TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—The Zoning Board of Adjustment will vote on a resolution of denial at its June 20, 7:30 p.m. meeting that memorializes its rejection of a proposed Four Seasons Marketplace’s 17,100-square-foot retail plaza at Pascack Road and Washington Avenue.
After six hearings over seven months, with a months-long delay while the applicant answered review comments about its traffic impact study, Zoning Board members voted, 6-1, on May 16 to reject the application for a two-building mini-mall on one of the township’s busiest corners.
Following the vote, no public comments were made by Zoning Board members.
Applicant attorney Bruce Whitaker told Pascack Press then that the applicant, 660 Pascack Realty LLC, was “disappointed with the decision” and was “weighing its options.” He said that his client believed it had “met our burden of proof” under New Jersey’s Municipal Land Use Law.
Contacted about the upcoming June 20 meeting, Whitaker said he had no comment as there was not a resolution of denial yet to comment on. Whitaker has not indicated whether his client plans to appeal the decision or pursue another option.
Following the decision, Pascack Press reached out to nearby neighbors, including many who strongly opposed the retail development. Most said they could not see any benefits from putting a small shopping plaza at the newly expanded and improved intersection.
Bergen County paid for most of the improvements, while the township purchased property easements to allow expansion.
Boswell Engineering, the township engineer, reviewed the applicant traffic consultant’s study and found 15 concerns, which were addressed by the consultant, who did additional traffic counts and accessed historical traffic data before a final traffic presentation on May 16.
Applicant 660 Pascack Realty LLC, majority-owned by Seasons Catering principal owner James Kourgelis, applied in October 2022 for a use variance on the 2.4-acre site to construct a commercial shopping plaza with two buildings and up to 11 shops, including a restaurant, on land zoned for single-family homes.
Three of five homes on the site have sat vacant and deteriorating for over a decade, marked by large “X” signs on entryways to indicate that they are not safe to enter. The homes were recently cited as “nuisances” under the township’s property code, as were a half-dozen more properties.