Planner tells Franklin zoning board variances for 135 Davidson lack adequate proof; hearing carried to June 18

An expert planner told the Franklin Township Zoning Board on May 7 that three linked applications at 135 Davidson Avenue 'two church-related matters and a planned 258,150-square-foot warehouse'had not met the legal and factual tests required for use variances.

"In my opinion, there has not been substantial credible evidence that would justify the relief sought," planner Peter Steck testified after the board qualified him as an expert. Steck said the record showed jurisdictional and notice defects, as well as substantive problems with the proposed warehouse and the applicants' land-use proofs.

Steck told the board the site plan depicts a cemetery whose prior approvals have lapsed and therefore is a nonconforming use that would require a fresh variance application. He also said Lot 2.01, the property across the stream, appears functionally integrated with the subject lot (Lot 1.06) through a pedestrian connection and proposed shared uses, and therefore both parcels should have been included in public notice and the scope of review.

Those procedural defects, Steck said, matter because they change the public's notice area and who may be affected. He also challenged the planner's testimony for the applicant that the project reconciles with the municipal master plan: "The master plan as of this evening says we do not recommend new warehouses in the BI zone," Steck said, and he cautioned that a reexamination report does not replace the master plan when judging the statute's negative criteria.

Steck criticized the warehouse design on several fronts: the loading areas and maneuvering are largely in the front yard and are highly visible; landscaping and buffering shown on the plans are inadequate; and the building elevation along Davidson would present a long, tall wall that he said is not an aesthetic improvement. He also questioned whether proximity to Route 287 is a site-specific advantage or merely a generic regional feature.

Board members asked Steck about a recently adopted local ordinance vacating Executive Drive (marked in the record as ordinance no. 4501-26, introduced 03/24/2026 and adopted 04/14/2026). Steck said the vacation (effective May 4, 2026, per the marked exhibit) alters the site's frontage and therefore affects some previously identified front-yard variances, but it does not resolve the other notice and suitability issues he raised.

The applicant has argued the subdivision, church D2 variance, and a D1 warehouse variance are separate applications. Steck disagreed, saying the subdivision reduces the church's remaining land and therefore triggers an intensification analysis for the nonconforming church use.

Township counsel and the applicant's representatives declined to resolve the procedural objections at the meeting and urged the board to accept Steck's live testimony into the record. After additional witness testimony and public questions, the board voted to carry the three applications to June 18, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. at Franklin Township Town Hall and extended the statutory decision deadline through June 30, 2026.

What happens next: The board asked both parties to provide a one-sentence summary and to notify the clerk by June 4 whether they will present rebuttal witnesses; the hearing will resume on June 18 with additional testimony and cross-examination expected.