Planning board approves dealer-prep and outdoor vehicle storage at former industrial site on Fulton Street

The Boonton Planning Board on Jan. 14 approved an application to formalize dealer-prep activities and expand outdoor vehicle storage at 100 Fulton Street, subject to conditions addressing stormwater, traffic circulation and security.

Applicant representatives described operations used by local dealerships: vehicles arrive by carrier, are offloaded onto a concrete pad or the adjacent graded area, undergo minor prep and defect repairs indoors, and then are dispatched to dealerships. The applicant27s engineer said the proposed expansion of compacted gravel storage would add about 9,130 square feet of vehicle surface and the layout (a conservative packing plan shown in exhibits) yields roughly 99 parking spaces; the applicant estimated typical throughput at about 9—15 vehicles per day and a single daily shift with about 20 employees.

The plan calls for an infiltrative compacted-stone surface (filter fabric and crushed stone), an 8-foot chain-link security fence around the storage area and concrete pad, guard rails along an on-site drainage swale, a short paved apron at the entrance and a row of eastern red-cedar trees for screening along Division Street. The applicant told the board there would be no customer retail activity on the site; operations would focus on new-vehicle preparation for the applicant27s affiliated dealerships.

Board professionals pressed the applicant on stormwater and regulatory thresholds. Under the state27s 2023 stormwater rules, newly created "motor vehicle surface" can trigger major-development requirements if the net new area is a quarter-acre (10,890 sq ft) or more. The applicant's engineer said the planned net expansion is about 9,130 sq ft and asked the board engineer to accept that calculation; the board required a verification analysis and a Morris County Soil Conservation District submission before permits. The board also requested as conditions a turning template for the largest car carrier, a written traffic/circulation description showing carriers will use Division Street (not the private Fulton-Street driveway serving adjacent condos), designation of employee parking (so employee cars do not occupy inventory stalls), and a security plan (gates and CCTV).

Attorney Sean Collier, appearing for the nearby Fulton Street Condominium Owners Association, had asked the board to clarify that the private portion of Fulton Street would not host car carriers. Applicant counsel Stephen Shep agreed on the record that carriers would enter and exit via Division Street and not via the private driveway across the condominium property; the board made that commitment a condition of approval.

The board approved the application on roll call with conditions requiring final stormwater verification, county soil-conservation clearance, a carrier circulation/turning template and submission of revised plans that document the obligations and protections discussed at the hearing. The applicant will also provide a plan for employee parking, the proposed security measures and any further documentation requested by board professionals prior to permit issuance.

What happens next: The applicant must submit the requested technical verifications and revised plans; if the board27s professionals accept those supplemental materials the board27s resolution will be released for the required municipal and county-level permits.