The Bloomfield Planning Board unanimously approved the application of Bloomfield College to build a four-story mixed use dormitory/retail building on the corner of Broad and Franklin Streets at their meeting on Tuesday evening.
A developer’s agreement for the project was approved by the township council at its last meeting in 2012.
Bloomfield College President Richard Levao introduced the application, saying he expects the development to have a “transformative effect” on the town, possibly turning Bloomfield into a “New Jersey version of Amherst.”
Architect Keith Lesser, of Ives, Schier Lesser Architectural Studio, summarized the architectural features of the proposed building. He said the building materials and architectural features were designed to add visual interest to the building, and fulfilled all elements of the Bloomfield downtown redevelopment guidelines, including setbacks, bulk, height and other restrictions. In addition, the building will be built according to LEED Silver standards of energy conservation and sustainability.
Site engineer Eric Keller testified regarding the site plan and traffic, followed by William Hamilton, professional planner, who discussed the development as a whole and the parking requirements.
The building will incorporate 7,000 square feet of retail space at ground level, with the remainder of the building taken up by residential uses and a parking garage. The rotunda, Lesser said, is based on the unusual shape of the lot, and will afford views looking directly down the Green for those within the building.
The garage, which will provide 20 parking spaces, will accommodate parking for retail employees and college staff, as well as serving students on move-in and move-out days. The garage doors and the entrance to the building will face Franklin Street and the rest of the college campus.
Eric Keller said that the reduction of retail space to 7,000 square feet from the current 16,000 will reduce the amount of traffic at the location overall once the project is complete.
William Hamilton testified that due to the hardship afforded by the odd triangular shape of the lot, the garage is unable to accommodate as many parking spaces as ordinarily would be required, which would be 53. However, he said, there is ample parking in the main college lot on Liberty Street, which can accommodate over 300 cars, as well as other available parking on campus providing an additional 118 spaces.
The college as a whole only requires 160 spaces based on a formula of one space required for every seven people associated with college during peak use, he said. (This includes staff, faculty, commuters and resident students). All students who will be living in the residences are students at the college who are currently bused in from Clifton and Newark, so they are already counted in this calculation.
The residential portion of the building will include 234 beds, with 78 on each floor. There will be nine 8-person suits (which will include kitchen, bathroom and living area), one studio, one 4-person suite, and one apartment for a Resident Assistant on each floor. There will be a multi-purpose room for educational and support functions such as lectures and meetings, a game room and other amenities to support campus life. There will be an open air courtyard on the roof to provide passive green space.
The side of the building facing Broad Street will be set back from the street and will include a colonnade, forming a covered arcade along the side of the building. The sidewalks surrounding the building will be completely replaced and be of a decorative design. The plan calls for 11 street trees, benches and light fixtures that will be consistent with the design of these elements in Bloomfield Center.
A Barnes and Noble Bookstore and a Starbucks will both be part of the retail portion of the development and will welcome members of the public as well as college students. According to College President Levao, the Barnes and Noble bookstore will include a cafe and other amenities, and will offer all types of books, not only college textbooks. Levao said he expects it to become “a hub” for the community.
Both Councilman Hamilton and Mayor McCarthy praised the development prior to the vote on the application. The application was approved unanimously by a vote of 9-0.
A second portion of the college application pertaining to the construction of a parking lot spanning the area between Spruce Street and Oakland Avenue was adjourned to the March 5 Planning Board meeting. That portion of the application, which affects the Bloomfield Historic District, was rejected by the Historic District Review Board on January 10 and the applicant must go back to the HDRB prior to presenting the application to the Planning Board.
Prior to the college application, attorney Ralph Salerno, representing Somerset Development, LLC, appeared before the Board to request a rescission of a requirement of the previous approval of the 104-unit townhouse development planned for 1 and 8 Liongate Drive. This requirement stated that there had to be a developer’s agreement in place.
The Liongate development had been approved by the Planning Board twice previously, once in 2002 and then a revised version in 2007. Salerno explained that since the 2007 approval, the property had been sold to a new developer, Somerset Development, and in order for his client to proceed with the project, a developer’s agreement had to be executed between the client and the township governing body according to the terms of the previous approval.
Salerno said he had worked with Planning Board Attorney Michael Rubin to draft the agreement, which was completed in February of 2012. However, the council had never acted on the agreement. The matter eventually went to court, and the court remanded it back to the township ordering the governing body to act on it, either positively or negatively, within 30 days.
Salerno stated that 30 days passed without a response, and Assistant Township Attorney Steven Martino confirmed in a letter that no action had been taken. The court subsequently sent the case back to the Planning Board, requesting that the board take action “concerning the execution of the developer’s agreement.”
The project has been controversial from the start due to its location on a flood plain. The application to rescind the requirement of a developer’s agreement also caused controversy due to the broad nature of the wording of the notice that had been sent out to those living within 200 feet of the proposed project, which stated,
“The applicant also requests that the Board grant any additional approvals, permits, interpretations, waivers, or exceptions reflected in the materials filed (as same may be amended or revised from time to time without further notice) or determined to be necessary during the review and processing of this application.”
Planning Board Attorney Michael Rubin assured the board and public that the rescission of the requirement for a developer’s agreement would not give the developer “carte blanche” to do whatever they wanted on the project site. He said the project could not be reconfigured (even by changing the number of units by only one) or the layout of the site changed in any way without the developer coming back to the board for an amended site plan approval.
He also said that the requirements of the developer’s agreement were all conditions of the approval that the Planning Board gave in 2007 and would still apply. He stated that the developers would still remain subject to all requirements of the Municipal Land Use Law and that the township officials in the building department would still monitor and control the progress of the development.
Rubin said non-substantive changes could be approved by the building official or township engineer, and that would be the case with or without a developer’s agreement. He gave an example of a non-substantive change as changing the color of the roof tile shown in the architectural rendering during the application approval process.
Rubin stated that if the Planning Board decided to rescind the requirement for a developer’s agreement, that they could attach the unsigned agreement that had already been drafted to the resolution, thereby making it a contingency on which approval of the rescission would be predicated.
Salerno agreed to this solution, with the exception that provisions in the agreement calling for the developer to go back to the mayor and council for certain approvals (e.g., extension of the timeline) should be eliminated. Rubin agreed that those approvals could be made by the township engineer or other township officials.
Michelle Donato, an attorney hired by a group called Bloomfield Concerned Citizens, contended that Rubin’s suggestion to append the unsigned developer’s agreement did not follow the intention of the original court order. She said that the Planning Board should approve and execute the developer’s agreement. She said attaching the unsigned agreement is a modification of the court’s direction, and in order to do that the case should be sent back to court.
She also asked that if the board approved the rescission of the requirement for a developer’s agreement, that the final resolution should specifically spell out that no changes to the project itself could take place without new public notice.
She also expressed concern that the governing body would have no say over later changes in the project.
Michael Rubin responded that because the Planning Board has no authority to execute the developer’s agreement, there is no other interpretation of the court order but that the matter was to go back to the Planning Board so the board could reassess the requirement to have a developer’s agreement. He also said that the governing body could at any point decide to sign off on the developer’s agreement and reinstate their authority to approve changes to the timeline and other alterations.
Mayor McCarthy moved that the board approve the application just as it was approved in 2007 but with the elimination of the requirement for an executed developer’s agreement, and with the addition of the unsigned agreement as a contingency of approval. The motion passed nearly unanimously, with one “no” vote by Russ Zimmerman.
The next Planning Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 5, 2013 at 7:30 in the council chambers.
Interesting, who are the: Bloomfield Concerned Citizens?
I’m one – aren’t you?
“Rubin said non-substantive changes could be approved by the building official or township engineer, and that would be the case with or without a developer’s agreement.”
Isn’t that the same township engineer who misstated on the 2011 annual water report. Our Water meets of exceeds federal and state requirements…when it didnt?
At the meeting several people stood up and testified having the township engineer as the only means of oversight was not what they would advise because of his performance on past projects.
This was a weird one-
*there was a developers agreement in 2002 and then in 2007
*in 2012 the town tried to put it aside
*the developer went to court and the court said that the town council
needed to sign off (again) on the devlopers agreement within x days
* the town council didn’t so per the judges order it was sent to the
Planning Board – who can’t sign a developers agreement
* the planning board should have sent it back to the court – instead they
chose to interpret the jusges order – in order that they rather than
the town council gets to control the project – as one person said – we
do not elect the Planning Board. We elect the town council and expect
the TOWN COUNCIL to control developers agreements
BAD DECISION
possibly turning Bloomfield into a “New Jersey version of Amherst.”
Sorry, I’ve been to Amherst. And Bloomfield, Sir, Is no Amherst!
IF you are speaking of the culture which includes respecting pedestrian laws and zero tolerance for litter (and even public smoking)than you have an uphill battle.
Architecture? Amherst has a historical society and a competent council who demand a certain level of aesthetic appeal
If you are speaking of the intellectual coffee shops filled with scholars than you need to rethink your admissions process. Besides the Nursing and Accounting programs at Bloomfield College, the rest of the programs cater to morons and economic leeches.
“However, he said, there is ample parking in the main college lot on Liberty Street, which can accommodate over 300 cars, as well as other available parking on campus providing an additional 118 spaces.”
Except student have to pay to park in that lot and when they go are not guaranteed a spot. SO some pay the first semester and end up parking on the street half the time. Few pay their 2nd semester and go right for the street option.
Funny how the town council seems to have never been on these streets to observe this or the near empty student lot.
@hrhppg were you at the meeting? did I miss meeting you?
One of the thingts that was said byt the PB Chair to the folks who showed up to talk about the Lion gate project and the amount of traffic it will generate was that they hadn’t attended any planning board meetings when the project was approved in 2007 – so they get what they get.
Want to change things- want to have a say in what goes on.
PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS – it doesn’t mean you have to go to every meeting – it does mean you go to some- get sworn in – and testify.
No Pat I wasn’t there, Tuesdays don’t work for me as I have other obligations. BTW nice with the all caps – way to stay classy. My money could also move to another town with nice neighbors, new buildings that do have parking and local shopping areas that are looking for people who spend money. Bloomfield really doesn’t want me to stay so why should I waste the time and effort to do so ?
Well said Hrhppg,
As a resident of this neighborhood this will be my last year here. For the next few months I will be competing with strangers who have 2 different color cars, parking in front of driveways and throwing their McDonald’s bags onto the curbs. Then in the Summer the streets will be filled with a plume of asbestos smoke as they demolish 5 stores to put up “Amherst”. Meanwhile the Annie Sez will become a nice squatters home for our friend Herbie. I’m done.
“Besides the Nursing and Accounting programs at Bloomfield College, the rest of the programs cater to morons and economic leeches.”
Jimmytown, absolutes never work. I not saying there isn’t a larger percentage of lesser performing students there, but it’s whether you take advantage of an opportunity or not. I am a proud parent of a student that is going to graduate with a double major and a master’s degree in psychology; and with 4.+ average, is also on the Dean’s list, International High Honors Society and a McNair scholar among other honors and awards. I agree Bloomfield will never be another Amherst, and I wish financially that would have been in the cards, but it’s what’s inside that determines what you get out of the experience no matter which institute of higher education you attend. You just as easily can fail out of Harvard and become a line cook if you don’t live up to your potential.
As far as the clueless that litter and park over driveways, not to mention talk loud, beep horns at 2am as the leave there friends at closing time, etc., that you do have to move far away from here and I’m with you on that.
“their friends”
Sillyphus, thank you for your comments about the college. While it may not be Ivy League caliber, it is successfully attracting students (including many from other countries) who come here to learn skills that will enable them to have careers in their chosen fields. While I know some students may not live up to their potential and some may be disruptive, I am sure that many more take their studies seriously and are using the opportunities the college affords them to achieve their goals. What is needed is more enforcement of existing litter, noise and other quality of life laws in Bloomfield. And for those that dislike the college, you should be glad they have found a formula to attract students and should be rooting for it to succeed. Otherwise it could go the way of Upsala College in East Orange, which did not figure out a viable way to stay afloat. While Bloomfield may not be Amherst, at least we should admit that the college can be an important asset to the community.
@hrhppg If you can’t make time to make the place that you live better but spend time on whining about it I’m all for your choice of moving to another town- you’ll find problems where ever you go. Some of us work to make it better and make the time for that work.
I am a concerned citizen of Bloomfield but I did not pay for lawyer.
Am I whining pat ? How is that different from your multiple posts on multiple threads regarding the shelter or open information ?
My first post on this thread contained information regarding how the parking is set up at the college – useful and on topic I thought but certainly not whining.
I love this town but realizing I’m living among tinfoil hat wearing insane people who have apparently been run off other local forums makes me rethink it all. Basically you in case I was too subtle for your reading comprehension level.
Clearly as you go to these meetings and get nothing accomplished maybe it is not a productive use of my time. Maybe open communication (such as provided here and NJ.com where you’ve said you are no longer welcome) is a better way to interact with my community.
Regardless tonight I’ll let my Tuesday and Thursday commitment know Pat Gilleran doesn’t approve.
>>I am a proud parent of a student that is going to graduate with a double major and a master’s degree in psychology; and with 4.+ average, is also on the Dean’s list, International High Honors Society and a McNair scholar among other honors and awards<<
Congratulations on your child. These are accomplishments for which any parent should be very proud.
@hrhppg Yep- you constantly complain. Have you been to a meeting? Have you communicated with your town councilor. Have you given any direct input to get things accomplished in Bloomfield. By the way – town council meetings are on Monday nights. I don’t find your choice of tinfoil hat to be too attractive but if that’s how you want to roll so be it.
I have and things are changing because of my involvement. Have you noticed that water reports are now being posted on the towns website and the township administrator has said that he will do his best to make documents available and post them – transparency is what we are looking for.
There is now an ongoing discussion of the BOH and Health department and their practices like making copies of people who visit the animals shelters drivers licenses and keeping them on file .
I demanded that the town stop releasing disabled people who had applied for parking permits drivers licenses and application in the town council agenda- and even got the ones that that thay had placed in the packets redacted.
I was never run off NJ.com – I just no longer post their because it is full of trolls who change their login on a daily basis.
I’d go on but I know if falls on deaf ears because you are so intent on whining and complaing and doing nothing about the issues.
@bebop – I did – took up a collection and paid.
This project will be a big improvement over what is there. Parking issues will be sorted out.
The Bloomfield restaraunt scene is just being discovered by people from surrounding communities. Sadly there are some very loud protests against people who do not live in Bloomfield “having fun in my town” so its only a matter of time before frustration wins out and we return to Montclair’s restaurant scene.
It will never be perfect, but it is nice to see some improvements to the area. I can only hope that newer, more attracitive and updated buidlings, improved parking and a focus on improvement will attract better retail and more traffic to the parking garage that is making progress each and every day. Amherst it will never be, but it will be better than dollar stores and crappy furniture stores. I would love to walk and shop here instead of driving to neighborning towns or amazon.
hrhppg, The more residents who speak up, the better whether it’s in person or online. Your earlier comment about parking problems worsened by this project were passed on to the council and may have had an effect. (it”s still not clear to me how many new students will be moving in to these dorms). You can also have your email read by the clerk at any nonconference council meeting. It’s a shame that NJO, North Jersey.com, and the Patch. have ceased to be effective outlets for the public.
Geoff my guess/fast math is 240 suites times 4 students per suite room = 960 students without cars.
Regardless of the parking for locals can you imagine the insanity on college move in day with 20 parking spaces for the parents of 960 students lol.
Even if the plan was 240+ private rooms – still 240+ parents and 20 spaces on move in day. It’s past a nightmare scenario.
@johnlee wrong- Bloomfield welcomes out-of-towners to their restaurants and stores.
Bloomfield will have another REATAURANT WEEK in March of 2013- come on down
Geoff, at the planning board meeting the architect stated there will be “234 beds” altogether in the dormitory, with 78 people living on each floor. On moving days I believe they said the cars would be scheduled/organized in some way so that not everyone would be coming in at the same time to try to move their kids in or out.
all written in your article mimi
“The residential portion of the building will include 234 beds, with 78 on each floor. There will be nine 8-person suits (which will include kitchen, bathroom and living area), one studio, one 4-person suite, and one apartment for a Resident Assistant on each floor. There will be a multi-purpose room for educational and support functions such as lectures and meetings, a game room and other amenities to support campus life. There will be an open air courtyard on the roof to provide passive green space.”
Ohh I must have read the previous article wrong, I thought it was 200+ suites.
How do you scheduled/organized 200 plus parents coming in from out of town? Or is asking a question whining and complaining ?
(9*8+1+4+1)*3 = 234 beds or 62 total physical suites of varying types.
Asking questions is not whining or complaining, but expecting solutions for inconveniences due to a handful of move-in days a year is 🙂 considering there are plenty of pay-for-parking properties in the neighborhood.
These are ‘good’ problems to have. And jimmytown’s economic leeches comment is just lunacy! I really don’t think economic leeches would be paying such high tuition at a private college. You’ll more easily find those at MSU, WPU, etc.
College plans
https://www.bloomfieldtwpnj.com/documents/file/SL_Bloomfield_Book_2revised.pdf
@hrhppg you should certainly ask the college and get back to us. Or you could have come to the meeting and asked the question. OPPS that opportunity is GONE.
oh dear my crippled hands have taken over
OPPS = OOPS
I had discussed problems with the college after a girl was beaten up in a car parked in front of my building. If my friends hadn’t intervened I’m not sure what would have happened to her. They had the security guy wander around more visible for a few weeks. They demoted a security guard to custodian, too bad as he was a nice guy that I felt actually cared what happened, and hired a guy who would pan handle. It actually feels safer now that he no longer patrols.
Just like the town doesn’t care about the noise, litter, traffic or that half of downtown was built with asbestos. Jimmy’s post was right on target as far as this next summer goes. Maybe once all is said and done it will get better but I’m not basing that on anything the town or school will do.
@jimmytown “catering to morons and economic leeches?” I’m happy this is your last year here, you won’t be missed.
@sillyphus “line cook” what’s wrong with being a line cook?
@hrhpg What’s wrong with posting about the shelter? If, as you state, “Bloomfield doesn’t really want me to stay why should I waste the time and effort to do so” I agree with you completely. Have a good life elsewhere. Also your low blow about “reading comprehension level” was uncalled for, unjustified and completely egregious.
Hopefully, the beds won’t be bunk beds. My only concern was adding to existing parking problems in the neighborhood. Adding a B&N will be a terrific asset to the neighborhood, although the existing parking meters will discourage lingering over a latte.
faboj, private school tuition? It’s public record, but I will share with you the scholarships available for this school:
If you have a 900 on your SAT (you get 200 for putting your name) you are eligible for $8,000 a year tuition, similar to county college.
If you had a 3.0 GPA in High School, you are eligible for a $6,000 a year tuition, less than a county college.
If you are transferring from another school and have an associates degree, you only have to pay $11,000 a year.
Everyone else pays $23k a year in tuition. When I was growing up, we called Bloomfield College “BK”, spelling college with a K. As I said before, they have an excellent Nursing and Accounting program. Other than that, your education is on par with any other Bloomfield township education. The good news is that property taxes will continue to stay low because our tenured leaders in Bloomfield have done little to improve the educational system in this town.
Im sure a few miracles get through High School and end up going to a decent 4 year school, and they will undoubtedly go on to become a major success in their family, but statistically Bloomfield doesn’t care about their students.
Currently Bloomfield HS is ranked 221 out of 328 schools. In comparison, Belleville ranked 160, Nutley is ranked 140, Montclair is ranked 99, Verona is ranked 70 and Glen Ridge is ranked 12. Some of these towns work with a smaller budget and all these towns receive the same tap water, so I can only blame the teachers, councilmen and dare I say… parents.
frobnitz if you had followed the whole long back and forth between Pat and I you’d have answered your own question. Nothing I said was uncalled for, unjustified and completely egregious unless read out of context of the whole on going conversation, like you did. Which makes my reading and comprehension dig actually twice as poignant.
Thanks for the info jimmytown but I’m afraid none of it proves your economic leeches comment. If anything, it comes across as desperation/trolling to prove a pessimistic town-view despite the growth and potential for improvement. Where does your pessimism come from, please be honest.
You say Bloomfield doesn’t care for its students, yet it has enacted full-day kindergarten and its AP courses have increased. There’s plenty of room for improvement, of course, and it will be earned in spite of the pessimists.
By the way, based on 11th Grade HSPA results from 2011-2012, Bloomfield ranked at 250 (+28 from previous year), Belleville at 304 (-9), Nutley at 127 (+84), Montclair at 190 (+13), Verona at 91 (+42), and Glen Ridge at 100 (+13) out of 389 NJ high schools. Also, only one town in this set charges less taxes, the rest charge way more.