Holmdel planning board approves Slice Marketing storage shed with conditions on batteries, landscaping and riparian buffer

The Holmdel Township Planning Board voted to approve an amended preliminary and final site plan for Slice Marketing LLC’s proposed storage building at 15 Main Street, subject to conditions intended to address visual impacts, fire-safety questions about small lithium batteries and protection of a nearby riparian buffer.

The board approved the application after hearing testimony from the applicant’s architect, engineer and planner and after taking comments from professionals and a member of the environmental commission. The approved plan reduces the previously proposed 10,000-square-foot accessory building to 9,000 square feet, maintains about 180 parking spaces and includes additional landscaping and screening, the applicant said.

Why it matters: The project raised two interlocking local concerns — safety and nuisance risks tied to storing thousands of devices that contain small lithium batteries, and protection of a Category 1 riparian buffer that lies near the rear of the property. Board members and professionals sought assurance the new building complies with the building and fire codes and that any activities in the riparian zone would be controlled or removed.

Architect Matt Mulkeen of Clark, K & Hintz told the board the storage building is a pre-engineered, noncombustible steel structure set at about 16 feet to the eave and roughly 21 feet overall, pushed to the rear of the site to reduce visibility. Mulkeen said the client reduced the building footprint from 10,000 to 9,000 square feet and added screening and landscaping. "These renderings are representative of the Titan Steel plan...the position on the site was developed pushing the building as far to the rear of the site as possible to minimize its appearance from the road," he said.

Mulkeen also quantified the battery storage that prompted questions. He said the applicant proposes to store about 5,000 point‑of‑sale devices whose combined batteries amount to roughly 36 kilowatt‑hours — "roughly, it's even less than what a single Tesla battery size is, and significantly below what the code would allow for total allowance within the building," he testified. He said under the cited code the total allowed for battery storage is much higher and that the building falls below thresholds that would require a sprinkler system for battery storage.

Environmental concerns: An environmental commission member told the board they had visited the property and photographed an active wood‑splitting operation and stacked pallets within what the witness described as the 300‑foot riparian buffer. "I was surprised to find an active commercial wood splitting operation going on," the environmental commission member said, pressing the board for clearer delineation of the buffer and for monumentation or signage to warn future owners and users.

Applicant engineer McCallum McGuire (Stonefield) responded that the existing parking and some conditions predate the riparian rules and are grandfathered, but she and the applicant agreed to work with board professionals on signage to delineate the riparian buffer and to remove unauthorized materials in the buffer. The applicant also committed to submit a freshwater‑wetlands Letter of Interpretation (LOI) and geotechnical testing as part of resolution compliance.

Conditions and limits: The board made approval contingent on several conditions discussed in testimony and by professionals: placement of signage or other delineation for the riparian buffer, an explicit condition limiting the shed to low‑hazard storage (no storage of bulk flammable or hazardous materials), a landscape maintenance or irrigation plan to ensure proposed screening survives, submission of the wetlands LOI and geotech testing, verification that the Holmdel fire marshal’s comments (if any) are addressed, and removal of the stacked wood/pallets from the buffer prior to resolution signoff.

Traffic and site circulation: Traffic engineer Kennedy testified that turning templates for refuse, delivery and the Holmdel fire truck were prepared and that the drive aisles and curb radii are adequate for the proposed uses; the fire marshal reviewed revised turning templates for Holmdel apparatus and raised no circulation objections.

The vote and next steps: The board took a roll‑call vote on the motion to approve the plan subject to the stated conditions and the motion passed. The board asked applicant representatives to provide the required documentation for resolution compliance (detailed architectural/building permit drawings, wetlands LOI, geotech testing, and a landscape maintenance plan) and to confirm removal of the pallet/wood stacks from the riparian area.

Votes at a glance: The meeting also approved two consent resolutions earlier in the evening — Resolution 2026‑06 (St. Benedict Catholic Church and School, 165 Bethany Road) and Resolution 2026‑07 (Hackensack Meridian Hospital bulk variance requests) — as well as the June 16, 2026 minutes. Those consent items were reported by board professionals as having no outstanding objections and were approved by roll call.

What’s next: The applicant must submit the wetlands LOI, geotechnical testing and final permit drawings for building‑department review and satisfy the board’s resolution conditions before proceeding to final construction permits. The planning board closed the hearing and adjourned; the chair announced that this was their last meeting.

(Reporting based solely on testimony and statements made during the Holmdel Planning Board meeting.)