WESTWOOD, N.J.—The next Zoning Board hearing is Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. Depending on board concerns and time allotted, the Zoning Board might vote on the application then.
A third virtual hearing on the revised microbrewery application was held Sept. 14, with more than 50 participants logged on for an hourlong discussion that mostly focused on rooftop occupancy, noise concerns, illumination, and available parking during peak downtown hours.
The proposed microbrewery is named Five Dimes Brewery in honor of the former business, LN Grand Five and Dime, that occupied the site for six decades, said Christopher Alepa, principal of 247 Westwood Avenue LLC. Alepa is a local chiropractor and owner of Select Wellness.
Microbreweries were envisioned as a permitted use as a result of the Planning Board’s review of the borough land use and development regulations.
Following months of hearings, several modifications to the Master Plan, referred to in a reexamination report on June 25, were flagged for the mayor and council’s consideration.
A winery or brewery affiliated tasting room as a permitted use would be subject to the same limitations as a restaurant downtown. There are new possibilities for rooftop use.
Green roof options depend on cost
A letter submitted Sept. 11 from applicant architect Vincent J. Cioffi, addressing previous concerns, noted that all Zoning Board presentations “are at the schematic level” and that the applicant “respectfully reserves the right to eliminate the green roof if he so chooses for reasons due to the possibility of prohibitive costs of construction or other reasons that make a green roof not practical or feasible.”
Cioffi said the applicant may substitute “artificial turf and potted plants or landscaping or some combination of both” on the green roof. The architect said final construction costs—available after hypothetical project approval—will determine what final green options are used on the roof.
Discussions continued about illumination, limiting maximum rooftop occupancy to 40 people, and individuals exiting the rooftop tables and atrium area following closing time. Approximately 15 minutes following final closing time (10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday) will be allowed for rooftop customers to leave the rooftop after closing times.
The proposed brewery’s rooftop atrium will enclose 14 of the 28 customer seats that will occupy the rooftop and the atrium will be open year-round. At any one time, there will be no more than 40 patrons on the roof, either sitting or standing, state revised plans presented Aug. 3.
Board Planner Steve Lydon questioned applicant traffic and parking expert Michael Maris, of Michael Maris Associates Inc., Mahwah, about a June 2020 parking study. Maris said the surveys that the parking study was based on were conducted based on data supplied by Alepa who conducted his counts in February and early March, pre-Covid-19 retail shutdowns.
Maris said an average person would walk up to 1,000 feet to get to a restaurant, which was a little over four minutes to walk. He said his study found no fewer than 82 parking spaces available during peak hours
Lydon questioned whether Maris looked at other so-called “limited breweries” near a downtown central business district, similar to Westwood. Maris said when he was retained, many offices and businesses were already closed due to the pandemic.
He said a large limited brewery near Giants Stadium was also shuttered then and could not be used for comparison.
A possible streetside drop-off zone for customers coming via ride-share was suggested but concerns about pedestrian and traffic safety, and reduced nearby parking, appeared to nix the future possibility.
Maris said that the proposed brewery “probably [doesn’t] want to do that” and suggested that the brewery management let ride-share drivers [such as with Uber and Lyft] drop off customers in the facility’s rear parking area.
Resident Joseph Blundo, a nearby business owner, questioned Maris’s estimate of non-car-related customers as approximately 20 percent of the brewery’s clientele. He wondered whether that was statistically verified.
In response, Maris cited a hotel study he conducted in Hoboken that found that 30 percent of customers got there by ride-sharing, public transportation, and on foot.
Blundo wondered about the data supplied by Alepa for the parking study, noting Alepa had a “vested interest” in the parking study’s results. Maris said the parking data Alepa presented was “legitimate and appropriate… otherwise I wouldn’t have used them.”
Maris said Alepa’s parking surveys were conducted 5 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
During the August hearing, Cioffi explained that the newly proposed rooftop atrium would help shield nearby neighbors from possible rooftop noise or light and that a barrier on one side of the atrium could further help shield neighbors from noise and light.
“The applicant believes that the addition of the atrium enclosure, the reduction of hours of operation, and the limitations of seating will address concerns that may be made and make this a much-improved application,” applicant attorney John J. Lamb said in a July 22 letter to the Zoning Board.
Alepa said Aug. 3 that the brewery will offer pretzels, potato chips, and nuts—not a food menu—to patrons. He said customers are likely to bring in takeout from nearby eateries.