An applicant traffic consultant for a 100-bed assisted living facility proposed at 620 Pascack Road said the facility will generate “much less traffic” than a previous tennis and fitness facility there and have no impact on the busy Washington Avenue-Pascack Road intersection.
Nathan Mosley, Dynamic Engineering, a traffic consultant hired by applicant Capitol Senior Homes, told a virtual second hearing July 21 that a traffic analysis he conducted showed the new assisted living facility “is a good complement to the roadways around them” as during peak hours it only generates 19 morning trips and 26 evening trips. Trips are vehicles entering or leaving the facility, he said.
He said he based the analysis on a 100-bed facility and emphasized that assisted living facilities are “not major trip generators.” He said the analysis accounted for nearby townhome development Washington Commons’ traffic volume and 2,600 vehicles per peak traffic hour at the Pascack Road-Washington Avenue junction.
Mosley said actual traffic counts were conducted between 7 and 9 a.m. and 2 and 6 p.m., with peak traffic hours being 7:15–8:15 a.m. and 4:15–5:15 p.m.
Chairman Fred Goetz wondered whether increased traffic on Saturdays for local shopping due to the county’s Blue Laws that prohibit certain shopping activities on Sunday, might affect Saturday traffic volumes.
He requested that Mosley conduct a Saturday traffic study. Mosley said his traffic projections were based on ITE (Institute of Transportation Engineers) data and computer modeling and supplemented by actual traffic counts.
‘Chelsea at Pascack’
The complex, identified as “Chelsea at Pascack” on engineer drawings, provides 56 parking spaces for 85 units with 95 total beds. Addressing concerns about additional parking needs, Mosley said the 56 spaces offer “more than sufficient parking” and that similar assisted living facilities show that 56 spaces “is more than enough parking to accommodate units and visitors to the site.”
Mosley said RSIS state standards for required parking are 0.53 spaces per unit, and the facility provides .66 spaces per unit.
Answering Goetz’s inquiry, Mosley said facility traffic volumes “did not generate enough traffic” to have a traffic signal installed, nor was it necessary for safe or efficient access, he added.
Applicant architect Dan King, Meyer Architecture, said there will be four rooftop HVAC units that will be screened from view of nearby neighbors’ homes. He said the two-story building height tops out at 33 feet high, where the tennis club roofline peaks at 40 feet.
He said the facility’s architecture will incorporate Georgian and Federalist styles and that neighbors’ concerns about the facility fitting in would be considered. He said the styles selected make the complex “much more elegant for this particular site…and it’s our goal to make this a landmark for the community and to have people feel really good about it as they drive up and down Pascack Road,” said King.
King said one 250-kilowatt natural gas generator will be on the roof to handle emergency lights, one elevator and selected heating/AC systems should a power outage occur. He said four separate refuge areas would be arranged for residents to go to that are close to their units.
Goetz repeated a concern that the proposal’s single bank of two elevators might not be adequate but King said this has worked out fine at similar assisted living facilities.
Resident Diane Ferrara praised the complex’s design as “quite lovely” but questioned what might happen if the natural gas-supplied generator’s fuel supply should be cut off. King said “generally speaking, natural gas is an uninterrupted source of energy and it’s rare when it’s cut off.”
After Ferrara noted the former tennis club installed a rooftop fan that could be heard in her nearby Amherst Drive home, she asked whether HVAC equipment had been selected. King said no HVAC had been chosen yet but noted a sound engineer could help minimize noise.
The proposed redevelopment at 620 Pascack Road will require a use variance and a height variance for a principal structure which exceeds by 10 feet or 10 percent the maximum height permitted under borough code. The structure encompasses about 77,956 square feet in size.
The development will provide 10 affordable housing unit credits to the Township due to Medicaid beds at the facility, officials said.
450 Pascack Road
plan submitted
At the meeting’s start, two residents offered comments on an application for a proposed 48-unit senior (55-plus) complex on 3.1 acres at 450 Pascack Road—a narrow but deep strip of land next to Memorial Field and Washington Elementary School.
Zoning Board Secretary Barbara Coleman said July 21 that the application by developer Nick Tsapatsaris was “just recently submitted” and under a 45-day statutory review period for completeness.
Tsapatsaris is a registered engineer and architect, and president of Lakos Construction Inc., who will build the proposed 55-plus apartment and townhome complex.
Leonard Sabino, White Birch Road, offered comment but said he was speaking as a citizen and not a Planning Board member. He urged the Zoning Board to look at the Master Plan approved in 2014 that includes objectives to maintain and preserve residential neighborhoods in town and preserve and enhance the town’s environment.
Ferrara, of Amherst Drive, said a “huge crowd of residents” were interested in the 450 Pascack Road application and Goetz assured her that the board would post the hearing date and agenda at least a week or more in advance.
In Pascack Press’ July 20 edition, neighbors alleged that the proposed 44-unit rental apartment complex and four townhome units would adversely affect public safety by increasing traffic near an adjacent elementary school and recreational field. Neighbors said the high-density apartment complex was out-of-character in a single-family residential zone and planned to mobilize against the proposal.
Tsapatsaris, the developer, told Pascack Press that the two townhomes near Pascack Road were intended to blend in with surrounding single-family homes while the 44-unit apartment complex “is purposefully hidden in the center of the property” to allow the underground parking area to be hidden from view.
The next Zoning Board meeting is Aug. 18. No agenda was posted at press time.