TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—A March Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing date is possible on a new site plan application by Apple Montessori Schools to build a 154-student preschool on the former Charlie Brown’s property.
As soon as the hearing date is finalized, it will be posted on the Zoning Board website, said the board secretary.
The application, for 95 Linwood Ave., was originally submitted in September 2022 and has been undergoing review from Zoning Board professionals for completeness and applicant professionals, including engineers and planners.
The applicant has applied for a “D” or use variance to construct a school on a site currently zoned for single-family homes only, said officials.
A Pascack Press reporter scanned a box of application documents submitted Jan. 30, including a preliminary and final site plan application, site maps and photos, a traffic study, and documents including a “preliminary list” of zoning variances and waivers being requested.
Among the materials is a mockup of a “monument” style sign indicating “Apple Montessori Schools / Summer Camp / Swimming Lessons / Phone Number / Ages 2–5 years.”
Zoning Board secretary Grace Kalish said the application documents would be posted when a hearing date is confirmed and documents arrive in digital format.
Preliminary variances cover front-yard setbacks and maximum building height. For example, the variances’ list submitted by Dynamic Engineering Consultants of Lake Como notes maximum building height as 2.5 stories and 30 feet.
The applicant requests a variance due to its proposed structure being two stories and 36 feet, 6 inches high. Under Parking Requirements, the applicant requests a variance from the parking space minimum of 180 square feet. Its proposed spaces are 162 square feet in size.
Other parking variances requested include a variance from the required 108 parking spaces; 34 spaces are proposed. Waivers requested include five waivers on a Zoning Board checklist and a request for waivers on two items from a Planning Board checklist.
Brushed back by town over dropped DPW bid
Apple Montessori Schools was first interested in the 1.45-acre parcel and was pushed aside in early 2022 after the township placed a $1.35 million bid on the site, threatening condemnation if the owner did not negotiate with them.
Erica Amon, Apple Montessori Schools’ vice president of development, originally called into a council meeting last January and revealed the township was pursuing the property,
She also let Pascack Press know last year the company had submitted an application.
The township’s bid matched the prior Apple Montessori bid. However, following due diligence and site environmental reports that found remnants of underground piping from a prior gas station, the council unanimously voted in June 2022 not to purchase the property.
In September, a school representative told Pascack Press that their environmental consultant had no concerns about site contamination when they submitted an initial site application last fall.
Initially, the council hoped to use 95 Linwood Ave. to site a new public works facility, after razing their DPW building due to toxic soil contamination, but residents here and in neighboring Paramus opposed the move, citing traffic, noise, pollution, and public safety issues.
Mayor Peter Calamari then proposed using 95 Linwood for a new police department headquarters but council and public sentiment was mixed. Eventually, faced with paying to further investigate contamination concerns related to a prior gas station use, the council voted to not purchase the property.
Amon told us that the private school will educate infants and toddlers, and feature preschool programs for a maximum of 154 children.
She said the school will have a “residential feel” and include a swimming pool.
She said last year that the plan is to keep the main school building “as far away from residents” as possible nearer the Garden State Parkway side of the property.
She said she hoped residents would see it as a “beneficial asset to the community” as opposed to a DPW building or a restaurant.
She said their application includes a “full traffic study” and that the planned facility will be a two-story structure mostly hidden from neighbors by landscaping.
Apple Montessori Schools has been operating in New Jersey for 50 years, said Amon. She said 16 of its preschools operate in north and central New Jersey.