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Record of Proceedings

Franklin Township Planning Board Meeting - May 6, 2026

Planning Board — Wednesday, May 6, 2026
BodyFranklin Township, New Jersey
SessionPlanning Board
DateWednesday, May 6, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:06:48

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0:00

Meeting of the planning board for May 6th in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, PL 1975, Chapter 231.

0:05

Adequate notice of this regular meeting of the planning board of the township of Franklin has been provided.

0:10

If everyone could please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:18

And to the Republic for a year.

0:20

Which it stands under God.

0:23

Indivisible with liberty and justice for the Robert Lecourt asked to be excused and Charles Brown asked to be excused.

0:45

Councilman Mbison?

0:47

Here.

0:49

Mark Dancy.

0:53

Jennifer Ragnow?

0:54

Here.

0:55

Mahir Rafik.

0:56

Robert Thomas.

0:57

Here.

0:58

Sammy Shab Shabon.

1:00

Nope.

1:01

And Chairman Rossini.

1:03

Here.

1:04

Okay.

1:05

So before we get started tonight, we're going to do a little uh massage of the agenda.

1:10

So the Somerset County, the the only hearing we have tonight, which is subdivision for open space.

1:17

Easy.

1:18

Nobody gonna throw sticks and bricks at us.

1:22

The problem is their attorney is in a different Franklin Township because there's a few of them in New Jersey.

1:28

Now he's on his way here.

1:30

And I do not want to carry this again.

1:33

So we're gonna we're gonna put that last.

1:35

It sort of is last, but we're gonna do we're gonna do the ordinance discussion.

1:39

We're gonna do board comments.

1:40

We're gonna we're gonna do everything we can, which granted is not going to be great, uh a lot uh take a lot of time, but we're gonna do everything we can first.

1:48

Um Peter and I decided that we would uh wait to see where that puts him, and because this is a very simple uh subdivision, the it but it has to be uh according to Peter, uh who I trust implicitly uh be represented by an attorney.

2:04

If he can pull over to uh you know the whatever rest stop he's near and do it by telephone, we can just do it that way.

2:11

So um we will we will figure that out at that time.

2:14

So given that uh we'll do the regular minutes from uh April 1st.

2:22

Move to approve.

2:24

Uh Bob Thomas moves to approve, and I will second okay.

2:33

Councilman in Barrison.

2:35

Yes.

2:37

Senator Ragnar?

2:38

Yes.

2:40

Yes.

2:42

Robert Thomas.

2:43

Yes.

2:44

And Chairman Rassini.

2:45

Uh yes.

2:47

Uh we have one discussion item.

2:49

It is extension of time for ID I.

2:54

And um Paul Cachtory is here to uh tell us about that.

2:58

Good evening.

2:58

Uh thank you.

2:59

Paul Conchatory uh from law firm of Price Meet Sherman and Dharminio representing the applicant IDIL Davidson LLC.

3:07

I'm here for a second uh one year extension of our final approval.

3:12

You granted one last year.

3:14

Um the project is actually it's a little curious.

3:17

The project is actually under construction as we speak.

3:19

So that does best to some degree.

3:21

In fact, the walls are half up.

3:23

They should be finished this week.

3:24

The intent of my client is to continue to conclusion.

3:28

However, there is still a lot of volatility as it relates to supply chain items and other things that may cause some pause in construction that's beyond our ability to control, and you know, that may be material.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Land Development████████████████████████████████████████40%
Zoning Regulations███████████████████████████████████35%
Public Engagement██████6%
Procedural█████5%
Transportation Safety████4%
Parks and Recreation████4%
Religious Land Use███3%
Affordable Housing███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Franklin Township Planning Board Meeting - May 6, 2026

The Franklin Township Planning Board met on May 6, 2026, to approve minutes, a time extension for an ongoing development, and a minor subdivision for open space preservation. The board also discussed proposed ordinance amendments stemming from the 2026 Master Plan Reexamination. All votes were unanimous.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the regular meeting minutes of April 1, 2026.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were offered during the general public comment period or during the hearing.

Discussion Items

  • Extension of Time – IDIL Davidson LLC (PLN-23-00004): Paul Conchatory, attorney for the applicant, requested a one-year extension of final approval to May 6, 2027. The project is under construction (walls half up), but supply chain volatility may cause pauses. The board unanimously approved the extension.
  • Ordinance Discussion – Master Plan Reexamination Recommendations: Board member Mark presented the first set of proposed zoning ordinance changes. Key proposals included: removing golf courses, hospitals, and other intensive uses from single-family residential zones (while preserving existing non-conformities); removing group home restrictions inconsistent with the Municipal Land Use Law; correcting the location of conditional use standards; updating house of worship parking from a fixed square-footage formula to a per-occupancy standard (one space per three persons); deleting illegal parkland dedication requirements; adding indoor recreation as a permitted use in shopping centers over 25,000 square feet; correcting a typo in the R7 zone description; adding a single-family home on Schoolhouse Road to the list of properties treated under R40 standards; and requiring sidewalks along all road frontages for site plan/subdivision applications (with a fee-in-lieu option for public roadways). The board discussed farming operations in R40 zones, with questions about minimum lot sizes and right-to-farm issues. No formal vote was taken; the ordinance will be forwarded to the Township Council.
  • Board Comments: A discussion arose regarding aggressive tree trimming along roads (Davidson Avenue, Elizabeth Avenue) by utility contractors, with concerns about the lack of enforcement of arborist standards. The board also noted plans to use sidewalk funds to close a gap between Somerset Run and ShopRite on Davidson Avenue.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved Minutes: Unanimously approved.
  • Approved Extension: Unanimously approved for IDIL Davidson LLC through May 6, 2027.
  • Approved Subdivision – County of Somerset (PLN-26-00003): Unanimously approved a minor subdivision to preserve 23.9 acres as permanent open space, contiguous to existing county open space. The applicant requested three bulk variances: reduced frontage (297 ft vs. 400 required) on the open space lot, creation of a through lot, and a reduced rear yard setback (129 ft vs. 150 required) for an existing barn. The board determined the variances were technical and justified under C2 criteria due to the open space benefit. The retained 9-acre lot with an existing residence will remain as a conforming residential parcel. No new development is proposed.
  • Next Steps: The board expects to review the second ordinance package at the next meeting on May 20, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Meeting of the planning board for May 6th in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, PL 1975, Chapter 231. Adequate notice of this regular meeting of the planning board of the township of Franklin has been provided. If everyone could please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. And to the Republic for a year. Which it stands under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for the Robert Lecourt asked to be excused and Charles Brown asked to be excused. Councilman Mbison? Here. Mark Dancy. Jennifer Ragnow? Here. Mahir Rafik. Robert Thomas. Here. Sammy Shab Shabon. Nope. And Chairman Rossini. Here. Okay. So before we get started tonight, we're going to do a little uh massage of the agenda. So the Somerset County, the the only hearing we have tonight, which is subdivision for open space. Easy. Nobody gonna throw sticks and bricks at us. The problem is their attorney is in a different Franklin Township because there's a few of them in New Jersey. Now he's on his way here. And I do not want to carry this again. So we're gonna we're gonna put that last. It sort of is last, but we're gonna do we're gonna do the ordinance discussion. We're gonna do board comments. We're gonna we're gonna do everything we can, which granted is not going to be great, uh a lot uh take a lot of time, but we're gonna do everything we can first. Um Peter and I decided that we would uh wait to see where that puts him, and because this is a very simple uh subdivision, the it but it has to be uh according to Peter, uh who I trust implicitly uh be represented by an attorney. If he can pull over to uh you know the whatever rest stop he's near and do it by telephone, we can just do it that way. So um we will we will figure that out at that time. So given that uh we'll do the regular minutes from uh April 1st. Move to approve. Uh Bob Thomas moves to approve, and I will second okay. Councilman in Barrison. Yes. Senator Ragnar? Yes. Yes. Robert Thomas. Yes. And Chairman Rassini. Uh yes. Uh we have one discussion item. It is extension of time for ID I. And um Paul Cachtory is here to uh tell us about that. Good evening. Uh thank you.

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