Zoning Board of Adjustment — November 6, 2025

What was decided

Nine members were present: Cheryl Bethea, Richard Procanik, Alan Rich, Gary Rosenthal, Robert Shepherd, Faraz Khan, Michael Dougherty, Kunal Lakhia and Chairman Thomas. Vaseem Firdaus and Shapendu Singh were absent. The draft minutes record the meeting at 475 DeMott Lane.

• Minutes of September 18, 2025 (6-0: Rich, Rosenthal, Vice Chair Shepherd, Dougherty, Lakhia and Chairman Thomas) and October 9, 2025 (7-0: Bethea, Procanik, Rich, Rosenthal, Vice Chair Shepherd, Lakhia and Chairman Thomas) were approved.
• Ukrainian Orthodox Church of U.S.A., ZBA-25-00008 (minor subdivision of 135 Davidson Avenue into two lots, with a D(2) variance), ZBA-25-00007 (D(2) use variance and site plan to keep the church and seminary facilities on the remaining land) and Syracuse 1950 Easton Avenue Owner LLC, ZBA-25-00009 (D(1) use variance and site plan for a 258,150 sq ft warehouse; Block 469, Lot 1.06, B-I zone): each carried to January 22, 2026, with no further notice, to be held at the Board of Education campus, 2301 Route 27. The draft minutes record each motion as seconded “and all were in favor”; they do not list the roll. The next hearing in the record is March 5, 2026.
• Manjit Singh & Ravinder Kaur, ZBA-24-00011 (convert a repair garage at 339 Elizabeth Avenue to a convenience store): carried to December 4, 2025, with notice required.

See warehouses.

The 135 Davidson Avenue hearing

Peter U. Lanfrit, Esq., represented both the church and the warehouse developer. Peter MacArthur, Esq., appeared for objectors (the draft minutes name the organization “Spidok NYC, Inc.”; later minutes give “Svitanok NYC, Inc.”). Board Attorney Eric Bernstein set the order: the applicant’s witnesses, then questions from the Board, from objectors’ counsel, and from members of the public not represented by him. Mr. Lanfrit said the warehouse was seeking preliminary, not final, site plan approval at that point.

Authority to sell the land. David Lonski, an attorney for the church, testified that the church’s 19 trustees voted on May 25, 2024 to sell about 17.6 acres and that the decision was ratified in October 2025. He described the history of the two church parcels. Mr. MacArthur asked for the corporation’s bylaws and the resolutions authorizing the sale, arguing that without proper authorization there was no contract purchaser and so no applicant under the Municipal Land Use Law. Mr. Bernstein said the church’s authority to sell was not within the Zoning Board’s purview, that the application was filed with an affidavit of the right to apply, and that the resolutions should be sent to the Board for the record. Members of the public, most giving addresses outside Franklin, asked about the authority to sell and the use of the cultural center; Mr. Bernstein said those questions belonged in another venue.

The church site (ZBA-25-00007). Daniel Miola, engineer with Langan Engineering, testified that the building kept by the church would have 82 parking spaces, which the applicant’s traffic engineer’s parking evaluation found adequate. Access would run through the warehouse parking lot by easement, with a gated emergency-only driveway by the seminary. Two above-ground basins would handle stormwater for the new parking.

The warehouse (ZBA-25-00009). Mr. Miola testified to:

• a 258,150 sq ft building with 10,500 sq ft of office, 151 car spaces, 35 loading docks and 19 trailer spaces, designed “on spec” with no tenant identified;
• a car driveway to Davidson Avenue and a 66-ft truck driveway off Executive Drive, where the ordinance allows 36 ft; a 130-ft loading area depth where 147 ft is required; and front-yard loading on Executive Drive. Mr. Lanfrit said the Council had introduced an ordinance to vacate Executive Drive, which would remove the variances tied to it;
• a sidewalk along Davidson Avenue and upgrades to the Davidson Avenue/Executive Drive intersection (wider curb radius, ADA ramps, crosswalks and signal work); the traffic signal would stay;
• eight stormwater facilities (three pervious pavement systems and five bio-retention basins) discharging to a tributary of the Raritan River, designed under Township, Delaware & Raritan Canal Commission and NJDEP rules. NJDEP had issued its permit; the outfall needs a hardship waiver from Section 112-228.B for work in the stream corridor.

Planning Director Mark Healey compared the building’s 50-ft front setback and landscaping with the neighboring IDI Logistics approval; Vice Chair Shepherd asked whether the building could be smaller to match IDI’s buffer. Township Engineer Darren Mazzei asked for a permanent public easement where the sidewalk leaves the right-of-way and a single wall at one basin; Mr. Miola agreed to both.

Objectors’ questions. Mr. MacArthur asked whether the church site needed a variance under Section 112-37E, which puts most place-of-worship parking at the rear; Mr. Miola said he would review it. Mr. MacArthur raised the tree-replacement shortfall (Mr. Miola: 577 replacement trees required, 232 proposed, a shortfall of 345), “exceptional” wetlands with a 150-ft buffer (Mr. Miola: work in the buffer is approved by NJDEP through transition-area averaging), lighting spillover and truck size (WB-67, the largest legal in New Jersey). Public questions covered the 82-space parking count, lighting, the building’s dimensions (818 ft by about 360 ft; 44 to 46.76 ft high) and the access easement.

Adjourned 9:37 p.m.

Records

• Agenda · Draft minutes (attached to the January 8, 2026 agenda) · Packet
• Video on Granicus (2:54). Granicus publishes no captions; this page follows the Board’s draft minutes.