...we would cap it much like you all know we did with Upper Vaughn," said Andy Lupo, chairman of the West Windsor Parking Authority.
Board members asked about queuing, enforcement, Amtrak fencing, and commuter impacts during a potential transit strike; staff and the parking authority said enforcement is handled by parking-enforcement officers, that Amtrak must approve certain fence/screening changes, and that a strike could complicate transit options for commuters.
Motion and vote on RP‑9 ordinances
The board moved to recommend both RP‑9 ordinance drafts to the council and to find them substantially consistent with the master plan; the motion passed on a roll call vote.
Next steps
Staff will forward the board's recommendations and suggested edits to the township council and continue coordinating with the West Windsor Parking Authority on lease terms, demolition/RFP scheduling, and required environmental remediation steps. The board set routine follow-up through staff reports and the council process.
Ending
The meeting concluded with scheduling discussion for future meetings; the board did not finalize site-specific approvals for the bus-depot parcel at this session and noted additional procedural steps will be required before construction can begin.
