Land use and development

Self-storage building at Routes 22 and 28 (Melick's farm stand)

Bridgewater Self Storage, LLC (App. #24-027-ZB) asked the Zoning Board for a use variance to build a 774-unit indoor self-storage building on the former Tectonic office site and the lot where the Melick family runs a seasonal farm stand. TAPinto reported a 5-2 vote to approve on Oct. 13, 2026, with a condition that keeps a farm stand on the site.

Checked against the primary record on . Every figure on this page is sourced at the foot of the article.

Zoning Board vote reported Oct. 13; resolution listed as pending Oct. 20 Last moved

What happens next

The Zoning Board adopts a memorializing resolution at a public meeting and publishes a notice of decision. The Board's Oct. 20, 2026 special-meeting agenda lists the application's resolution as "PENDING"; LocalWhy has not yet reviewed the Oct. 13 or Oct. 20 minutes. The Board's next regular meetings are on the second and fourth Tuesdays at 7 p.m., 100 Commons Way.

Bridgewater Self Storage, LLC (App. #24-027-ZB; TAPinto calls it Bridgewater Storage LLC) applied to the Zoning Board of Adjustment to build an indoor self-storage building on Block 400, Lots 1 and 2: the vacant former Tectonic office park at 322 Route 22 and the lot at 351 Route 28 where the Melick family has run a seasonal farm stand. The site is in the C-3 zone, which does not permit self-storage, so the applicant needed a D(1) use variance, plus a D(4) floor-area variance and bulk variances (Route 22 setback, loading spaces, sign setback), its attorney said on Jan. 27, 2026, according to the Board’s transcript.

The plan. On Jan. 27, 2026 the applicant’s architect testified the building had gone from 120,570 to 106,650 square feet, with a proposed 774 units, all interior (about 835 before), and its attorney said it was about 31 feet high from average grade, 43 feet seen from the Bogart/Route 28 intersection, where 45 feet is permitted (Board transcript). TAPinto reported a 35-foot height by July 2026, with storage traffic only from Route 22 and the farm stand reached only from Route 28. In September 2026 the applicant added the farm stand to its plan, offering the Melicks a 10-year lease with a possible 10-year extension.

The hearings. The Board first heard the application on March 25 and July 8, 2025, its attorney said on Jan. 27, 2026; the Board’s agendas label the Oct. 13, 2026 session the “7TH HEARING,” and TAPinto described it as the seventh “over 20 months.” The Board’s transcripts record 3 residents questioning witnesses on Jan. 27, 12 people speaking on April 28 and 27 sworn public comments on July 14, and a lawyer for a competing storage business, Arthur’s Self Storage, cross-examining. Inderpreet Banga said he spoke for Bridgewater Residents United, a group of over 150 members, not a legal entity. TAPinto reported that the group later raised money to hire an attorney, Jeffrey Brennan, who questioned the applicant’s planner and argued the 2025 Master Plan allows self-storage in only one business zone. At the Council, which said it cannot comment on a pending Zoning Board application, two speakers asked that the farm stand be kept.

The vote. TAPinto reported that on Oct. 13 the Board voted 5-2 to approve, with the certificate of occupancy conditioned on allowing a farm-stand operation. The Board’s Oct. 20 special-meeting agenda lists “Application #24-027-ZB (PENDING) Bridgewater Self Storage, LLC” under resolutions. LocalWhy has not yet reviewed the Oct. 13 or Oct. 20 minutes or a memorializing resolution; this page will be updated from them.

What residents can do. Watch for the Board’s memorializing resolution and published notice of decision on the township’s legal notices page. The explainer sets out the hearings, the vote as reported and what was said. Corrections can be emailed to info@localwhy.org.

The storage application, explained

Timeline

Each dated event on this issue, oldest first, linked to the full sourced entry.

  1. Pending Bridgewater Self Storage presents a downsized plan to the Zoning BoardThe applicant for a self-storage building at Routes 22 and 28 (App. #24-027-ZB) presented a revised plan: 106,650 square feet, down from 120,570, with 774 units all indoors. Its attorney said the C-3 zone does not permit self-storage, so a D(1) use variance is needed, plus a D(4) floor-area variance. The hearing was carried to April 28.
  2. Pending Farm-stand operator asks the Council to preserve the market at the storage siteRebecca Melick told the Council the proposed storage facility at 351 Route 28, then seeking variances before the Zoning Board, would end the farm market she has run there for about 20 years. Councilman Kirsh said the Council cannot comment on matters before the Zoning Board.
  3. Pending Storage applicant adds the farm stand to its plan with a 10-year lease offerThe applicant told the Zoning Board it had agreed to let the Melick family run the farm stand under a new 10-year lease with a possible 10-year extension, and presented revised plans. About 150 people attended; the hearing was carried to Oct. 13, TAPinto reported.
  4. Pending Zoning Board votes 5-2 on the self-storage application, TAPinto reportsTAPinto reported that the Zoning Board voted 5-2 to approve the 774-unit self-storage building at Routes 22 and 28 (App. #24-027-ZB), with the certificate of occupancy conditioned on allowing a farm-stand operation. The Board's Oct. 20 special-meeting agenda lists the application's resolution as "PENDING"; LocalWhy has not yet reviewed the Oct. 13 minutes.

Explainers

  • The Self-Storage Application at Routes 22 and 28, Explained

    What Bridgewater Self Storage, LLC asked the Zoning Board for, how the plan changed over seven hearings, the farm-stand lease, what residents and the Council said, and the Oct. 13, 2026 vote as TAPinto reported it, pending the Board's written decision.

Documents

The township's own records on this issue. Each links to the official copy.

Meetings

  • Zoning Board of Adjustment — October 20, 2026

    Special meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment at 6:30 p.m. The agenda lists the pending memorializing resolution for Bridgewater Self Storage at Routes 22 and 28 and the fourth hearing on Rockland APV's battery storage application, moved from Oct. 27. LocalWhy has not yet reviewed minutes of this meeting.

  • Zoning Board of Adjustment — October 13, 2026

    Regular meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The agenda lists the seventh hearing on Bridgewater Self Storage at Routes 22 and 28 and the Liquid Church resolution, which the township's notice says was adopted that night. TAPinto reported that the Board approved the storage application 5-2; LocalWhy has not yet reviewed minutes of this meeting, and the Oct. 20 agenda lists the storage resolution as pending.

  • Zoning Board of Adjustment — September 22, 2026

    Regular meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The agenda lists the sixth hearing on Bridgewater Self Storage at Routes 22 and 28, says the 1200 Route 22 warehouse hearing would not proceed, and lists resolutions for 136 Pine Street and Liquid Church. LocalWhy has not yet reviewed minutes of this meeting.

  • Township Council — July 23, 2026

    The Council certified the 2025 audit and its corrective action plan and introduced an ordinance requiring owners to clear snow around fire hydrants, all 5-0. Fifteen people spoke, many about a possible data center at the Greymark property; the attorney said there is no active site plan application. Ring proposed ending health benefits for elected officials, and Youth Council members proposed a voting age of 17 for local elections.

  • Zoning Board of Adjustment — July 14, 2026

    The Board approved CX Tower Leasing's wireless monopole at 719 Route 202 (150 feet with its lightning rod), 7-0, and a one-year extension of a 2024 approval at 233 Shepherd Avenue, 7-0. At the fifth hearing on Bridgewater Self Storage at Routes 22 and 28, 27 members of the public commented, among them Rebecca Melick of the farm stand; many asked the Board to deny the use variance. That hearing was carried to Sept. 22.

  • Township Council — July 9, 2026

    The Council adopted three bond ordinances, each 5-0: #26-10, $4,205,000 for the emergency radio system; #26-11, $1,900,000 for road improvements; and #26-12, $2,500,000 for drainage. It awarded $133,505.50 for the Philip and David Miller Park basketball courts. The Mayor reported the 2025 audit complete with one recommendation. Residents raised a possible data center at the Greymark property and the Melick farm stand.

  • Zoning Board of Adjustment — April 28, 2026

    Bridgewater Self Storage's application at Routes 22 and 28 had its fourth hearing, with the applicant's engineer, architect and planner, Paul Ricci. Twelve members of the public questioned witnesses or commented, including on traffic and safety at the Route 22 driveway; the hearing was carried to July 14. The 1200 Route 22 warehouse application was carried to Sept. 22 with new notice.

  • Township Council — April 23, 2026

    With Geiger absent and Bucko presiding, the Council adopted the 2026 cap-bank ordinance #26-06, 4-0, and the multifamily snow-clearing ordinance #26-05, 3-1 with Ring voting no. The police chief reported directed patrols on Vosseller Avenue, and Bucko asked NJDOT to study a stop sign at the Route 22 exit there. Rebecca Melick asked that the farm market at 351 Route 28 be preserved.

  • Zoning Board of Adjustment — January 27, 2026

    Bridgewater Self Storage's use-variance application at Routes 22 and 28 had its third hearing: the applicant presented a building cut from 120,570 to 106,650 square feet with all units inside, a lawyer for a competing storage business cross-examined, and three residents questioned witnesses. The hearing was carried to April 28, as was the 1200 Route 22 warehouse application, which was not heard.

  • Zoning Board of Adjustment — December 9, 2025

    The Board approved bulk variances for a garage addition at 1065 Carteret Road, 7-0, and adopted two resolutions. Café Emilia's expansion on Route 202, cut to about 10,337 square feet, had its second hearing; three Charlotte Drive residents questioned the engineer, and the case went to the Jan. 13 reorganization for scheduling, as did the Bridgewater Self Storage and Rockland APV applications.

Sources for this overview

  1. Zoning Board minutes and transcript, Jan. 27, 2026
  2. Zoning Board minutes and transcript, April 28, 2026
  3. Zoning Board minutes and transcript, July 14, 2026
  4. Zoning Board agenda, Oct. 13, 2026
  5. Zoning Board special-meeting agenda, Oct. 20, 2026
  6. TAPinto Bridgewater/Raritan, Oct. 15, 2026: "Zoning Board Approves Self Storage Building, Approval Includes Lease for Farmstand"
  7. TAPinto Bridgewater/Raritan, Sept. 24, 2026: "Bridgewater Storage Application Continued to October"
  8. TAPinto Bridgewater/Raritan, Jan. 29, 2026: "Applicant Presents Revised Plan for Proposed Storage Facility at Routes 22, 28"
  9. Township Council minutes, April 23, 2026 (Rebecca Melick)
  10. Township Council minutes, July 23, 2026 (Councilmen Kirsh and Ring on the variance process)
All issues The full timeline