Livingston planning board approves two identification signs for East Northfield medical office

The Livingston Planning Board voted to approve a preliminary and final major site plan and associated variances allowing Alterra Northfield LLC to install two ground-mounted identification signs at Block 2504 Lot 2349 on East Northfield Road.

Applicant representative John Tomasi presented two witnesses: signage expert David Prucil of Sign Source and professional planner Catherine Gregory. Prucil described tight site constraints — the building sits close to the street with virtually no front setback — and said the proposed front tenant directory will be a ‘‘small’’ cabinet about 5 feet tall and 6 feet wide, with the top of the sign roughly 7 feet above the adjacent sidewalk. "The sign that we're proposing is quite small. It's, it's 5 feet high, 60 inches tall, 6 feet wide," Prucil said. He testified both signs will be aluminum, unlit and mounted using direct-burial posts set below the frost line, and that the rear parking-lot sign will be double-sided so drivers in both directions can see the information.

Planner Catherine Gregory told the board the parcel presents unusual hardships — including an irregular lot shape and a retaining wall — and argued the application meets the positive and negative criteria for c(1)/c(2) sign variances under local land-use standards. "So I do believe that the sign setbacks are warranted," Gregory said, adding the proposal is consistent with goals in the borough's 2018 master plan related to safe transportation and clear identification of buildings.

Board members asked detailed questions about visibility from Cedar and from drivers approaching the Northfield traffic light, whether moving the signs into the county right-of-way might improve sight lines, and the potential impacts of snow plowing or adjacent vegetation. The applicant said the plans were revised so both signs will sit at a 0-foot clearance inside the property line (no intrusion into county or municipal right-of-way) and that the signs will not remove or interfere with existing parking spaces. The applicant also confirmed that if the sign faces are later changed or enlarged to add more tenant names, they would return to the board for approval.

After deliberation, a motion to approve the preliminary and final site plan with the requested sign variances was moved and seconded; the board voted in favor and the clerk announced, "Motion carries." The record shows the roll-call votes as affirmative by the members present and the application was accepted.