Future still undecided for one of Mahwah's 'most important' redevelopment plans
MAHWAH — No action was taken on a preliminary and final site plan and soil movement application to build two warehouses on what is now the Sheraton Crossroads hotel property at the township's Planning Board meeting Monday.
The hearing was carried without a vote to Sept. 11 for what applicant attorney James Jaworski described as "one of the most important applications you're going to hear in a long long time" because it addresses the fate of 143 acres of land at the intersection of Routes 17, 87 and 287. The application maps alone run 38 pages plus a 10-page supplement.
The 2½-hour session was mostly consumed with testimony by applicant engineer Tony Diggan confirming board questions about how the two-phase site plan complies with various township statutes, including:
Hydrant location, particularly reducing distance between hydrants if a fire is too close to one hydrant to make it accessible.
Truck idling rules will comply with state statutes limiting idling to three minutes, or 15 if the temperature falls below 25 degrees.
Plantings to replace 55 trees on the site total 800 evergreen, deciduous and ornamental native species,
Lighting will include a total of 60 30-foot-tall pole lights with shields to prevent lighting from going off the premises.
Runoff will be filtered through a combination of riprap, storage basins and "bio-filtration" to minimize damaging runoff into the adjacent Ramapo River.
Fate of the so-called "Black Bridge" over the Ramapo River, which once served Ford Motor Plant railroad employees, was left in question until its ownership can be determined. Mayor James Wysocki declared the bridge a "hazard" for which demolishing would be the "ideal."
A "traffic reduction" will result from substituting warehouse trucks for cars from an 800-unit housing complex. Diggin said that as a result, the applicant has a "no-interest" letter from the state Department of Transportation.
Resident Thomas Dylan of Bergen Place questioned whether lighting would be adequate for security without imposing on his property, as well as refuse collection and pickups on site. Resident Armando "Max" Pavon of Highland Road questioned who would enforce the state's idling rules on the property.
Township Planner Darlene Green went through a history of the site. Property surrounding the hotel was designated for mixed multi-housing/retail in 2015. In 2018 it was rezoned to accommodate 800 multi-housing units, 120 of them affordable, to meet the township's housing obligation.
In response to changing land use, the owner won approval in December 2022 to combine adjacent properties, demolish the hotel, and install two warehouses totaling 1.7 million square feet. A 74-unit affordable housing complex was approved on an alternative Ridge Road site in March.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Mahwah NJ: Sheraton Crossroads property plan still undecided
