Appeal hearing set in Edison zoning approval of Charlie Brown's redevelopment
EDISON – The Township Council will decide next month whether a developer's plan to build seven duplex homes at the Plainfield Road site of the shuttered Charlie Brown's will proceed.
An Oct. 12 hearing has been set for a resident's appeal of the Zoning Board of Adjustment's approval of the project which neighbors, who wanted single-family homes built at the site, have been fighting for more than a year.
The hearing comes after resident Nick Fagan mentioned the deadline for the council to act on the appeal is Nov. 1, and there are only three council meetings scheduled before that date.
Council President Joe Coyle said the October date will give council members enough time to go through the packet of information.
Township Attorney Louis Rainone said the appeal process is similar to the state Appellate Division’s in which the council will rely on the existing record established at zoning board hearings, including transcripts.
Rainone said the appellant has the right to be heard at the hearing, as well as the applicant.
"And the arguments are based upon the record. You can't add new testimony," Rainone said.
Township resident Joel Bassoff sent a letter to the township clerk last month requesting the council reverse, vacate or deny the use variance granted by the zoning board in late June to Markim Developers to build the duplex homes on the Plainfield Road site.
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In the notice of appeal, Bassoff states the applicant failed to show the use variance will not substantially impair the intent and purpose of the zone plan and failed to prove the site is suitable for a multi-family townhouse among other arguments.
The notice also states the zoning board impaired the intent and purpose of the zoning ordinance and master plan, usurped the Township Council's authority in determining the appropriate zoning regulations for the parcel and engaged in illegal spot zoning.
Bassoff's appeal was not unexpected. Residents fought plans to build townhouses on the 2-acre site at 222 Plainfield Road for more than a year. The property, located adjacent to a neighborhood of single-family homes and the Metuchen Golf and Country Club, is zoned for a golf course and had been used by the restaurant for years before the business closed about two years ago.
The zoning board's approval allows Markim Developers to build seven two-bedroom, age-restricted duplexes for the project called The Links at Edison. The plan was modified from a 2021 proposal which called for 23 three-story, three-bedroom townhouses on the property, as well as an earlier plan this year for eight duplexes.
The plans show each unit with a garage, equipped with an electric vehicle charging station, dining room, family room, powder room, kitchen and dinette on the first floor. A main bedroom with a walk-in closet and bathroom, a second bedroom, sitting area, another bathroom and laundry area are planned for the second floor, along with an office area in the attic and a basement. The units will have elevators in the kitchen behind the staircase. The zoning board restricted the attic from being converted into a bedroom.
The project, which is designed to prohibit children under age 19 if allowed by law, is planned for a section of heavily traveled Plainfield Road near Woodrow Wilson Middle School and Woodbrook Elementary School in Edison and St. Joseph High School in nearby Metuchen.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Edison NJ Charlie Brown's redevelopment appeal hearing set
