Parsippany-Troy Hills planning board approves Morris Hills shopping-center refresh with conditions
June 04, 2026 | Parsippany-Troy Hills, Morris County, New Jersey
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The Parsippany-Troy Hills Planning Board on June 1 approved a major site-plan to refresh the Morris Hills Shopping Center at 3025–3189 U.S. Route 46, authorizing parking reconfiguration, new landscape islands, storefront upgrades and the internal re-tenanting that will accommodate an upscale grocer and three restaurants.
The board’s decision, made after multi-hour testimony and review by applicant witnesses, was conditioned on the applicant working with board professionals to add trees in the pedestrian spine, provide updated truck-turning templates (including Route 46 approaches) to be shared with the fire department, and comply with outstanding items in technical review letters.
Peter Wolson, attorney for the applicant, told the board the proposal seeks preliminary and final major site-plan approval and minor variances to permit an impervious-coverage reduction and a driveway-setback deviation. He said the applicant agrees to the conditions listed in the board professionals’ review letters.
Joseph O'Neal of Gafalio, presenting earlier in the meeting on a different matter, was not the applicant counsel on this file; the applicant team for the Morris Hills project included attorney Peter Wolson and representatives from the property owner and design team.
Brian Conlin, project engineer with Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, described the physical changes to the site: no new building square footage but internal re‑tenanting that will create a roughly 13,270-square-foot grocer space and three restaurant spaces (about 2,400; 2,250; and 3,000 sq ft). Conlin said the project will disturb about 1.6 acres for landscape and island work, add approximately 57 trees, roughly 1,500 shrubs and about 1,700 groundcovers, and install a new loading dock and trash enclosure for the grocer. Conlin summarized parking and coverage figures: existing parking 975 spaces, proposed 991 (an increase of 16), and impervious coverage reduced from 84.18% to about 82.20%, which he described as adding roughly 15,000 square feet of green area.
"We're redoing the entire sidewalk with brick pavers, landscaping, new accessible ramps," Conlin said, describing the pedestrian and streetscape upgrades.
Architect Dustin Watson presented landscape and façade plans and renderings. He described a proposed trellis and ground-level community lawn intended for outdoor dining and small events and said storefront visibility was a priority over adding awnings. Watson confirmed the plan includes a trellis with potential hanging plantings and outdoor seating directly in front of restaurant tenants.
Traffic engineer and planner Matthew Welch addressed zoning criteria and truck circulation. Welch confirmed the site is in the AHD-MU2 affordable housing mixed-use zone and characterized the two variances as non-substantial: the project reduces existing impervious coverage and the driveway setback pinch point occurs in an employee area that will remain screened. On truck circulation he said the applicant’s CP101 truck-circulation exhibit shows tractor-trailer (18-wheel) access via Route 202 and internal site circulation; he and applicant witnesses agreed to provide additional turning templates showing Route 46 approaches for board and fire-department review.
Board professionals pressed the team on turning radii, emergency-vehicle access, lighting cutoffs and specific landscape species; the applicant agreed to submit updated turning plans, confirm lighting compliance, and work with professionals to add plantings in the pedestrian spine. The board added those items as conditions of approval and asked the applicant to forward any county or state approvals once received.
A motion to approve the application (preliminary and final major site plan for parking improvements, landscaped islands and interior changes) passed on a roll-call vote with the voting members recorded as 'yes'. The board listed a set of compliance items to be satisfied as conditions before final sign-off.
The project team said they anticipate returning to the board with any additional details and welcomed coordination with municipal and fire officials on circulation and fire-lane striping.
Next steps: the applicant will file updated truck-turning exhibits and landscaping refinements for review by board professionals and the fire department; the board’s conditions must be satisfied before final engineering sign-off.
The board’s decision, made after multi-hour testimony and review by applicant witnesses, was conditioned on the applicant working with board professionals to add trees in the pedestrian spine, provide updated truck-turning templates (including Route 46 approaches) to be shared with the fire department, and comply with outstanding items in technical review letters.
Peter Wolson, attorney for the applicant, told the board the proposal seeks preliminary and final major site-plan approval and minor variances to permit an impervious-coverage reduction and a driveway-setback deviation. He said the applicant agrees to the conditions listed in the board professionals’ review letters.
Joseph O'Neal of Gafalio, presenting earlier in the meeting on a different matter, was not the applicant counsel on this file; the applicant team for the Morris Hills project included attorney Peter Wolson and representatives from the property owner and design team.
Brian Conlin, project engineer with Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, described the physical changes to the site: no new building square footage but internal re‑tenanting that will create a roughly 13,270-square-foot grocer space and three restaurant spaces (about 2,400; 2,250; and 3,000 sq ft). Conlin said the project will disturb about 1.6 acres for landscape and island work, add approximately 57 trees, roughly 1,500 shrubs and about 1,700 groundcovers, and install a new loading dock and trash enclosure for the grocer. Conlin summarized parking and coverage figures: existing parking 975 spaces, proposed 991 (an increase of 16), and impervious coverage reduced from 84.18% to about 82.20%, which he described as adding roughly 15,000 square feet of green area.
"We're redoing the entire sidewalk with brick pavers, landscaping, new accessible ramps," Conlin said, describing the pedestrian and streetscape upgrades.
Architect Dustin Watson presented landscape and façade plans and renderings. He described a proposed trellis and ground-level community lawn intended for outdoor dining and small events and said storefront visibility was a priority over adding awnings. Watson confirmed the plan includes a trellis with potential hanging plantings and outdoor seating directly in front of restaurant tenants.
Traffic engineer and planner Matthew Welch addressed zoning criteria and truck circulation. Welch confirmed the site is in the AHD-MU2 affordable housing mixed-use zone and characterized the two variances as non-substantial: the project reduces existing impervious coverage and the driveway setback pinch point occurs in an employee area that will remain screened. On truck circulation he said the applicant’s CP101 truck-circulation exhibit shows tractor-trailer (18-wheel) access via Route 202 and internal site circulation; he and applicant witnesses agreed to provide additional turning templates showing Route 46 approaches for board and fire-department review.
Board professionals pressed the team on turning radii, emergency-vehicle access, lighting cutoffs and specific landscape species; the applicant agreed to submit updated turning plans, confirm lighting compliance, and work with professionals to add plantings in the pedestrian spine. The board added those items as conditions of approval and asked the applicant to forward any county or state approvals once received.
A motion to approve the application (preliminary and final major site plan for parking improvements, landscaped islands and interior changes) passed on a roll-call vote with the voting members recorded as 'yes'. The board listed a set of compliance items to be satisfied as conditions before final sign-off.
The project team said they anticipate returning to the board with any additional details and welcomed coordination with municipal and fire officials on circulation and fire-lane striping.
Next steps: the applicant will file updated truck-turning exhibits and landscaping refinements for review by board professionals and the fire department; the board’s conditions must be satisfied before final engineering sign-off.
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