Jackson board approves use variance for AVE Partners' limited outdoor storage after neighbor objections

The Jackson Township Board of Adjustment on Jan. 15, 2025 voted to grant AVE Partners LLC a D (special-reasons) variance and preliminary site-plan approval that allows limited outdoor storage behind a six-foot opaque fence at 1007 West Commodore Boulevard (lots 7, 9 and 10 in block 2901).

The approval followed roughly 17 months of hearings and a night of testimony in which neighbors raised objections over wetlands protections, alleged prior unauthorized equipment on the lot, traffic-safety concerns and what they said was an incomplete application file. Objector Paul River told the board he had seen excavation equipment and dumping, and argued the applicant had not filed the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection paperwork required for properties in the township’s conservation-overlay area. "We're going to make a strong case that the applicant is not entitled to a class D variance," River said during his presentation.

Applicant counsel Kenneth Pap told the board the relief sought was narrow: a permission to store concrete structures and similar materials outdoors behind screening, while the primary building would be used as an office and any vehicle maintenance would occur inside the garage. "We are asking for permission to store materials in the yard outside of the building," Pap said, adding that the applicant would provide outside-agency paperwork prior to final approval and had recorded a conservation easement on the parcel.

Board members noted competing record evidence. Several residents and a member of the township’s Environmental Commission urged the board to require an NJDEP LOI or pending NJDEP application before granting relief, arguing without that documentation the board could not determine where development is allowed on the site. The applicant and its professionals said they would pursue renewal or reinstatement with the NJDEP and agreed on several conditions during testimony.

During deliberations the board attached a set of conditions intended to reduce negative impacts cited by neighbors: prohibition on storing toxic materials or fuels outdoors; a requirement that maintenance such as oil and filter changes occur inside the maintenance building with lawful disposal of any fluids; separation of car and truck circulation (two driveways) as revised with county input; a six-foot opaque fence and landscape buffering between the storage area and neighboring houses; limits on the type and height of stored materials; and a condition that all relevant outside-agency approvals (including NJDEP documentation) be submitted before the applicant returns for final-site-plan review.

A motion to approve the D variance together with the preliminary site plan (final approval reserved until conditions and outside permits are satisfied) passed on roll call. Board members who stated their votes on the record voted in favor; the chair announced the variance and preliminary site plan were granted subject to the conditions placed on the record.

What happens next: the applicant must submit the required outside-agency approvals and the NJDEP LOI/application documentation and satisfy the conditions listed on the record before the board will consider final-site-plan approval. If ownership or operation of the property changes, the board noted any different use or deviation from the approved, conditioned plan would require a return to the board.

The board adjourned after completing the vote.