Lodi zoning board approves six-townhouse project at 199 Union Street with conditions

The Borough of Lodi Zoning Board voted Feb. 18 to approve a six‑unit townhouse development at 199 Union Street, granting a use variance and related bulk variances with conditions that require county curb‑cut approval, fire‑department sign‑off on emergency access, and final engineering tests.

Planner Spach Tran, the board’s expert witness, told the board the site is “particularly suited” for townhouses given adjacent multifamily developments and that the project provides required parking and modern stormwater controls. “This site transitions well between higher‑density uses and one‑and‑two‑family homes,” Tran said during testimony.

The proposal, by 199 Lodi LLC, calls for two three‑unit buildings on Lot 13.03, Block 97 in the R2 zone. The team told the board the project will include 17 on‑site parking spaces (two‑car garages for each unit plus five visitor/ADA stalls), a masonry trash enclosure with separate recycling, landscaping buffers, and a rear open space for residents.

Engineer Soufiane (Souf) El Moussi said the stormwater system is an underground half‑dome infiltration design sized to meet current New Jersey DEP standards including future adjustments; “this system can handle about 53,000 gallons of stormwater,” he said, and the applicant will provide a perk test and final calculations as a condition of approval.

The board granted relief for several dimensional standards: the lot’s existing width (about 67 feet) is nonconforming to typical townhouse lot standards, the application seeks coverage above the typical townhouse maximum (proposed ~74% vs. a 60% benchmark), and an FAR calculation that includes garages and storage yields about 0.918. Tran and the applicant argued the habitable living area, circulation, parking, stormwater design and visual buffering mitigate those bulk variances.

Board members pressed the applicant on operational details the board wants memorialized in any resolution. The board required the applicant to supply turning templates demonstrating maneuvering for the largest borough fire apparatus and trash truck, to coordinate a fire lane designation with the fire marshal and chief, to obtain Bergen County approval for a 34‑foot curb cut, and to provide final engineering responses to planner and engineer review letters. The applicant also agreed to extend the mail‑drop pull‑in area and to show locations of condenser units and EV‑ready wiring in revised plans.

A member of the board expressed concern about cumulative housing growth and potential pressure on municipal services, asking whether the borough’s schools and infrastructure can absorb additional three‑bedroom units; the planner acknowledged the borough is compact and said the project represents “missing middle” housing and complies with the technical parking and open‑space provisions the planner reviewed.

The motion to approve the application passed on a recorded roll call with seven yes votes; members affirmed the approval was contingent on the technical and agency conditions discussed at the hearing and on final engineering and county approvals. The board also recorded earlier procedural actions during the same meeting, including a separate motion recommending dismissal without prejudice of a long‑pending car‑lot application and a denial of a prior resolution for 25 East Place.

Next steps: the applicant will submit revised plans and technical responses to the planner and engineer, perform the required perk test, coordinate with Bergen County and the fire department, and return documentation to the board for the resolution and any administrative signoffs before building permits are issued.