Zoning Board Rejects Application for Daycare Facility

By Michael Zanfardino

By a 6-1 vote, the Lawrence Zoning Board of Adjustment Wednesday evening (March 28) denied a conditional use variance application that would have allowed Agape International Children’s Academy to relocate its child daycare operation to the currently-vacant building at 2160 Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1).

The decision ends three months of contentious debate that saw neighborhood residents vehemently oppose Agape’s plan to move into the building, which was formerly occupied by the New Jersey Conference of Seventh Day Adventists. The daycare would have operated on weekdays from 6:30 a.m. until 7 p.m., with a maximum enrollment of 98 children, the majority of whom would have been bused to and from the facility.

Agape, which previously operated from a building on Princeton Avenue in Lawrence but is now renting space in Ewing, needed the variance for a variety of reasons, including the Brunswick Pike property’s location being within a residential zone, its lot size being too small and parking issues.

Over 50 opponents of the plan – residents of Bunker Hill and Mayflower avenues and other streets near the building – were in attendance Wednesday as zoning board members deliberated.

Board Chairman Stephen Brame cited traffic concerns as his main reasoning for voting against Agape’s application.

“I’ve seen the site during rush hour,” said Brame.  “Parked cars make that street impossible to pass.”

Brame also voiced displeasure with a proposed 8-foot tall fence that Agape would have erected about the property, referring to it as a “Stalin-type of environment in a residential community.”

Board member Peter Kremer suggested that the township take steps to address traffic concerns in the area before accepting new applications for the site.

“The township should consider banning parking on both sides of (Bunker Hill Avenue),” said Kremer, who voted against the proposal.

Although the final vote was lopsided – with Bruce Kmosko the only board member supporting the application – debate became very intense at times between board members. 

Ed Wiznitzer, who as an alternative board member did not have an official vote in the matter, criticized his colleagues for rejecting the plan, given the limited options available for the building.

“We all would like a dream occupant to come into this property,” said Wiznitzer.  “However, the lay of the land is what it is.  If this is not the dream occupant we are looking for, would any other applicant be appropriate?”

Situated within a residential zone as it is, the building must be filled with a business deemed inherently beneficial under state law.  Daycares, day schools, places of worship, and senior housing are among the permitted uses.

According to the testimony of township planning consultant Brian Slaugh, such facilities would create an “equal or greater traffic impact” on the community, and also require additional parking space.

“It is unlikely this property could return to residential use,” explained Slaugh, when questioned about other potential uses for the lot.

Brame conceded that zoning restrictions limit the possible uses for the building.

“What we have is an economically obsolete building,” said Brame.

At the end of the day, the idea of a bus passing through the cramped neighborhood multiple times a day was too much for the majority of board members.

“How a bus can navigate that street during rush hour is going to be very difficult,” said Brame.

John Gladwell, who also voted against Agape’s application, agreed, saying in reference to the bus, “It is definitely going to be a substantial detriment for the neighborhood.”

Residents attending the meeting were rowdy from the get-go, and had to be quieted by Brame on multiple occasions throughout the deliberation process.  At one point, Kremer openly challenged a heckler who interrupted his comments, shouting, “Excuse me? Your time to talk is over!”

However, despite such warnings, the crowd erupted in loud applause when the board’s decision to reject the application was announced.

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