Council: Emerson reviews options on dispatch Priester is champ

DiPaola said the council has “wrestled with” outsourcing police dispatch service for several years, calling it “a very difficult decision” and noting that depending on who you speak to, the county PSOC dispatch is “either the catʼs meow or not so great.”

“This is weighing on all of us,” said DiPaola.

At the meetingʼs end, council passed a consent resolution to appoint Guerine Tout-Puissant as a new part-time dispatcher for Emerson Police Department.

Pascackvalley

Congratulations to Dominik Priester of Pascack Hills Junior Wrestling, who had an undefeated wrestling season in the 10U 100pound weight class, placing first in District, first in Region, and winning the USAW New Jersey Scholastic State Championship on Sunday, March 12 at Cure Insurance Arena in Trenton. Dominik thanks his dedicated coaches Rich, Eleazar, and Jeff; his cousin Marty; his mom, dad, and sisters; and his friends for their support.

BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS

Township Ofwashington

A sixth Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing, March 21 at 7:30 p.m., on a proposed neighborhood retail plaza is likely to feature a township engineerʼs review of an applicant traffic study that residents questioned due to its finding of an “inconsequential” impact during peak traffic hours.

The applicant traffic study found a 43-vehicle increase during peak hours from a proposed 17,100-square-foot retail center at the Pascack Road–Washington Avenue intersection being overhauled.

Numerous residents questioned the studyʼs findings, which found improved traffic conditions at Pascack–Washington, mostly due to major intersection upgrades and improvements undertaken by Bergen County. To validate the studyʼs findings, the Zoning Board ordered an independent review of the study by its engineer, Boswell Engineering.

The 43 vehicles projected was the “peak hour” traffic increase projected by Gary Dean, of Dean & Dolan, Somerville.

The sixth ZBA hearing on 4 Seasons Marketplace could be the last, which would allow residents to offer views on the project, planned for 660-682 Pascack Road.

The applicant 660 Pascack Realty LLC, owned mostly by Seasons Catering owners, including James Kourgelis, proposes two retail buildings holding up to

11 retail shops and businesses, including restaurants on the 2.2acre site. The two buildings comprise 14,700 square feet, and 2,400 square feet, respectively, The site holds three boardedup homes marked unsafe to enter, plus two occupied homes. At Februaryʼs hearing, applicant planner Paul Grygiel provided specific reasons the proposed site was “particularly suited” for a retail plaza.

Grygiel said the siteʼs location at a busy intersection of two county roads, the siteʼs visibility from two major crossroads, a newly expanded intersection with improved traffic flow, the volume of traffic, and how current nonconforming uses at the three other corners are commercial uses despite single-family zoning — all are reasons the retail plaza is “particularly suited” to the site.

Nearby Meisten Street and Northgate Condominium residents have expressed concern over an applicant engineerʼs study that showed an unnamed tributary behind the proposed strip mall to no longer be a protected waterway, or “Category One” stream, when previously it was.

The applicantʼs drainage basin study showed the streamʼs drainage area to be 48.2 acres, less than the 50 acres required for a regulated “C1” waterway.

Separately, and apart from the Zoning Board hearings, the Township Council requested township engineer John Yakimic review the remotely sensed LIDAR data for accuracy in delineating the drainage basin size.

[Related: “Questioning devel- oper on standards,” Letters, page 21.]

A copy of Boswellʼs traffic report analyzing the applicantʼs traffic study was expected to be publicly available 10 days in advance of the March 21 public hearing. As of March 14, ZBA secretary Grace Kalish said she had not yet received the Boswell study.

Check Documents under the Four Seasons Town Square application on the ZBA web page.