Planning board reviews amendments to 300 Riders Lane project, focusing on sound wall, parking and clubhouse changes

The planning board reviewed proposed amendments to a previously approved 190-unit residential project at 300 Riders Lane, where the applicant said the revisions respond to site constraints and acoustic mitigation needs.

The presenter said the development remains 190 units across six buildings with 20% affordable units and that the project footprint sits on two lots, 1.06 and 1.12. The applicant identified three exhibits (an aerial, site rendering and a site plan amendment package) and said Exhibit 3 highlights only the requested changes. The presenter summarized: "It is known as 300 Riders Lane, and it's 2 lots." (Presenter)

The most consequential change described to the board was a proposed sound wall along the Turnpike that the applicant cited acoustical advice could be up to 30 feet in the worst-case design. That wall forces reorientation of the adjacent 9-degree parking to parallel stalls; the presenter explained that some spaces are lost by the reorientation and that relocated parking elsewhere on the site recovers many of them. The applicant stated the RSIS-required parking for the site is 330 spaces and that the proposal would meet that requirement by sharing 10 spaces from the adjacent lot. "The required amount of parking spaces for the site is 330 spaces," the presenter said. (Presenter)

On stormwater, a board reviewer raised a problem caused by beaver activity in the large retention basin. The applicant said it coordinated with DEP, trapped and removed the beavers, removed a dam at the basin outlet and installed a so-called 'beaver deceiver' to prevent future damming; the presenter told the board the basin is now functioning as intended. "We were able to trap the beavers and remove them from the basin," the presenter said. (Presenter)

Board members probed circulation and emergency access after the rear drive aisle was reduced from 24 to 22 feet to accommodate the sound wall. The applicant said it ran a turning-template exercise using a large fire-truck template (from a neighboring municipality) and found no access problem, and the board asked the applicant to confirm those results with the local fire official.

Other questions addressed sidewalk continuity, which a board member said is required by the prior resolution to continue along Riders Lane to the property line and further if county approval is obtained; the presenter said the sidewalk connection is shown in materials submitted to the county and that county comments on site access are being addressed. A reviewer also asked the applicant to prepare a dust-control plan and to inspect existing storm sewers for settlement and repair; the applicant agreed to provide both items.

Architectural testimony confirmed building heights remain within the prior allowance (about 39.5 feet where 40 feet is permitted) even after elevation and balcony adjustments, and the applicant said the clubhouse would be modestly enlarged. The architect noted a unit-mix shift of eight market three-bedroom units to one-bedroom units while the total unit count and number of affordable units remain the same.

The board discussed parking demand research; a professional witness cited a 2023 Rutgers study that suggests contemporary apartment parking demand is lower than the 1997 RSIS assumptions and said observed demand might be closer to roughly 242 vehicles for a project of this type, but the board reiterated that RSIS remains the applicable standard for required spaces.

The transcript does not record a formal vote or final decision on the amendments. Next steps discussed included providing county- and agency-requested materials (turning templates, acoustic reports and final exhibit sets), submitting a dust-control plan and confirming fire-department access templates. (Chair)