Zinctown application before zoning board

FRANKLIN-It will take another round of expert testimony and public opinion before the Zoning Board of Adjustment decides the fate of developer Anthony Patire's application to launch what would be the beginning phase of the town's long-awaited Gateway Project. Patire, who heads Clifton-based Zinctown Properties, is asking the seven-member zoning board for a land-use variance that would enable him to construct eight townhouses on a small, one-acre-plus strip of land that fronts Sterling Street. Zinctown owns all 21.06 acres of former New Jersey Zinc Company property that faces the Main Street corridor, which has been in commercial doldrums since the closing of the Franklin mines more than 50 years ago. The parcel is zoned for age-restricted multi-unit housing, and under the zoning, as many as 50 units could be built on the site. But Patire feels that a lower density of townhouses that are not restricted to senior citizens are more appropriate to the neighborhood. That small strip of land is separated by a few acres from the rest of the property's upper tier, which is zoned to include the construction of commercial buildings, one of which would involve the restoration of the former miners' changehouse into a large office structure. The property's lower section, which is about 60 feet lower than the upper tract, would include residential housing, including some under age-restriction. The zoning board heard about two hours of expert testimony last Wednesday from Zinctown's professional planner, Roger DeNiscia. At the board's April 6 meeting, Zinctown engineer Calisto Bertin is expected to offer his professional insight into the plan. "The application was carried to the next meeting, and we will pick up where we left off," zoning board chairman Paul Crowley said. DeNiscia stressed that the townhouses along Sterling Street would play a key role in the entire plan while not offending the character of the single homes there. "This whole site has a very strategic position within the community," the planner said. "In my opinion, this application meets the criteria for the board to grant a use variance. And I would recommend that the board approve the application. The only inconsistencies are the townhouses (that would be) on Sterling Street. I believe it's justified because of the characteristics of that area." Board member Michael Hauck asked the Zinctown representatives to clarify why townhouses were more suitable for the smaller strip, especially when the company could actually add more than eight units there. "Put yourself in the shoes of someone who is a resident of Sterling Street," Zinctown attorney Thomas H. Prol replied. "My sense is that this reflects what would be more conducive to what people in this neighborhood would want. I think what Mr. Patire is proposing is much closer to that scheme than what's zoned for that property." Scott McKinnon, a Sterling Street resident, issued his support for the Zinctown proposal. "I would encourage the board to look into this," agreed McKinnon. "I would like to see home ownership on this site. I am concerned about the traffic. People that own homes care about their neighborhood." Patire, who has held an interest in the property since 1982, also spoke when two board members charged that Zinctown should not theorize on "what else" might be built there, something they contended could become moot. "The intent is not to scare the board into what could be built on this site," Patire clarified. "The intention of the entire site is not to jam the units in there. My intention is not to build mid-rise buildings."