Planning board grants conditioned one‑year extension for 4648 Franklin Avenue project

The Belleville Planning Board approved a one‑year extension for an apartment project at 4648 Franklin Avenue on the condition that the applicant provide documentation of outside agency approvals and demonstrate active financing. The extension, requested through Sept. 12, 2027, was granted with the board recording that it would be the project’s final extension absent further court action or a change in state law.

The applicant’s representative, Matthew Gilson Wils, told the board the project had been delayed by the time required to secure approvals from outside agencies and by financing setbacks. “We asked for a one year extension,” he said, adding that approvals and funding had taken longer than expected. Board members pressed for paperwork showing the approvals and financing progress before allowing another year.

Board members agreed to condition the motion on two items: submission of copies of any approvals obtained from outside agencies and demonstrable evidence that the applicant has been pursuing financing. The board also recorded on the public record that if the project is not started within a year the approvals would lapse, and the extension would be treated as the final extension granted by the board.

The board took the motion and completed a roll‑call as recorded in the meeting minutes. The roll call recorded votes as follows: Chairman Alvarado — yes; (name in roll call truncated in transcript) — yes; Mr. Handle — yes; Mr. Jordano — recused (took no part); Mr. Braziano — no; (name recorded as “miss.” in transcript) — yes; Mr. Gian — no; Mr. Fizzy — yes; Mr. Zen Gary — yes. The motion carried and was entered into the record as a conditioned approval of a one‑year extension.

The board noted that municipal land‑use law allows property owners to request one‑year extensions and that boards sometimes mark an extension as final in their resolutions to make the public and owner aware of the board’s position. The resolution and the required documentation will be prepared for the next meeting and filed with the board as part of the public record.

Next steps: the applicant must submit the outside agency approvals and materials documenting efforts to secure financing for the project; the board’s conditional extension will be memorialized in a resolution at a subsequent meeting.