The Montville, N.J., Township Committee passed a zoning ordinance on June 13 that will allow self-storage to be developed in two office-building zones. The revised ordinance will enable a storage project to proceed on U.S. Route 202, near a senior-living center called Senior House. It’ll also allow future storage projects from the intersection of Changebridge Road and Route 202 to the entrance for Interstate 287 North, according to the source.

Though resident Mary Ann Henry voiced concern that trees in her neighborhood could be cut down, eliminating them as a noise buffer between houses and the 287 freeway, the committee guaranteed no trees would be removed, the source reported.

Steven Schepis, an attorney representing the zoning applicant, argued the self-storage facility would generate less noise and traffic than office buildings already allowed in the district.

Committee member Deb Nielson supported the ordinance, noting the proposed self-storage project would be built on an underutilized parking lot. The revised ordinance will also enable better marketing of suitable properties without removing the retail intent of the original ordinance, she said.

The ordinance passed 4-1, with Richard Conklin the lone dissenter. Conklin indicated he couldn’t support the revision unless it included provisions designed to preserve the architectural aesthetics of the area. The planning board originally intended for those zones to be pedestrian-friendly, including walkways, he said.

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