TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—Apple Montessori Schools, which plans to construct an early childhood education school at 95 Linwood Ave., prominent site of a defunct Charlie Brown’s restaurant, was granted a one-year extension of the Zoning Board’s 2023 approval of its amended site plan application.
The board on Aug. 20 voted, 5-0, to approve the extension following a brief discussion.
The amended site plan, approved last summer, reduced the size of the school from 2.5 stories to one and reduced the overall building size from approximately 18,743 square feet to 10,469. The first-story footprint increased from 8,000 square feet to approximately 10,469 square feet. Thirty-three onsite parking spaces are planned.
See Zoning Board Resolution 23-08 for full details. The resolution, approved in August 2023, can be found on the board’s website. For prior Pascack Press articles, search Montessori on our website.
Residents watching the property—closed since the 2020 pandemic and acquired by Apple Montessori School in 2022—can expect to see construction commence on the school’s amended site plan this year or in 2025.
Attorney Duncan Prime of Prime, Tuvel & Miceli in Hackensack said that Montessori was required to seek a one-year extension of its Zoning Board site plan approval if construction did not commence within one year of approval.
The board’s approval included a use variance for the site, which is in the township’s “AA” or residential zone. The Montessori school was considered an inherently beneficial use for the site, a major reason for its Zoning Board approval.
Prior to the school’s purchase of the site, the township—threatening possible eminent domain—moved to purchase the site in early 2022 for a new Department of Public Works facility and later for a possible expanded police department headquarters. Pushback from residents here and in Paramus, and mounting costs on environmental studies, combined to scuttle both possible uses.
However, Apple Montessori School officials told Pascack Press in late 2022 that they had no concerns about contamination based on their due diligence.
We reported last July that a revised site plan application for the Apple Montessori School showed a square footage of nearly 56% less, and not two stories, as the Zoning Board of Adjustment approved in March, but now rather one.
The school was proposed to host a camp and accommodate 154 youngsters on site. Approximately 60 people, including teachers and administrative staff, will likely be employed at the facility, with generally no more than 25 workers on site at any one time, the applicant said in March 2023.
Those numbers did not change in the wake of the amended application, said the attorney.
About Apple Montessori Schools
According to AppleMontessoriSchools.com, when you enter an Apple Montessori classroom “What you won’t see is a teacher standing in front of a classroom delivering a lecture. Instead, you’ll find children engaged in various age-appropriate activities, guided by their teacher and motivated to learn by their natural interests and capabilities.”
The site says, “You might find a child busy with a button-sewing project in one area, while another child completes a puzzle nearby. These carefully selected activities, and many others, are hands-on projects that children can engage in and experience for themselves, when they choose. The activities encourage children to use all five senses to discover the world around them.”
The site notes, “Within the Montessori philosophy of child development and education, the teacher’s role is to observe the students and facilitate learning by guiding and mentoring them in their individual learning journeys.”