Planning board approves revised Enzo's Restaurant site plan with conditions; limits warehouse to two tenants

The Jackson Planning Board voted unanimously to approve a revised site plan for the property hosting Enzo's Restaurant, imposing conditions the board said were necessary to protect neighbors and clarify operations.

The vote followed testimony from the applicant's team and detailed questioning by board members about truck circulation, septic systems, riparian buffer activity and on-site storage. Salvatore Alfury, attorney for the applicant, presented revised plans (exhibit A10) and acknowledged that previously proposed lease-parking areas had been removed from the project. He told the board that the statement of operations (last revised Feb. 6, 2026) would be incorporated into the resolution to help enforcement.

Why it matters: The board's conditions are intended to reduce off-site impacts and make it easier for code enforcement to monitor the property. Members cited improvements at the site since earlier hearings but pressed for durable, enforceable measures addressing vehicle storage, drainage and buffer protection.

The board's conditions include (summary): an eight-foot chain-link fence with privacy slats along the west property line; the landscaping business limited to storage and not retail; no on-site fueling or large fuel tanks; seven trees to be planted on the western portion of the property; payment in lieu for sidewalks where applicable; removal or relocation of several trailers and two boats; a jurisdictional LOI (Letter of Interpretation) to the Department to determine whether proposed nursery storage in the riparian zone requires a permit; an impervious (solid) surface for the landscape equipment storage and the rolloff dumpster pad; septic inspection and any required improvements; noise-dampening material under the restaurant dumpsters; delineation and removal of encroachments in the riparian buffer; prohibition on portable restrooms (porta-johns); and a limit of no more than two tenants in the 2,500-square-foot warehouse building.

Board professionals framed the discussion. Matthew Wilder, the board engineer, and Ernie Peters, the board planner, repeatedly urged specifics such as a truck-circulation drawing, a solid surface where heavy equipment is stored, and clarity on how riparian-area nursery storage would be treated under state rules. As Peters put it, the revised submission is “leaps and bounds better than what we started with” and the conditions can be incorporated into an enforceable resolution.

Neighbors and public comment: Richard Egan of 526 Diamond Road, who spoke during public comment, praised the applicant's cleanup efforts and said the landscaper's trees are held as nursery stock and removed for planting on clients' sites rather than permanently planted in the riparian area.

Applicant commitments and next steps: The applicant agreed to show truck circulation on the final plans, move several containers and trailers, provide an impervious pad for equipment storage and dumpsters, and to apply for a jurisdictional determination (LOI) from the Department to confirm whether a permit is required for nursery activity in the riparian buffer. The board directed that the final resolution list the conditions discussed at the hearing.

Votes at a glance: the motion to approve the Enzo's Restaurant site plan with the conditions read into the record passed unanimously (Mr. Heyman, Miss Rosal, Mr. Tremor, Miss Cusano, Mr. Seleia, Dr. Hoffstein, Miss Bradley voted yes). Earlier routine items approved that evening included: Resolution 2026-12 (amended site plan approval for 1197 East Veterans Highway) and Resolution 2026-13 (appointment of Brian A. Inendola, Neglia Group, as board traffic engineer), both passed on unanimous roll call votes.

The board indicated the final resolution will incorporate the list of conditions and the applicant must provide outstanding items (LOI, truck circulation plan, final plan changes) before the zoning officer issues permits. The board adjourned after the approvals.