Hillsdale Board Begins Patterson Street Apartment Hearing

The Hillsdale Planning Board began hearing an application for a proposed 57-unit apartment building on Patterson Street during their meeting Tuesday night. 

The L-shaped three-story building would include 29 one-bedroom, 26 two-bedroom and two three-bedroom apartments, according to architect Robert Zampolin. Apartments on the second and third floors would have balconies. Nine of the apartments would qualify as affordable housing.

The building would have a 24,000-square-foot footprint for a total of 72,000 square feet spread across the three floors, according to Zampolin. The building would be 30 feet tall from the ground at its base, but the top of it will be closer to 38 feet above Patterson Street because of a change in elevation, he said.

Ira Weiner, the applicant's attorney, said the plan only requires one use variance to allow housing in the industrial zone. Board attorney Harold Ritvo said the board would need to consider more data before making that decision.

The 8.63-acre site, located next to the PSE&G substation on Patterson Street, lies mostly in the industrial zone and partially in a residential zone.

The lawyers also disagreed over whether it would be appropriate to discuss the effects additional residents could have on required borough and school services after board members asked questions about that issue. Weiner said it was "not an appropriate zoning question," but Ritvo said the board could consider the impact on the zone, neighborhood and town that additional residents would have.

Residents previously questioned the extra costs another proposed apartment building would have caused for local schools last year. . That applicant has appealed the decision.

Weiner said he would be bringing an engineer, traffic engineer, planner and the applicant himself to testify at future hearings. The hearing is scheduled to continue at the board's May 8 meeting.

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