Articles Land use and development
Warehouses in Franklin, Explained: The B-I Ordinance, the Approvals and the B9 Case
How Franklin's Business and Industry zone drew dozens of warehouse applications, how a traffic study and master plan reexamination led to Ordinance 4507-26, what the boards have approved since 2025, and where the B9 Schoolhouse Road case and the other lawsuits stand.
The short version
- Franklin’s Business and Industry (B-I) zone has drawn “more than two dozen” applications for new or expanded warehouses since 2018, totalling “several million square feet,” according to the township’s own ordinance.
- On June 9, 2026 the Township Council adopted Ordinance 4507-26, 6–3. It caps warehouses at 150,000 sq ft, ties them to the I-287 interchanges, keeps them 500 feet from residential zones, and removes data centers as a permitted use in the zone.
- Several large warehouses were approved before and after the ordinance, among them 258,150 sq ft at 135 Davidson Avenue by use variance on June 18, 2026.
- The B9 warehouses on Schoolhouse Road, denied by the Planning Board in 2023, were approved by court order in 2025 with 30 conditions. A separate appeal over the township’s stormwater ordinance went against the township in March 2026.
The zone
The B-I zone’s larger part lies in the northwest, near the township’s two I-287 interchanges: Davidson Avenue, Atrium Drive, Executive Drive, Cottontail Lane, Schoolhouse Road, Weston Canal Road and World’s Fair Drive. A smaller part sits in the northeast, between Hamilton Street and Bennetts Lane. Canal Walk, a 55-and-over community, sits next to the B9 site on Schoolhouse Road; Somerset Run and Bryant Court residents have also spoken about truck traffic.
How the ordinance came about
The Planning Board hired Bright View Engineering (David Glynn Roberts, PP, AICP) for a B-I traffic study, dated August 18, 2024, and a B-I master plan reexamination. A steering committee met four times in 2024, and community meetings were held on June 27, 2024 and January 30, 2025. In April 2025 the Board sent the Council a draft ordinance with “initial comments.”
At the Council on October 8, 2024, residents including Marlon Quan spoke about a Cottontail Lane warehouse and a traffic study showing “ten (10) intersections … overwhelmed.” On October 22, 2024, Township Attorney Louis Rainone told the Council there were “12–13 lawsuits challenging ordinances regarding stormwater, noise and the two zoning ordinances,” consolidated, with a case management conference set for December 4, 2024.
The Planning Board held its hearing on the B-I reexamination on January 14, 2026. Six members of the public spoke (Dave Robinson, Debbie Stewart, Sally Zaharchek, Norman Roberts, Suti Shah and Kiki Anastasikos), and the Board adopted it 5–0. See Master plan reexaminations.
What Ordinance 4507-26 does
From the ordinance text:
- Size and docks. A permitted “warehouse” is at most 150,000 sq ft of gross floor area, with at most one high loading dock per 5,000 sq ft and one low dock per 50,000 sq ft. A warehouse exceeding any limit is prohibited. Truck terminals, postal hubs and fulfillment centers are prohibited.
- Where. Warehouses become a conditional use in B-I. They must be within one road mile of an I-287 interchange, at least 500 feet from any residential-zone property (unless an interstate lies between), within a floor-area ratio of 0.362, and reached from a minor collector or larger street.
- Light manufacturing. Storage may not exceed manufacturing floor area; high docks are limited to one per 10,000 sq ft.
- Operations. Where a site is next to or across a street from a residential zone, no loading or unloading from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays, or from 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. on weekends and federal holidays, and a noise impact analysis is required. A truck route plan and anti-idling and air-quality provisions are also required.
- Data centers. “Data center” is removed as a permitted principal use in B-I. The ordinance cites noise, air quality, and the “disproportionate impact … on electric and public water infrastructure systems.”
The planner’s report read at the June 9 hearing said the Council’s version is “more restrictive than the Planning Board’s initial recommendations.” According to the planner, David Glynn Roberts of Bright View (memo of May 28, 2026, and Planning Board minutes of June 3), the Board’s recommendations had low- and medium-intensity tiers, with the one-road-mile limit applying to medium-intensity uses. The Council applied that limit to all warehouses and barred any warehouse within 500 feet of a residential zone.
The votes
| Step | Date | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Introduced | May 12, 2026 | 6–0. Ayes: Kharazi, Kramer, Onyejiaka, Singh, Vassanella, Wright. Absent: Anbarasan, Francois, Uddin |
| Planning Board finds it “not inconsistent” with the Master Plan | June 3, 2026 | 9–0 |
| Adopted | June 9, 2026 | 6–3. Ayes: Anbarasan, Francois, Kharazi, Kramer, Onyejiaka, Singh. Nays: Uddin, Vassanella, Wright. Moved by Kharazi, seconded by Anbarasan |
At introduction (May 12). Dave Robinson spoke in support. Anthony Riccio opposed more warehousing and asked for a capacity analysis. Kiki Anatasakos commended the study and asked about an “interior access road” and 16 failing intersections. Jan Brant opposed the ordinance as premature and urged keeping conditional-use protections. Skip Richards raised traffic and the 4-ton limit on Schoolhouse Road. The minutes record that Councilman Vassanella said it “doesn’t go far enough” and that he did not support it; the roll call lists him among the ayes on introduction. Councilman Singh called it “a positive step.”
On May 26, Jim Johnston thanked the Council for limiting warehouses and banning data centers, and Javahn Walker asked about the data-center ban’s timeframe.
At the hearing (June 9). Ten people spoke, as the minutes record them:
- In support: Dave Robertson, Ken Berkowitz and Dr. David Holland.
- In support but asking for more: Marlon Quan (fewer docks, and closing a loophole for trucks moving between commonly owned warehouses), Sudhir Shah (a build-out analysis for Wards 2 and 4) and Skip Richards (traffic).
- Asking that it be tabled: Jan Brant.
- Opposed, for property owners: attorneys John Kaplan and William Lane and planner Matt Flynn. Kaplan cited “ongoing litigation against similar prior ordinances” and objected to the “outright ban on data centers”; Flynn said the ban “lacked master plan support.”
Councilman Singh cited “numerous emails” in support. Councilwoman Uddin, the minutes record, called the ordinance a “positive step,” said “perfect is the enemy of the good,” praised “not permitting data centers,” and raised continuing traffic and safety concerns; the roll call lists her as voting no.
The applications
| Applicant and site | Board | Proposal | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| B9 Schoolhouse Owner, LLC (PLN-22-00011), Schoolhouse Road and Mettlers Road | Planning Board, then court | Two warehouses | Denied September 26, 2023. Reversed by the Superior Court on May 8, 2025 and sent back for conditions. Board adopted 30 conditions August 6, 2025 (4–1) and memorialized them October 15, 2025 (3–0) |
| IDI Logistics LLC (ZBA-24-00010), 1-3 Executive Drive | Zoning Board, use variance | 212,500 sq ft warehouse | Approved July 10, 2025; memorialized September 18, 2025 |
| 500 Atrium LLC (PLN-23-00005), 500 Atrium Drive | Planning Board | Replace an office with two warehouses of 69,252 sq ft each | Approved October 15, 2025, 7–0; no public speakers |
| Davidson Properties, LLC (PLN-23-00007), 230 Davidson Avenue | Planning Board, conditional use | 35,510 sq ft warehouse behind an existing building | Approved January 7, 2026; resolution February 18, 2026 |
| JC IOS Acquisitions, LLC (ZBA-25-00020), 945 Route 27 | Zoning Board, use variance | Outdoor storage | Approved February 5, 2026, 7–0; memorialized April 2, 2026 |
| Syracuse 1950 Easton Avenue Owner LLC (ZBA-25-00009), 135 Davidson Avenue | Zoning Board, use variance | 258,150 sq ft warehouse | Heard November 6, 2025, March 5 and May 7, 2026. Approved June 18, 2026; memorialized September 24, 2026 |
| Concore Realty, LLC (PLN-23-00006), 403 Elizabeth Avenue | Planning Board | 15,425 sq ft warehouse | Carried to October 21, 2026 with “notification needed”; not on that agenda |
| Onyx 789, LLC (PLN-22-00017), 785 Old New Brunswick Road | Planning Board | 102,733 sq ft warehouse | Carried on September 17, 2025 “to a date to be determined – notification needed”; not on an agenda since |
500 Atrium sizes. The agendas noticed the project as 145,673 sq ft (June–July 2025) and 161,000 sq ft (October 2025). At the hearing, the minutes record counsel saying “139,000” and the engineer describing two buildings of 69,252 sq ft, “approximately 130,000.”
135 Davidson Avenue. The land belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of U.S.A., whose related subdivision and D(2) use-variance applications were approved on the same dates. Objectors were represented by attorney Peter MacArthur; their issue was the church’s authority to sell the land. The approval came nine days after Ordinance 4507-26 was adopted. The June 18 minutes, which would give the Board’s vote and reasoning, are not yet posted.
The B9 conditions. On August 6, 2025, the minutes record, 15 Canal Walk residents spoke, with public comment allowed “as a courtesy.” The applicant’s attorney, Peter Lanfrit, objected to condition 11 (the Chapter 169 nuisance code) and condition 22 (no hazardous “H” uses). The intervenor, the Citizens Warehouse Action Group (Michael Gan), asked for a condition barring use of the site for access to an adjoining proposed 621,000 sq ft warehouse. The Board adopted the conditions 4–1: Anbarasan, Chase, Rafiq and Orsini yes; Thomas no.
The lawsuits
- The B9 denial. Reversed in Superior Court on May 8, 2025, according to the Planning Board minutes, which name the judge as “Honorable William G. Amen” and “Judge Menon.” On August 6, 2025 the Board’s attorney said the matter was on appeal to the Appellate Division by the Board and by the intervenor, the Citizens Warehouse Action Group. The trial docket number and the appeal’s status are not known.
- The stormwater ordinance (A-1461-24). B9 and Concore challenged Ordinance 4419-23, which applied new stormwater rules to pending applications. The Appellate Division affirmed their win on March 13, 2026. See Flooding and stormwater.
- The other ordinance suits. The “12–13” consolidated suits Mr. Rainone described in 2024 are not identified by docket in the record read.
- Ordinance 4507-26. On August 11, 2026 the Council went into executive session on “Litigation – Warehouse and Williams Transco Litigation.” Whether anyone has filed suit against 4507-26 is not known.
What is not known
- The B9 trial docket number and the status of any appeal.
- The docket numbers and outcomes of the earlier ordinance challenges.
- Whether Ordinance 4507-26 has been challenged in court.
- The Zoning Board’s vote count and reasoning on 135 Davidson Avenue.
- Whether the Onyx 789 application is still active.
What residents can do
- Speak at the hearing. Site plans in the B-I zone go to the Planning Board; use variances go to the Zoning Board. Both take questions and comments from the public during each hearing. The Planning Board’s rules allow only the application’s subject to be addressed during its hearing.
- Watch the agendas. Concore (403 Elizabeth Avenue) and Onyx 789 (785 Old New Brunswick Road) need new public notice before they are heard. Board and Council agendas are on the township’s Granicus archive.
- Read the ordinance. The full text of 4507-26 is linked under Sources.