As of March 13, 2007, NO PLANS OR APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN FILED with any Board or with the Construction Department.  If the project unfolds, the status will be updated on this webpage.

This project has been under discussion for some time.  It is a matter of public record that some properties in the Meyersville Circle area have recently been sold, but buying and selling property is not regulated by the town. 

REStoRE MEYERSVILLE approached the Planning Board and the town government, seeking advice on how to proceed.  In response, the Planning Board (on January 16, 2007) named a subcommittee of three of its members to meet with the developer and come back to the Planning Board with a recommendation on the specific procedures that would be followed to process an application, if and when one is submitted.

Note that "REStoRE MEYERSVILLE" is the business name chosen by the applicant.

• The Planning Board takes no position on the use or significance of the word "Restore" in the developer's business name.
• The Planning Board simply calls the concept "Meyersville Redevelopment".
• The developer uses mixed case "REStoRE" in his correspondence.  We do not know the significance, but simply mirror it here.

Three of these lots are currently tax-exempt.  Two are owned by the U.S. government, as part of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.  One is owned and occupied by the Meyersville Presbyterian Church.

The "B1-20" zone is a designation that exists to regulate development in Long Hill's traditional small-business neighborhoods.  Three other B1-20 zones exist along Valley Road in Gillette.

• Similar zones regulate the other traditional small-business neighborhoods - "M" for Millington and "B1-5" for Main Avenue in Stirling.
• To see all the Village Business zones, refer to the entire  Zoning Map .

From the Land Use Ordinance, we read these requirements for the "B1-20" Zone:

122.5  B-1-5 and B-1-20 Village Business and M, Millington Village Business Zones. Permitted Primary Uses. Retail trade uses, including food and convenience stores; automobile parts, home, harden (sic) and hobby supply stores; florists; bakeries, pharmacies; general merchandise, clothing and antique stores; and newsstands. Retail service uses, including barber shops and hair salons; repair shops; and studios. Business, medical and professional offices. Restaurants. Financial institutions. Apartments, in accordance with the provisions of subsection 124.1. 124.1  Apartments in Business Zones     Apartments permitted in the B-1-5, B-1-20 and M zones shall be at least five hundred (500) square feet in gross floor area, and shall be no more than one thousand (1,000) square feet. Apartments shall not be located on the ground floor of any building, and the gross density of all apartments on the lot shall not exceed five (5) units per acre. Child care centers. Any other use, in the opinion of the approving authority, primarily intended to serve a village business function. Permitted Accessory Uses. Signs. Parking facilities Satellite earth station antennas, in accordance with subsection 124.6. Live entertainment at restaurants and existing bars. Other accessory uses customarily incidental to a permitted primary use. Permitted Conditional Uses. Outdoor dining at permitted restaurant uses. Public and institutional uses. Public utilities. Drive-up windows for pharmacy uses.

SECTION 131:  SCHEDULE OF BULK REQUIREMENTS Zone Minimum Lot Area Minimum Lot Width (feet) Minimum Floor Area (square feet) Minimum Building Width (feet) Maximum Height of Building (stories/feet) Minimum Front Yard (feet) B-1-20 20,000 sq. ft. 100 800 (ground floor) 20(5) 2/35 50 Zone Minimum Side Yard (feet) Minimum Rear Yard (feet) Maximum Building Coverage (percent) Lot Coverage (percent) Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Buffer (feet)(9) B-1-20 20(7) 25 20 40 40 25 (5)  If building contains more than one business unit, building width requirement shall be fifteen (15) feet. Maximum store size in M, B-1-5 and B-1-20 zones shall be three thousand (3,000) square feet. (7)  Aggregate of both side yards must be of at least fifty (50) feet; side and rear yards shall be a minimum of thirty (30) feet when property abuts a residential use or zone. (9)  Buffer is required when property abuts or is located across a street from a residential use or zone; in LI-2 zone, no building shall be built within one hundred fifty (150) feet of a residential zone. When a side or rear yard in the M zone abuts a residential use or zone, the side or rear yard building setback shall be a minimum of forty (40) feet.

For the complete regulations and a precise description of these categories, read Sections 120-126 of the Land Use Ordinance.

• The selection of a course of action will be based on the final plans that the developer proposes in his APPLICATION.  To date, there is no APPLICATION, and no action can be taken.
• In EVERY CASE, a formal hearing of some sort will be conducted, the the public will be allowed to express their opinion.

• If there are NO DEVIATIONS from the Permitted Primary Uses, no variances for lot coverage or setback, and no change of existing lot boundaries, the APPLICATION can be made to the Planning Board for a Site Plan Review. This would apply separately for each parcel, although the Planning Board might consolidate them.
• If other uses are contemplated, beyond the Permitted Primary Uses listed in the Land Use Ordinance, or if variances are required for lot coverage or setback, then the APPLICATION must be made to the Zoning Board for approval of the variances, and for a Site Plan Review.
• If lot lines are redrawn, subdivided, or consolidated, the APPLICATION would be made to the Planning Board for the subdivision, followed by Site Plan Review, discussed above.
• If the applicant's plans are very extensive, an option would be for the Township Committee to modify the Zoning Map and the Land Use Ordinance, to change the uses permitted in B1-20, or to create a separate new zone, with its own regulations.
  • This process has been used in the past, to etablish specific new zones for the two shopping malls, for Lounsberry Meadows, and for each of the five existing Multi-Family Residential developments in Long Hill.
  • This process would, at minimum, involve a change to the town's Master Plan, Application and review by the Planning Board, and formal action by the Township Committee to rewrite the Land Use Ordinance.  There would be public hearings at each step of this process.