“This ordinance will help to streamline our zoning [process] so that changing from one use to another use in our business area would [be] easier, with less red tape, and with less cost to prospective businesses,” Mayor Vahalla said at the meeting. “In fact, even though it is being adopted today, there is one business for which it really came through by using some of this.”

Vahalla was referring to printing business Print Tech at 567 Middlesex Avenue that had earlier this summer received approval from the borough to become the Mona Lisa Café, which Vahalla described as an “Italian family type” restaurant. The restaurant is the second location of the established Brooklyn bakery, confirmed an employee of the main Brooklyn location.

Revising the ordinance in this fashion was originally championed by councilman Justin Manley in his bid last fall for election to the Borough Council. As part of his campaign, he had advocated streamlining the borough’s procedures by revising the change of use criteria.

How this works

Sometimes, when a new business applies to open in town, it may need approval for a “change of use.” However, what’s important here is how we define that phrase. For example, it can be a business that requires only a minor change of use, such as changing from a retail store to a bank. On the other hand, it can be a major change of use, such as changing from a retail store to a hotel, which is a wholly different type of business.

Until now, a new business that applied to open in Metuchen would have been considered a “change of use” if it met at least one of the following three criteria:

1) if it changed classifications according to the state building code, which classifies a building according to approximately 10 general uses: Place of Assembly, Business, Educational, Factory/Industrial, High Hazard, Institutional, Mercantile, Residential, Storage, Utility; or,

2) if it changed uses according to the borough’s zoning code, which is far more specific; or

3) if the new application requires more parking than it currently has but does not provide that parking.

Now, as a result of the change to the borough ordinance, the second requirement has been removed altogether, so that an application that satisfies the state building code can skip a municipal site plan review or meeting with the technical review committee (TRC), meaning it can go faster through the zoning process and at less expense.

Normally, the purpose of these initial meetings with the regulating boards is to allow applicants to review concepts and proposals for the particular site before larger expenditures are made in a formal presentation and to make sure that the applicant’s plans for the site are in line with the community’s standards and expecations. However, the Metuchen Chamber of Commerce, the Development Commission, and the Planning Board have all supported this change in the local ordinance.

So, using the above example, let us say someone buys a convenience store on Main Street but wants to convert it into a bank. Even though they are different uses according to Metuchen’s more specific zoning code, both uses fall in the Business group of the state’s building code and so would not need a TRC meeting or site plan review.

Council attorney David Frizell gave other examples of how the change in the ordinance could now come into play.

“I believe if you go from restaurant to somatic therapy, that is a change in building use,” Frizell said. “But if you went from some sort of quasi-medical use, such as an optometrist’s office, which is a personal service, to somatic therapy, you would not require a TRC.”

At the meeting, Mayor Vahalla described somatic therapy as a “type of massage,” and said that three new somatic therapy establishments had recently opened in the borough.

Frizell is correct because though Metuchen has added somatic therapy as a specific type of use according to its zoning laws, it would fall in the more general Business group of the state building code, same as an optometrist’s office. On the other hand, the state considers a restaurant to be a Place of Assembly, and so changing the use of a building from a restaurant to a massage parlor would require a full site plan review and/or TRC meeting.

As a result, Frizell noted that this change would make it easier and less expensive for a somatic therapy business to open in the borough.

“I have no real issues because we have a very extensive code regulating somatic therapy, which we adopted from another place,” Frizell said. “I don’t think it is an issue. I just want the council to be aware that this actually would make it less expensive to open a somatic therapy clinic. What this does is it allows them to get a zoning permit without going to the TRC if they satisfy the building code aspect. But if they are going from a residence [or a restaurant] to a somatic therapy [establishment], they have to get site plan approval.”

Vahalla also gave a quick review of the recent progress the borough had made in attracting other new businesses to town.

“We also have a new Irish pub opening,” Vahalla said. “We have a new jewelry store, Martin & Son, coming in. We have a new yoga and tai chi area coming in. From talking to the zoning officer, there are two other applications which are coming which now don’t have to go to TRC or through the site plan approvals. So, we have seven new businesses, of which six are in the downtown and one is on South Main. So this is a plus in economic times like this, and we are moving in the right direction.”

At a June 1, 2009 Metuchen borough council meeting, councilman William Waldron raised the issue of whether it was possible to provide the general public with more information on the specifics of applications that appear before the Planning Board.

As an example, he mentioned the increasing number of massage parlors that appeared to be opening up in the borough.

“I have noticed recently, and while I applaud business, tax revenues, and the growth of Metuchen, we seem to have become a Mecca for massage parlors,” Waldron said at the meeting. “While that may be a beneficial business, and one that works well within our healthcare system, I think a lot of residents would like to know if they could find out before these matters go before the Planning Board and if we could publicize what the precise application is.”

“Very frequently when someone looks at a Planning Board agenda, it is just ABC Corp. applying for a use variance or what-have-you,” he said. “It is only after we get the minutes that you find out after the fact that they are looking to convert from an insurance company to a massage parlor. I don’t mean to be singling out massage parlors, but I have seen at least two pop up recently. These are legitimate business, but a lot of people are raising eyebrows.”

Waldron stressed that as long as a business such as a massage parlor was a legitimate business that complied with all laws and ordinances, his concern was whether the borough could give more information to the general public regarding the details of applications that appear before the borough’s Planning Board. Mayor Thomas Vahalla explained that as long as the application for a business was compliant, there was no way to limit certain types of businesses in favor of others.

“If they are a permitted use in a business area, and a legitimate business, they may not even have to come to the Planning Board or Zoning Board,” Vahalla said. “They can go to the technical review committee (TRC) for their change. For example, it can be a question of how many pizzerias or banks we have. But if they are a permitted use in the zone, it is very difficult to say to a person that you can open up a pizzeria but I can’t.”

A TRC meeting is an informal meeting between the applicant and members of the regulating boards to review the concepts and proposals in the site.

Borough attorney David Frizell explained that part of the current problem had to do with the lack of “print press coverage” of local issues.

“As far as the notifications, the content of the notification for a Planning Board procedure is defined by the state municipal land use law,” Frizell said. “The whole country is now experiencing a situation where there is no longer print press coverage of anything. These are the kinds of things years ago that a local reporter would pick up and put in the paper. So it is a practical problem. Maybe there should be some vigilance on the part of some of the public officials if they think there is something particularly controversial.”

Frizell also cautioned that the borough should be careful about doing something that may be perceived as an obstacle towards starting a new business in town.

“I would ask Councilman Waldron to look into the substance behind your concerns,” Frizell said. “You may raise some questions that could deter legitimate businesses. There are a lot of complaints that Metuchen is not business-friendly and has been that way in the past. I don’t think we can target a particular business, so whatever we do is going to affect every new business in the town.”

Councilman Peter Cammarano said that it came down to a “balancing act” of trying to encourage new business development in town but still achieving a sense of variety in the types of businesses that operate in the borough.

“We should not have barriers or deterrents to new businesses coming in, but there is something of a balancing act,” Cammarano said. “We all want variety in the downtown, but unfortunately we cannot control that. [Massage parlors] are an industry that has become part of healthcare, and more often than not it is a legitimate business. I would say that I represent a group of massage professionals, so I do have some knowledge on this issue. We cannot single out one group, and the reality is we are encouraging business here. Though we want to maintain the character of downtown, we have to be careful to not discourage people and create barriers. We are actually going into the other direction of trying to make it easier for businesses. So we just need to be careful.”

Councilman Christopher Morrison asked if Planning Board meetings could be televised, but according to Mayor Vahalla the major problems with doing so were the cost and the level of interest from the general public.

“I think it is an added cost,” Vahalla said. “If we can find the money… but that is something, honestly, most times, though I only served on the Planning Board for a year, we don’t have many people coming out about an issue. The [District at Metuchen] was probably the biggest issue, but that was more because of us changing the ordinance. Most of the things on the Planning Board, we have very few [spectators]… except for the house we stopped on Orchard Avenue.”

Councilman Richard Weber said that he does his best to notify members of the public when he sees something on the Planning Board agenda that could be an issue.

“This year, the only things that I consider substantive are two subdivision applications,” Weber said. “For both I did things to make people aware. I have tried to tip people off and let people know what is coming down the line, and I can do it to the time and ability I have for other changes of use. The balancing act is between being business-friendly and at the same time trying to regulate what type of businesses we have.”