Previously Denied Day Care Request Resurfaces

A request involving a proposed day care center at 70 Old Bloomfield Ave., which was already denied, appeared again before Parsippany's at its Wednesday meeting at .  

The matter involves Pavillion Properties LLC and its plan to put a Children of America day care center in Parsippany. The case has come before the ZBA several times over the past 3 1/2 years. Its most recent visit resulted in the board denying its request because of concerns over the site, which is right near the flood-prone Rockaway River, and its small parking lot.

Pavillion and its building owner, Michael Puschak, took the matter to Superior Court, where Judge Thomas Weisenbeck put the case under remand and referred it back to the ZBA. Under the judge's ruling, according to attorney Savino J. Russoniello Jr., the board was to reexamine the project's site plan regarding three items: the repositioning of the playground area, the installation of landscaping on the west side of the property and creating a designated drop-off area in the parking lot.

Engineer Frank Matarazzo testified that per the judge's ruling, the developers reduced the size of the play area and moved it back to the building line. Two parking spaces were added to the building's west side to serve as a drop-off area. And he pointed out that landscaping in the form of evergreen trees is already in place along the west side of the property.

Board Planner John T. Chadwick IV said the ZBA still has concerns about "severe environmental constraints" he said Judge Weisenbeck did not address.

Noting that the area has a propensity to flood--and did flood during Hurricane Irene last August--Chadwick said the board really wants to see an evacuation plan for the property.

Russoniello argued that Children of America should have an evacuation plan in place already and is obligated to submit the plan to the state, however, the board insisted upon making the plan a condition of any possible future ZBA approval.

Matarazzo sought to reassure the board members of the site's safety. He said that much of the parking area is above the 100-year flood elevation and that the center itself is safe. 

"Even in a 100-year flood, the building would be high and dry," he said.

Still, the issue of an evacuation plan arose several times during the course of a three-hour discussion of the matter. Debate covered numerous areas as board members peppered the developers' attorney and engineer with questions regarding the number of students that will be served by the day care center, the positioning of an on-site dumpster, the size of the parking area and traffic patterns for the lot.

Ultimately, the board went into a conference in which the members shared their opinions regarding accepting or denying the request. Most said they would support the request if their concerns regarding parking lot configuration and seeing an evacuation plan were addressed. The members voted to approve having Russoniello draw up a resolution for approval. The attorney agreed and said the ZBA'S concerns will be taken care of by Nov. 2, the next scheduled ZBA meeting. The board said it will try to fit the matter into its agenda on that date.

In other business, the board adopted renewed one-year contracts for the professional services of planner Chadwick, board attorney George W. Johnson, and engineering company RBA Group. The membes also gave final approval to a resolution allowing the Sunoco station on Route 46 to install underground diesel fuel tanks.