Zoning Board Denies Proposed Marriott Hotel Near Glacier Drive

After almost four years, the Parsippany-Troy Hills Zoning Board of Adjustment voted to deny a request to construct a Marriott hotel and restaurant complex at Route 10 and Glacier Drive by a count of 4-3, at its Wednesday night meeting.

The controversial proposal of Morristown firm Kamsad Giri LLC would have put a four-story hotel and fast-casual restaurant at 2100 Route 10. The structure was planned for 103 guest rooms and would have carried Marriott's SpringHill Suites imprimatur.

After hearing comments from concerned residents regardinbg traffic, odor, privacy and property value, among other things, the board went into conference giving each member a chance to voice their opinion of the proposal.

As shown by the 4-3 vote, board members weren’t all on the same page with the proposal. For many of the board members opposed to the hotel, the biggest concern was the hotel's height.

The total height for the proposed structure was about 55 feet, which was 20 feet above what's allowed by law. Because of the disparity, a height variance was needed for the project to commence.

To counteract the building's height for residents on Glacier Drive, Kamsad Giri LLC agreed to plant over 70 evergreens, ranging from eight to 12 feet, on the perimeter of the property.

“The most impressive part of this is the landscape architecture, without which I would have a lot of problems with this application,” explained board member Saurin Pathak, who voted to approve the hotel. “The height is really a great, great concern. I would really have wished this would be a three-and-a-half, three-story, and this application would fly.”

Resident Dan Leggett of Glacier Drive, voiced his concerns with the proposal, explaining that even with the proposed landscaping, people in the hotel would have a clear view of his living room and his kids’ bedrooms, at least for as long as it takes for the trees to fully grow.

“The applicant has provided testimony that with time, the plantings along Glacier Drive will block the view from my house to the new four-story hotel, he said. “How many years will that take?”

Leggett presented the board with pictures taken in April 2008 from his living room and his son’s bedroom of the proposed hotel site. Leggett explained that the current two-story motel that sits on the lot, is in plain sight from his home.

Leggett also asked board members if they would be happy with a hotel built next to their homes.

“Mr. Leggett made a comment, would I want this next to my house?” Board Chairman Robert Iracane said. “When I bought my house 40 years ago, I made sure that it wasn’t near a commercial property, because I never wanted to incur such a situation.”

“You buy a house near a commercial property, it’s obvious at some point there’s going to be changes,” he added.

Also opposing the hotel was resident Paul Giovanelli, who questioned how the hotel would impact the quality of life in the neighborhood, among other things.

“In my opinion, a ‘yes’ vote will not only set an undesirable local precedence, but also without adequate justification, would strip the basic protection of the law from existing property owners and place all such residents at risk, now and in the future,” he said.

Board member Loretta Gragnani saw this proposal as a way to spruce up an area of town in need.

“I understand [what the applicant] wants to do, that Tomak building does need to be removed, it is in bad shape,” she said. “I also understand the residents' [concerns]. But I think with the plantings that are proposed and the hotel being much closer that what was originally proposed, I won’t have a problem approving this application.”

Board members opposed to the hotel continued to struggle with the height of the four-story hotel, as well as the noise and light pollution that the hotel would cause residents on Glacier Drive.

But even with some of those concerns, board members still focused on the applicants’ willingness to adjust its plans to accord with regulations and board specifications.

“I believe that the largest factor that everyone seems to have a problem with  is the height restrictions, and I believe that those will be mitigated by the plantings,” board member Brian Kelley said.

Board members who voted against the hotel included Iracane, Michele Jennrich, Steve Dickens and Bernard Berkowitz, while Gragnani, Kelly and Pathak voted for the application.