Politics & Government

Zoning Board Again Postpones Vote on Daycare Center

Following a third night of testimony on a controversial variance application needed for a daycare center to relocate into a residential neighborhood, the Lawrence Township zoning board has scheduled a special meeting next week to vote on the application.

For the third time since January, the Lawrence Township Zoning Board of Adjustment Wednesday evening (March 21) heard testimony and public comment concerning plans by Agape International Children’s Academy to relocate its child daycare operation into the vacant building at 2160 Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) that was previously occupied by the New Jersey Conference of Seventh Day Adventists.

To the dismay of both neighborhood residents who vehemently oppose the plan and Agape representatives, the zoning board adjourned Wednesday’s meeting before reaching a decision.

Find out what's happening in Lawrencevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A special zoning board meeting has been set for 7 p.m. next Wednesday, March 28, at the municipal building. During that meeting, board members will deliberate and then vote on Agape’s application for a conditional use variance; no public comment will be allowed that night.

Agape, which previously operated from a building on Princeton Avenue in Lawrence but is now renting space in Ewing Township, needs the variance in order to relocate its business into the residential zone in which the building on Brunswick Pike is located.

Find out what's happening in Lawrencevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The decision to postpone voting on the Agape application was reached by board Chairman Stephen Brame after ongoing public testimony extended the meeting passed its scheduled end-time of 10 p.m.  That came to the displeasure of the large and sometimes rowdy crowd of over 75 neighborhood residents who had come to protest the plan.

To the ire of board members, hecklers from the crowd repeatedly taunted Agape representatives, shouting phrases such as “You don’t live here!” and “We don’t want you!”        

“This is not a performance or theater,” Brame said, scolding audience members for their lack of decorum.

At one point, the board took vocal resident Richard Pelcz to task, chiding him for his constant criticisms and lack of suggestions for what should actually fill the empty building on Brunswick Pike.

“The law in New Jersey says the state supports daycare centers as an inherent benefit to the community,” said Ed Schmerer, zoning board attorney. The board then queried Pelcz as to what he would deem to be a suitable use of the property, upon which repeated shouts of “an office building” drowned out his response.

However, that did not stop Pelcz from delivering a passionate plea that echoed the sentiments of many who live on Bunker Hill and Mayflower avenues and other streets surrounding the building Agape wants to occupy.

“This daycare center will be detrimental and unsafe for our community.  It will also decrease our home values, which we have heavily invested in,” said Pelcz.  “The welfare of our neighborhood should be the first concern!”

Clearly frustrated with the past meetings and the way Wednesday evening transpired, a spokesperson for Agape said, “We don’t want this to continue forever.”

Agape’s proposed use for the building would be to operate its daycare center weekdays from 6:30 a.m. until 7 p.m., with a maximum enrollment of 98 children, the majority of whom would be bused to and from the facility.  

In other news, the zoning board Wednesday also delayed a decision on a variance application that was submitted by developers John Schragger and Joe Giangrasso, who want to build a new three-bedroom home on Meriline Avenue.  The board concluded that the property in question did not meet the hardship requirement necessary to be considered for a waiver at this time.

That decision prompted a lawyer for the developers to quip, “Does this town ever want any affordable housing to be built anywhere?”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here