A proposal for a new swimming school near the Upper Montclair train station has seemingly run aground after eight months of deliberations among the Montclair Planning Board, the applicant, BG Valley LLC, and township residents.
Professionals working on behalf of BG Valley LLC, which is affiliated with Montclair-based real estate firm Greenwood Development, have submitted testimony to the planning board to redevelop the former Chase Bank building at 580 Valley Road since February 23. But issues surrounding traffic flow and parking have become a sticking point between Montclair residents and the planning board.
The application filed by BG Valley in September says that the proposed building would encompass approximately 7,800 square feet and house a 3,860-square-foot swimming pool. The single-story building would include changing areas, showers, storage areas and a dry bar.
The applicant also requested that the board grant a variance for insufficient parking, a request that, along with the applicant’s methodology for conducting traffic impact studies, has stalled progress on the proposal. Montclair law requires that the proposed building include 39 new parking spaces, but the applicant plans to provide only 11.
A July report in Montclair Local said that Gerard Giosa, a parking consultant for the township, submitted testimony to the board on July 6, alleging that the project would create a parking shortage in the area. He said that, in light of the recently reopened Bellevue Theater and workers in the area, the supply of available parking in the Upper Montclair Plaza lot, the Bellevue lot, the train station, and metered parking along Valley Road and Cooper Avenue would not be sufficient to meet the neighborhood’s demand.
That report came two months after the DailyVoice reported that the Upper Montclair Business Association shared a flyer on Facebook urging residents to raise concerns about traffic, parking, and overall safety. The association argued in the flyer that the overlap between classes would create a bottleneck as parents pick up and drop off their children at the swimming school. The flyer also said that traffic studies often ignore this, as peak usage is calculated as if cars disappear as soon as classes end.
On the other hand, residents of the city have questioned the applicant’s methodology for assessing the overall impact on neighborhood traffic. Some residents even questioned whether the traffic study was conducted during the school year and at the busiest times.
David Genova, the founder of Greenwood Development, told NJ.com back in May that he was surprised that businesses in Upper Montclair were not excited about the project, as they could benefit from traffic from the swimming school.
The Montclair Planning Board is scheduled to review the application again during its regular meeting on September 14.
