Edison neighbors 'in an uproar' over residential warehouse expansion plan

EDISON – Residents living near the C+A Global warehouse in their Tived Lane East neighborhood crowded last week’s Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting, to hear plans to expand the building by nearly 100,000 square feet.

But they didn't get a chance to speak because the board only heard testimony from three of the applicant's five planned witnesses. Testimony is scheduled to continue at the board's Oct. 24 meeting.

With plans calling to expand the warehouse to 378,930 square feet, increase the interior height of the building as well as increase the number of loading docks to 23, when 10 currently exist, as well as the number of parking spaces, neighbors are concerned about noise and traffic.

John Niemiera, a Morris Avenue resident, is concerned he and his neighbors will be living next to the equivalent of an Amazon distribution center. He helped organized a meeting with neighbors from the Bonhamtown section town before the meeting, to let them know how the application might impact them.

"The neighborhood is in an uproar. We don't need any more truck traffic," said Niemiera, who also is concerned about flooding in the area.

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C+A Global, headquartered in Edison at 114 Tived Lane East, and located in a residential business zone between Interstate 287 and the New Jersey Turnpike, is engaged in the design, manufacturing and distribution of consumer products and photographic equipment, according to the company's website. Products include electronics, housewares and gadgets.

It’s seeking preliminary and final major site plan approval, use and bulk variances to expand the existing warehouse by constructing a 94,227-square-foot addition, along with site improvements including landscaping, lighting, signage, parking and stormwater management infrastructure. A use variance is needed to expand the existing nonconforming warehouse use in an area where it is not permitted. The warehouse use has existed since around the 1950s, before some of the houses were constructed.

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During last Tuesday's meeting, C+A Global attorney Jason Tuvel said the goal is to modernize and improve the existing warehouse that has been there for decades, by improving the facility as well as the site.

He said C+A Global is looking to improve the stormwater management, separate passenger vehicles and truck traffic, upgrade landscaping by including buffers along the residential properties, install LED lighting and locate all the loading docks in the southern end of the building facing the New Jersey Turnpike. Currently some of the loading docks face Tived Lane East and residential properties.

Tuvel said the hours of operation are scheduled to remain 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, closed Saturday and only open on Sundays during the holiday season.

James Henry of Dynamic Engineering, the civil engineer for the project, said there are 166 existing parking spaces, and 177 are required. He said there are plans to remove an outdoor storage area and a generator on the southeast corner of the property near the residences and relocate it away from the homes. A water tower also is slated to be removed, along with a sign and billboard along the New Jersey Turnpike.

"We're trying to move all of the activity that could be considered a nuisance to the southerly side of the building away from the residential uses," Henry said.

He said the Colonial Pipeline is close to the site, just south of the property line, but not on the property. Representatives from the pipeline company have been asked to witness any construction near the pipeline.

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Henry said plans call for 23 loading docks, so the trucks don't have to wait to unload. Currently Tived Lane is used as a truck staging area. There also are plans to include signs prohibiting trucks from idling on Tived Lane.

Architect Charles Dietz said the building has different heights in different sections. Plans call to raise the roof to provide maximum space for racking. He said the exterior color of the building will be changed from an off-white and gray to an earth-tone brown. The building is slated to be fully sprinklered and be ADA-compliant. Construction is expected to take about 15 months.

Traffic engineer Craig Peregoy said traffic counts were taken at the facility on Wednesday, March 8 and Thursday, March 9, 2023, from 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and found there was a spike in traffic in the morning and evening when employees were arriving and leaving the warehouse.

He said truck traffic was spread throughout the day with about 20 trucks per day, and at the most four or five trucks in one hour. An additional three or five more trucks per day is anticipated with the expansion, but 10 at the most.

A board member asked why there is a need for a total of 23 loading docks if only an additional three or five trucks per day is anticipated with the expansion. The board member said with 23 loading docks, he feels the traffic will remain the same.

Another board member said it doesn't matter what is done to the warehouse because the traffic pattern is not changing, and the applicant is adding more traffic in the neighborhood.

Peregoy said three trucks over the course of an eight-hour day wouldn't be noticed. The board member then asked why so many loading docks are needed. Peregoy said the operation is inefficient without a sufficient number of loading docks.

"There are trucks waiting on site, waiting on Tived Lane. There are complaints from the neighbors of trucks idling and parked where they are not supposed to be because there isn't a loading dock available," Peregoy said. "It's a very minimal increase in truck traffic. The loading docks don't generate the traffic, the loading docks are used by the trucks. The business, the warehouse itself generates the traffic. The loading docks make it more efficient."

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 residential warehouse expansion has neighbors 'in an uproar'