Questions Over Truck Traffic Raised At Allen Road Warehouse Hearing

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Concerns over noise and truck traffic were raised about an application by Signature Acquisitions, LLC during a lengthy Bernards Township Zoning Board meeting on Thursday night.

The Bernards Township Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting on Feb. 15 continued to hear an application by Signature Acquisitions seeking to remove the existing 174,546-square-foot office building and build two new buildings.

The two new buildings proposed to be built include:

• Building A consists of 97,185 square feet of light-industrial/manufacturing space and 30,792 square feet of office space (total of 127,9777 square feet)
• Building B consists of 101,792 square feet of light-industrial/manufacturing space and 28,759 square feet of office space (total of 130,551 square feet)

There would also be 24 trailer loading spaces proposed and of the 328 parking spaces proposed 105 existing parking spaces will remain, while 88 spaces will be located under Building A and 89 spaces will be located under Building B.

During the recent meeting, attorneys representing objectors in the community and the public questioned a traffic witness.

Alan Shapey, who lives on Dickinson Road, raised concerns about noise.

"As trucks proceed up and down [Allen Road], up and around those hills, they are going to be changing gears on multiple occasions," Shapey said. "And when trucks change gears they make noise and the noise can be loud... As a resident, you would be concerned about this new loud noise that has entered your environment that wasn’t there before."

The meeting was stopped after about three-and-a-half-hours with the hearing scheduled to continue on Thursday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. There is one more witness, a planner, scheduled to speak on behalf of Signature before a vote can be rendered on the application.

Attorney for Signature Acquisitions, Jeffrey Lehrer, asked the Board to schedule an additional special meeting in March.

"We ask for a special meeting in the month of March because we have been very, very cooperative. This has been going on for a year," said Lehrer.

Another representative for Signature Acquitions also pleaded for the Board to expedite the process.

"We started this process 2 and a half years ago. We are now tearing the building down and all we’ve done for 2 and a half years is basically carry the property. A lot of time and discussion has been about the fairness to the community, the fairness to the objectors, the fairness to the board. I am just asking for some fairness for the applicant. I need to expedite the decision-making process in anyway possible. I would appreciate your consideration so we can get this done one way or another. But to drag this out only costs us money," said the representative.

Board Engineer, Thomas J. Quinn, said the Board understood the applicant's request.

"The board is going to address trying to have a special meeting and as I understand it special meetings are at the expense of the applicant," said Quinn.

If the Board agrees to another special meeting in March it will be announced at the March 14 meeting.

Since the application was initially presented in early 2023, several residents have organized a group, Protect Somerset Hills (PSH), to challenge the overdevelopment of commercial properties in the Somerset Hills area. Read More: Residents Form Group Opposing Manufacturing Buildings In Basking Ridge

"Our goal is to protect the character and safety of our communities, our quality of life, our historical culture, our natural environment, and our future," according to protectsomersethills.org.

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