November 10, 2025 Planning Board Special Meeting Minutes

Ms. Gruel presented the key elements of the revised plan. © Removing 762 Pleasant Valley Way as a site and replacing that with 217 Main Street. o Adding an accessory apartment program that would be able to be utilized within the community until the program is proven to be successful. o Upto 10 accessory units that would be able to convert existing carriage houses or garages into affordable housing units. © The total units were revised from 221 units to 230 units. PROFESSIONAL COMMENTS Ms. Carballo drafted a memo for the planning board after being asked to look at the affordable housing and how it affects infrastructure. In the memo, Ms. Carballo explained some of the limitations that do currently exist with our infrastructure, especially when it comes to our sanitary and sewers. In regards to the sanitary, as one of Ms. Carballo’s recommendations would be for the township to create a stormwater utility, as well as a sanitary sewer utility authority in the township. In order to be able to sustain repairs and maintenance that will come in the future, to enlarge the current system that we have and also to map it as part of our requirements with the stormwater DEP rules. Even though the joint meeting of Essex and Union County does have capacity to handle the additional flow, the township doesn't know exactly what we have, or whether or not we have enough capacity existing to handle the additional development that will be created with the Fourth Round of Affordable Housing. In the memo, there are approximately 5 million gallons per day that the joint meeting of Essex and Union County is capable of handling. And for future growth, a study will have to be done, which is not available right now, basically an asset management plan for everything that is for the storm and the sanitary. A hydraulic analysis will have to be conducted to figure out which areas don't have capacity, which areas can be improved, and how in the future the township is going to be able to sustain these improvements. There's going to be a generation of more vehicles on the road, especially since there is Route 280, as well as Route 10. In terms of the infrastructure, it's something that the township is going to have to develop a management plan, as well as discuss this in the future with the Board of Education, since it will increase the number of students that will be going to

that the township is going to have to develop a management plan, as well as discuss this in the future with the Board of Education, since it will increase the number of students that will be going to our schools, as well as additional traffic congestion that might be produced by this development. BOARD QUESTIONS FOR THE PROFESSIONALS K. Alper asked Ms. Carballo to explain where the sections of the township that are known for sewer backups during severe rainfalls are. Ms. Carballo said that's probably the area of St. Cloud. There is a sewer main trunk that parallels the roadway river, it's right by Nelson Court, and all those developments, they typically do have backups. K. Alper asked if Ms. Carballo expects those sections to get worse based on what's in the Fourth Round Affordable Housing Plan, or is there enough geographical separation from the area where the backups occur that that's not so likely. Ms. Carballo said it would be hard for her to answer that question, since they don't have any available or accurate data in their sanitary sewers. K. Alper asked if Ms. Carballo is aware of concerns about odor from the sewer line in 2