Board seeking to clarify who will use warehouse
BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer

JACKSON - Planning Board members were not satisfied with testimony they heard on Dec. 3 from representatives of Tri-State Gunite of New Jersey. The applicant has been given until Feb. 25 to get all of the data the board requires and to return at that time.

Tri-State Gunite is seeking preliminary and final site plan approval to build a 16,000-square-foot warehouse and office building and a pole barn structure of about 6,000 square feet for sand storage. The site is in a light manufacturing (LM) zone on Herman Road near the intersection with East Commodore Boulevard.

The application was previously heard on Oct. 1.

Planning Board engineer Douglas Klee said the question was raised as to whether the board has jurisdiction in this matter. That issue arose when the applicant's representatives indicated that the office and warehouse building was going to be available for rent, meaning there could be a multiple use involved.

The LM zone provides for industrial parks and office and research parks, but not for business parks, Klee said.

The board's planner, Alan Dittenhofer, wanted to know how the application arrived at this point.

"What existing approvals did this site have?" Dittenhofer asked. "Was it grandfathered, were the uses previously approved and, regarding architectural plans, I have concerns now with a 16,000-squarefoot building and an accessory structure. We don't have any architectural (drawings) and we can't make a determination if a height variance is required."

Dittenhofer added that the current use is nonconforming in that a permitted contractors office-showroom-garagewarehouse shop is permitted provided that all of the equipment is stored within a completely enclosed building.

"As you recall there are some cement silos and some other amenities on the site that are simply not closed in the existing building," he said.

Planning Board attorney Gregory McGuckin said a letter indicated that the applicant intends to use the building as offices and a warehouse for Tri-State Gunite and its subsidiaries. According to an environmental impact statement and testimony from the previous hearing, the office and warehouse building will be leased to small businesses, McGuckin said.

Board Chairman Kenneth Bressi said the use has changed.

"I'm not very happy with this," Bressi said. "I really think this belongs in front of the Zoning Board of Adjustment."

Denis Kelly, the applicant's attorney, said, "Tri-State Gunite is a pool supply company. It operates within the corporate structure. They are pool installation entity."

Kelly said the firm has electrical work done as its employees install a pool.

"It's really office space for the guy that does the electric," Kelly said. "He puts his stuff in the warehouse. They are not separate companies within Tri-State Gunite."

McGuckin asked if the employees are independent contractors or employees of the firm.

"They are all W-2 employees," said Robert Seaman, Tri-State Gunite's general manager. "We build concrete swimming pools and we don't build them there. We build them in people's yards."

Seaman said when a pool is built the employees go out and dig a hole. Then steel is put in the pool.

"So there are steel supplies, etc.," Seaman said. "We have plumbing pipes, filters, heaters and then the next part of the job is doing the gunite (cement) work and the electrical. The pumps run off electric."

Seaman said that what is being proposed for the building is to separate all of the company's plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, etc., and to have a small office so that the person who is the foreman of the plumbing supplies can have a desk and a file cabinet to keep track of the supplies he has on hand.

"The same would hold true for the steel people and the electrical people," he said, adding that there is no intention to rent out any space. He said he would agree to a resolution restriction that there would be no leases to any private entity.

Dittenhofer said he would still like an explanation of how the application got to its present state.

"We asked for a defined use," he said. "We asked for architectural [drawings]. There's a lot of nonconforming issues on that site right now. It's hard for the board to determine what was previously granted. Then we're starting to look at the expansion of a nonconforming use."

Kelly interjected, saying, "Nothing that is going on there is nonconforming."

"You have outside storage of materials, silos," Dittenhofer responded. "That's not permitted in the LM zone. Did you ask for those variances? We're showing concrete. I have photographs. I have an accessory structure height requirement at 25 feet. I can show you the picture. It appears that is in violation of the zoning on the site right now. I think the board needs to have answers prior to proceeding."

"We purchased this property and the building was existing," Seaman said. "This is not something we built. We moved in and got a business license. We checked with all the people in the town and nobody ever questioned anything."

Seaman said the firm is constantly inspected by the township and there never was a problem.

The manager said the building was previously owned by Verizon.

"What about the concrete silo?" Dittenhofer asked.

"We installed that," Seaman said. "Originally, we went to the town and said this is what we want to put up. We were given approval by somebody.'

The general manager said the company needs the pole barn to keep the sand dry.

"Statements made at the last meeting were wrong," Bressi said. "Don't you think this board needs correct statements? How can we vote on this? Get all the facts right. Get all the data correct so we don't have employees and warehouses leased to small businesses."

"I completely understand," Kelly said. "We will follow up with Mr. Dittenhofer's office."

The Tri-State Gunite application was carried to February.