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Proposed Upper Montclair swim school draws residentsscrutiny over parking and spillover
Summary
Residents and business owners told the Montclair Planning Board they fear a 10‑space on‑site allowance and the applicant's parking model will push SwimQuest users into already constrained public lots and neighborhood streets; the applicant's traffic expert said 263 nearby public spaces plus 10 on‑site stalls meet modeled peak demand, while the township consultant warned weekend peaks could erase that margin.
The Planning Board continued its hearing on a site‑plan application for a proposed SwimQuest at 580 Valley Road after hours of public comment about parking, circulation and safety.
Attorney Alan Tremiolak told the board the applicant's traffic expert, Matthew Seckler, had modeled an inner catchment area with 263 nearby public spaces and said the swim school would provide 10 on‑site spaces. "We assume during the peak time periods that there would be 18 children in the pool ... So all the peak hours would assume that there'd be 36 children in the pool," Seckler testified, and the charts he presented overlaid the swim school's expected demand atop counts from October and May surveys.
Local business owners and residents said that accounting does not match day‑to‑day experience. "It's a concern because if 1 person does it and they see it, they don't get a ticket, they don't worry about it," said Justin Jesser, a resident, describing drivers who wait or park in marginal or illegal spots. Holly Felber, who owns Barbara Eclectic at 594 Valley Road, asked whether a painted stripe delimiting fire‑department property would be respected and warned: "It's something that I observe daily, the movement of the cars."
Seckler said his counts included three municipal lots and on‑street spaces and that, at peak, the swim school's net public demand would be about 26 spaces after accounting for the 10 on‑site stalls and typical carpooling. He offered a lot‑by‑lot breakdown when asked by the board: "96 in the Bellevue lot, 68 in Bellevue Erie and 60 in Upper Montclair Plaza," plus additional on‑street spaces, he said.
Township parking consultant Giosa disputed some assumptions and cautioned about Saturdays and special events, when lot use rises. Giosa said his review found the applicant's charts "not incorrect, but incomplete" because they did not fully account for employee parking, firefighters who sometimes parked on the site, and Bellevue Theatre demand. He warned that the small modeled excess in the 263‑space zone could evaporate on busy weekends.
The board asked the applicant to clarify where staff and operators will park, to reconcile meter and permit counts in Bellevue Erie, and to provide an itemized list of which lots contribute to the 263 space total. The application was continued to Sept. 14 so the planner can testify and the applicant can meet with the fire department and provide updated exhibits.
What's next: The board set a Sept. 14 continuation and asked the applicant to return with reconciled lot counts, clearer employee parking plans, and a proposed solution for on‑street delineation adjacent to the firehouse.
