Planning board grants preliminary approval for Kings Road Developers' highway warehouse with variances

The Monroe Township Planning Board voted unanimously to grant preliminary site‑plan approval to Kings Road Developers LLC for PB1274‑26, a proposal to build an approximately 79,900‑square‑foot warehouse with a 2,500‑square‑foot office component on property fronting State Highway 33.

Attorney Jared Pap introduced the application and said the proposal "complies with the conditional use standards," but that the applicant seeks limited bulk variances and design waivers driven by the lot shape and environmental constraints. Civil engineer Sheree Ali told the board the parcel is about 11.35 acres, contains wetlands and flood‑hazard areas, and sits roughly 900–1,000 feet from Route 33. He described an 82,000‑square‑foot footprint (warehouse ~79,896 ft²) with 38 employee parking spaces (9x18 each) plus four EV spaces for a credited total of 42.

Planner Mark A. Rema and the applicant said environmental constraints — wetlands buffers, a narrow flag‑shaped frontage (existing 200 ft vs. 300 ft required), and flood‑hazard limits — force the building footprint to be located away from the frontage and necessitate side‑yard relief (20 ft provided vs. a code requirement of 40 ft). Rema said the project uses only about 6% building coverage in a zone that allows up to 35%.

Traffic engineer Frank Misovich presented the traffic analysis and told the board the site operates at about a level‑of‑service C for the proposed access and that peak trip generation is modest. "We show that our site operates at level of service C," he said, summarizing his capacity and parking calculations and concluding the proposed 38 spaces are enough for the planned warehouseoperation.

Applicants requested design exceptions for open flared end sections and modern pipe materials for stormwater systems instead of the ordinance's concrete‑only specification; township professionals said watertight HDPE or ductile‑iron pipe with O‑ring joints would be acceptable. The applicant also described a stormwater design with multiple recharge systems sized to address 2‑, 10‑ and 100‑year storm events and said they have initiated state and county permit reviews, including DRCC and the state's wetland and flood‑hazard reviewers.

Board members asked technical questions about lighting height, roof mechanicals, and garbage/recycling provisions. The applicant confirmed standard 20‑foot light poles, set‑back mechanical equipment and a compactor/dumpster arrangement for the office component. The applicant also agreed to meet with DOT about an existing Bentley Road left‑turn/u‑turn concern tied to the nearby highway configuration; the applicant will invite the township engineer to that DOT meeting.

Before the vote the board secured an explicit condition from the applicant restricting use: the applicant agreed the approved use would not become a data center, a commitment to be recorded in the resolution. The board then voted to approve preliminary site‑plan relief and the listed variances and waivers; recorded yes votes included Vice Chairman Rothman, Mr. Spratzky, Miss Damiani, Mr. Binsky, Councilman Markeel, Mayor's Representative Mr. Patel and Chairman Gaffrey.

Next steps: the applicant will pursue final‑site‑plan review addressing outstanding technical comments, complete required state and county permits, and return for final sign‑offs as needed.