Is it a Warehouse or trucking terminal? Sparta group wants project halted until a ruling

Kyle Morel, New Jersey Herald
·2 min read

SPARTA — Is the project proposed for Demarest Road a warehouse or is it a trucking terminal?

Two township attorneys asked the Zoning Board to determine the proper classification of the 800,000-square-foot building proposal and are calling for a halt to the developer's application until a ruling is made.

Neill Clark and Anand Dash, members of the newly formed nonprofit group Sparta Responsible Development, sent a letter Monday to Zoning Board secretary Diana Katzenstein asking for an interpretation of the Diamond Chip Logistics Park application on Demarest Road.

The site developer, Diamond Chip Realty LLC, has classified the proposed project as a warehouse that fully conforms to township codes. Clark and Dash said the application meets the definition of a trucking terminal, which they said would no longer fall under the jurisdiction of the Planning Board and instead be transferred to the Zoning Board.

An artist's rendering of proposed site plans for Diamond Chip Logistics Park, located on the site of Sparta Redi-Mix on Demarest Road in Sparta. The project would encompass approximately 68 acres of property and include two warehouse buildings totaling 880,480 square feet.
An artist's rendering of proposed site plans for Diamond Chip Logistics Park, located on the site of Sparta Redi-Mix on Demarest Road in Sparta. The project would encompass approximately 68 acres of property and include two warehouse buildings totaling 880,480 square feet.

Clark and Dash request the Planning Board "stay its proceedings" on the application until the Zoning Board makes its decision. The Planning Board hearing for the project began last month and is scheduled to continue in person at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Sparta Municipal Building.

The letter cites Sparta's land management code, which defines a warehouse as "a building used for the temporary storage of goods, materials or merchandise" to be distributed later "for purposes of processing or sale." A trucking terminal, meanwhile, is defined as "a premises which is used for the temporary parking of motor freight vehicles between trips. . .where the storage of freight or cargo is only temporary."

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The letter includes testimony from last month's Planning Board meeting when a Diamond Chip engineer, during cross-examination, agrees with the assertion — and the definition of a trucking terminal — that the freight and cargo storage on the site is temporary. While acknowledging that the engineer then attempted to clarify the remarks, Clark and Dash said the initial testimony "raises an important legal and threshold issue" as to the proposal's classification.

At the March meeting, site developer Jim Ford said the application "is not, unequivocally, 100%" a trucking terminal. That view was shared in testimony by Sparta planner Katherine Sarmad, who said the proposal is "more of a traditional warehouse facility" and her review of the application "would definitely not conclude that this is a trucking terminal."

Proposed site for warehouses in Sparta, NJ
Proposed site for warehouses in Sparta, NJ

Clark and Dash are acting on their own behalf, but have become a vital source of legal expertise for fellow Sparta residents concerned about the Diamond Chip application. Residents have created a Sparta Responsible Development website and Facebook page about the project, and organized a meeting last week to discuss ways to prevent the application's approval.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Sparta attorneys, residents ask for clarification on warehouse project