The Haddonfield planning board has unanimously approved a plan to replace buildings at 118 and 122 Ellis St. with a three-story apartment complex that will include first-floor shops.
“We proposed a commercial use in the commercial space (and) we don’t have a tenant or tenants for that space currently,” said attorney Damien Del Duca, representing Maple Land Holdings LLC, of proposed retailers at the complex.
“We don’t know what that use will be,” he added. “Obviously, if the use doesn’t comply with the ordinance requirements, we’ll have to get approval for that, but so long as the use complies, we’re going to rent some commercial tenants whose use is permitted in the zone.”
Clifton Quay, civil engineer and planner from Stantec Consulting Services, explained the building’s parking situation to the planning board as he testified for Maple Land Holdings.
“There are 18 standard parking spaces and two ADA spaces under the building,” he said. “The 18 standard spaces will be assigned one per unit for the apartments, and we’re going to add signage to the entry area that designates the parking spaces … “
The proposed building plan – which includes consolidating the two Ellis Street lots – is for 18 apartments on the upper floors, with five one-bedroom apartments, nine two-bedroom apartments at market price, three two-bedroom apartments and one three-bedroom apartment that sold at COAH (Council on Affordable Housing) rates.
Though several area residents voiced their concerns about the site’s lighting, increased traffic and retailers near residential lots, the planning board ultimately found the requirements for height waiver variances have been met.
“I have concerns about traffic, we all do,” Del Duca acknowledged. “We all would like to have less traffic. But the use is permitted. There’s going to be traffic whether it’s an office building, this office building, a new office building, apartments, mixed use – there’s going to be traffic.
“ … When you have a permitted use, with respect, offsite use is irrelevant,” he added.
During comments and questions, board member Doug McCollister voiced his approval for the apartment project.
“It is squarely within the intent and purpose that downtown ordinance is set to accomplish,” he pointed out. “ … The idea was to get people living on the second and third floors and get your retail and office and restaurants and whatnot on the first floor to create the traffic and generate some measure of prosperity for businesses that, quite frankly, have a tough time these days in small towns.
“We’ve been greatly successful in doing that.”
