Planning Board members last week decided to hold off on an application to carve up a St. Georges Avenue site into four stores until they get more information.
Adidan Properties, LLC, of West New York, which owns 1713-1727 St. Georges Ave. (Block 210/Lot 9), is seeking to subdivide the space into a total of four commercial spaces. The one current tenant, Budget Furniture, would be among the four future tenants. Primarily for financial reasons, the owner and tenant compromised to relieve a hardship and subdivide the site, the applicant’s attorney told the Planning Board last week.
The applicant is seeking approval for a minor site plan with bulk variances, including a parking variance because the property only has 22 spaces in the rear, off Union Street. Depending on the interpretation of the city code, the site would be required to provide anywhere from 29 to 49 spaces.
The building is about 9,700 square feet and among its neighbors are a hair salon, pizzeria and Chinese restaurant. The existing site does not meet parking requirements and does not have room to add more. The applicant’s attorney argued that parking is a practical hardship and can be made an exception because it’s not a substantial detriment to the area.
Planning Board members, however, raised concerns about parking, truck traffic and delivery areas and questioned the wisdom of subdividing into four commercial spaces, creating stores that are less than 13 feet wide. City Engineer James Housten had requested various documents and surveys for which the applicant sought waivers. Officials also reminded the board that the city has been to court multiple times about issues relating to the store’s signage.
“This really needs to go back to the drawing board,” said Planning Board Vice Chairman William Hering, with too many questions and unknowns. The attorney asked that the board consider the application and respect the landlord’s judgment on the type of market that exists. The application is expected to come back to the board at its next meeting, July 28.
The property, at the corner of St. Georges and Union Street, is almost a half-acre, or almost 20,000 square feet, and is assessed at $490,000. Property taxes were about $23,300 last year and the property was acquired for $1.025 million in February 2004, according to Propertyshark.com.
