EMERSON, N.J.—The Land Use Board said a proposed 122-unit assisted living facility at 70 Main St. would need a substantial redesign to fit the surrounding residential neighborhood. The board voted 5–0 on Oct. 15 to adopt a resolution spelling out why it rejected the plan in September.
Home for the Armenian Aged, Inc., sought to demolish its former nursing home and build a 2 1/2-story, 125-bed assisted living facility on the 3.5-acre site. The board voted 6–1 on Sept. 17 to deny the application after six hearings that began in January.
The property is in the borough’s R-7.5 single-family residential zone, where an assisted living facility is not a permitted use. The applicant also sought permission to exceed the zone’s 32-foot height limit. The proposed building would have risen 43.5 feet on Main Street and 40.5 feet on Broad Street. A proposed exit driveway on Broad Street would have met the Samuel Street intersection, where borough rules require at least 50 feet of separation.
In its 17-page resolution, the board cited the building’s size and height, the amount of land it would cover or disturb, and the way vehicles would enter, exit and move around the property. Members concluded that attaching conditions to an approval would leave those concerns unresolved.
“Materially reducing those detriments would require a substantial redesign of the application, not merely the imposition of reasonable conditions,” the board wrote.
Over the course of the hearings, the applicant presented testimony on facility operations, architecture, engineering, planning, traffic and stormwater. At the Sept. 17 hearing, eight people spoke after more than two hours of expert testimony. Three expressed support, and five questioned or opposed the proposal. Some residents said they could support a smaller facility or one at another location. School district officials also raised concerns about student safety.
The former Armenian Nursing and Rehabilitation Center closed in April 2021. Its remaining residents transferred to nearby nursing facilities.
A notice of the board’s decision appeared Oct. 25 in The Record–Herald News. Officials told Pascack Press the applicant has 45 days from publication of the notice to file an appeal. Brian Chewcaskie, the applicant’s attorney, did not respond to a request for comment by press time.