Green Township Land Use Board advances Andover retail proposal after finding it is not a strip mall

Green Township — The Green Township Land Use Board continued the public hearing on SAKS Properties LLC’s application (LU#2309) to subdivide Block 35 Lot 8 and construct a 6,012-square-foot, single-story commercial building at 57 Decker Pond Road during its March 13, 2025 meeting.

The board voted to find the proposal is not a strip shopping center, after testimony from the applicant’s planner and professionals, and carried the application to the board’s April 10 meeting at 7 p.m. at the Municipal Building for completion of outstanding technical materials and conditions.

Why it matters: The board’s determination that the design does not meet Green Township’s ordinance definition of a strip shopping center clears a key legal and zoning question that could have affected allowable site layout and design standards. Neighbors raised concerns about septic location, stormwater runoff and nighttime lighting; the applicant and its engineers agreed to several site concessions and to provide additional technical reports before the next hearing.

What the applicant proposes: Attorney Jason Rittie said the applicant revised the plan over the past year to reduce the building from a previously larger proposal to a 6,012-square-foot L-shaped structure with three tenant storefronts, leaving the existing liquor/convenience store in place on the original lot. Planner Donna Holmqvist told the board the proposal differs from a strip shopping center under the township ordinance because: the building is not parallel to Decker Pond Road; it includes a courtyard and outdoor seating; parking is arranged in a semicircular layout away from the façade; there are only three storefronts and a reduction in square footage (from an earlier 9,588 sq ft concept to 6,012 sq ft); extensive landscaping is proposed; and the building sits at a topographic separation from the road.

"This is NOT a strip shopping center," board member Kate Douglass moved; the motion passed with eight ayes and one nay (Joseph Cercone).

Site, access and utilities: Applicant engineer Mark Gimigliano presented site exhibits showing conforming setbacks (front yard proposed at 101.7 feet where 60 feet is required), building coverage of 9 percent (25 percent permitted) and impervious coverage of 37.3 percent (75 percent permitted). The plan includes a common-drive easement between the two new lots, 31 parking spaces for the new building plus six spaces retained for the existing liquor store, a screened trash enclosure, and loading access at the rear.

Gimigliano said the project will install a new septic and well; the septic is sized at about 750 gallons per day. "The sewage flow would be 750 gallons per day, which is about the same as a large home," Gimigliano said. Stormwater is proposed to be collected in a front infiltration basin that will discharge to existing piping near Kennedy and Decker Pond Roads; the applicant agreed to a stormwater maintenance plan as a condition.

Lighting, landscaping and buffers: The project proposes ten LED poles, 12 to 15 feet tall, with downward-facing fixtures and a concealed light source. Conflict planner Paul Gleitz asked for a point-by-point foot-candle analysis and recommended limiting lighting to no more than 5 foot-candles at sensitive edges because of the site’s isolated character. The plan calls for 50-foot and 60-foot buffer zones at sensitive property lines, a 3-foot berm topped with Green Giant arborvitae and a 6-foot privacy fence behind the building, and additional planting near a church and a neighboring residence.

Public concerns and applicant responses: Neighbors questioned whether the remaining lot could later be redeveloped into a larger retail complex; the applicant presented a concept showing any future building would be substantially smaller than the zone maximum. Jake Nunn, whose property borders the proposed septic area, asked about runoff and leaching; Gimigliano said the septic is a pump system designed to leach in place and that grading runoff will be collected into the proposed basin. Several residents raised lighting and late-night illumination concerns; the applicant said most poles will be extinguished one hour after close of business and that only minimal security lighting would remain overnight. The applicant also agreed to replace a proposed Zelkova tree species with a noninvasive alternative and to expand arborvitae plantings and a privacy fence where neighbors requested additional screening.

Signage, EV and site constraints: The plan includes a monument sign within the shared-easement area and three tenant building-mounted signs (two of which require variances because they do not face the road). The design includes two EV parking spaces (one installed, one "make-ready") and two ADA spaces. The applicant pledged to provide structural drawings for the proposed retaining walls and to limit tractor-trailer access; engineers said the site will be designed for box trucks and fire apparatus only.

Votes at a glance: The board memorialized adoption of the Master Plan and Master Plan Reexamination Report earlier in the meeting on a motion by Rick Wilson, seconded by Kate Douglass, with all eligible members voting aye. On the LU#2309 procedural question, the board voted that the proposal is not a strip shopping center (ayes: Robert Cahill, Kate Douglass, Jenny Kobilinski, John Lynch, Jason Miller, Sharon Mullen, Rick Wilson, Scott Holzhauer; nay: Joseph Cercone).

Next steps: The applicant carried the application to the board’s April 10, 2025 meeting at 7 p.m. at the Municipal Building and will provide a foot-candle lighting analysis, retaining-wall structural plans, a stormwater maintenance plan, finalized easement language covering access and utilities, and any requested landscaping revisions before the continued hearing.