Contractor Storage Facility Approved for Brownfields Site Off Route 37

A former asphalt production site has the Planning Board's blessing to be converted into a contractor storage facility after the site's representatives assured the board new contaminants will not be introduced at the site.

The board unanimously approved Davies Consultants application to convert 2 acres of the 45-acre former Nicol Asphalt Company site on Route 37 East into a 16-unit contractor storage facility at a meeting Monday night. The units would by 100 feet by 50 feet at the center of the property, which has been subject to environmental remediation for years.

"This is an interim user of the site that I think can be of benefit to the town," board attorney Edward Liston said of a site he previously called a "black eye to Manchester."

Davies' representatives provided a brief history of the brownfields site, which used to have coal tar present, in keeping with the board's wishes for additional information before a vote was held.

Environmental cleanup has been ongoing by both Davies and New Jersey Natural Gas, which was found to be the party responsible for the coal tar pollution, and will continue until remediated, Davies attorney Peter Licata said. He pledged that despite the gravel ground surface in the storage lot area, no new contaminants would be introduced on site with the exception of gasoline in contractors' vehicles.

The board also made clear that the township's potential insurance exposure will be covered, as the landowner will hold liability insurance.

Additionally, Davies' representatives agreed to submit a landscaping plan that includes screening on the front of the property.