Little Mantua Creek poses problem for South Jersey warehouse

Joseph P. Smith, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
·2 min read

WEST DEPTFORD — A warehouse project blocked from a crucial New Jersey permit due to potential impacts on Little Mantua Creek is trying again with a smaller building placed a little farther from the creek.

The site encompasses about 13.8 acres at 1771 Imperial Way, an undeveloped parcel in a manufacturing zone with numerous warehouses. Vintage Equities LLC, a Lakewood company, wants to build an 82,720-square-foot warehouse.

The township planning board approved the project in January, with storm-water management then getting a close look. The board's approval was hinged on a later successful project review by the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection.

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At a July 25 board meeting, company representatives said talks with the DEP were unsuccessful. A redesign was the only way to secure a state waterfront development permit, they said.

Project engineer Chad Gaulrapp said an area extending 500 feet from the creek is regulated, among other goals, to require at least 25 percent of existing woods. The original design could not meet that standard and also could not satisfy DEP stormwater management regulations, he said.

West Deptford Planning Board members hear testimony Tuesday night on a revised warehouse project from Vintage Equities LLC. Architect Salvatore Tomasiello points out features of building design exhibits. The board voted 7-0 to accept the changes to the design, originally approved in a larger size in January. PHOTO: July 25, 2023.
West Deptford Planning Board members hear testimony Tuesday night on a revised warehouse project from Vintage Equities LLC. Architect Salvatore Tomasiello points out features of building design exhibits. The board voted 7-0 to accept the changes to the design, originally approved in a larger size in January. PHOTO: July 25, 2023.

The new design yielded a building about 7,000 square feet smaller, with proportionate reductions in the numbers of tractor-trailer loading bays and employee parking spaces. As a result, the building footprint has shifted to the east, away from the creek.

“So, with this plan and some reduction of impervious cover, we feel we’ve now achieved 100 percent of the 2021 stormwater regulations,” Gualrapp said.

The Planning Board approved the changes on a unanimous vote. Again, though, the local approval is good only if the DEP agrees to the plan.

The board also agreed to have Vintage Equities try to persuade the DEP to allow it to remove a “pocket” public park from the design in favor of a comparable public facility elsewhere.

State regulations require developments near waterways to make on-site arrangements for public access, whether for fishing or bird watching or another outdoors recreation. The rule, sometimes, is one developers and local officials do not favor.

Company attorney Clint Allen testified the DEP is not easily moved to accept alternatives.

“But the idea is that the property (offers) `useful and usable’ public access,” Allen said. “That’s what’s really the goal here, rather than something stuck out in the woods.”

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.

Have a tip? Reach out at jsmith@thedailyjournal.com. Support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Mantua Creek poses problem for South Jersey warehouse idea