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Developer seeks zoning tweaks for Valley Square redevelopment; parking study recommends lower mixed‑use ratios
Summary
Developers and consultants presented a plan to add approximately 213 apartments at Valley Square and requested amendments to E38 mixed‑use parking standards and parking‑structure design rules. A parking study showed spare capacity and recommended lower parking rates plus a certified shared‑parking reduction option; supervisors asked for traffic analysis and further staff review before final steps.
Attorney Carrie Nason and representatives from Woodfield Development described a conditional‑use plan to redevelop a portion of Valley Square with an apartment building (roughly 213 units) and an accessory parking garage. The applicant requested two zoning‑text changes for E38 mixed‑use areas: reduce retail parking from 5 to 4 spaces per 1,000 square feet, lower office from 5 to 3.2 per 1,000, and reduce residential requirement from 2.5 to 2 per unit; additionally the applicant sought a code change to permit ramped parking levels in accessory parking structures when upper levels are assigned to residents and conditional‑use approval is obtained.
Traffic and parking consultant David Horner summarized a two‑pronged analysis: a comparison of current ordinance rates with ITE national guidance and targeted parking counts at Valley Square. Horner reported that the recommended mixed‑use rates exceed ITE 85th‑percentile guidance for stand‑alone uses but are lower than the township’s existing ordinance, and that on peak Saturday observations the center was about 50–60% occupied in one analysis and projected to be roughly 78% occupied when residential demand is included—leaving spare capacity. Horner said the study supports a 15% shared‑parking reduction if a certified analysis is completed.
Supervisors flagged concerns about traffic on the 611 corridor, the absence of a dedicated traffic study at this stage, potential changes in center tenancy over time (restaurants vs. other retail), and construction impacts. Developer representatives said Wegmans and other property owners provided waivers allowing residential use on the applicant’s parcel and that staff will continue parking and traffic coordination; staff asked authorization to draft a zoning text amendment limited to parking, which the board approved to allow further staff work and future review by the board.
