The Livingston Planning Board, at its Tuesday, April 4 meeting, pushed a vote on a Preliminary and Final Site Plan with variances located between 389-405 East Mount Pleasant Avenue. The discussion will be continued at a future meeting, as the meeting ran too long.
The applicant sought approval to construct 254 multi-family residential units on the location in three buildings and a clubhouse, as well as make related site improvements. Peter Flannery, Mount Pleasant Partners’legal representative, briefly spoke about how these units will meet Livingston’s formal housing obligation before calling up engineer Michael Lanzafama, and architects Brian Conway and Laurance Appel, as witnesses. A fourth witness, traffic engineer Gary Dean, was unable to testify due to time running out.
As the first witness, Lanzafama provided a visual breakdown of the property location and its current features, including a number of on-site wetlands. These, Lanzafama told the Board, won’t be an issue, as the units will be designed outside the wetland area and bumpers.
The three buildings would contain 54, 110 and 90 dwelling units respectively, as well as 77, 167, and 135 parking spaces in their garages. Though Board members Steve Santola, Richard Dinar, and Peter Klein questioned Lanzafama on the number of tandem spaces per garage, he claimed there was enough two-bedroom space to justify their inclusion.
Lanzafama also spoke about the complex’s roof drainage system, its clubhouse location, and the possibility of requiring variances for retaining walls in the front yard. He then answered a question from Rabbi Samuel Klibanoff, confirming the project will result in sidewalk installations along East Mount Pleasant Avenue.
Conway next discussed the complex’s lighting plan, which will comprise six different light fixtures using the U.S. Architectural’s Razar model. He also touched upon making the complex’s buffer area more “effective, as well as attractive” by planting evergreen trees on its premises. In total, 467 replacement trees will be added to the building topography and surrounding basins, including evergreen, shade and ornamental trees. Appel talked more about the complex’s layout and design features. He reaffirmed that parking will consist of secure and assigned stalls – with the former accessible via key fobs – and the garage will contain a dropped ceiling. He also revealed that the buildings are elevator-serviced and each unit will have a washer and dryer.
The meeting was adjourned due to the late hour. The case will be resumed at the April 18 meeting, after which the Board will approve or deny its request.
