Bloomfield Township Design Review Board Meeting September 17, 2025

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Transcript

Click any timestamp to jump the video to that moment. Auto-transcribed; expect occasional errors on proper nouns.

1. 0:00

   Welcome to our design review board for Wednesday, September 17th, and we'll take attendance. It looks like Michael's here, Martin here, and I'm here, so we're good with that. And then any public comment? Anybody here to make any public comment? You can wait in line over here to my right, your left, and stand at the podium. We'll wait for people to line up. Yeah, it's a short line, and I think we'll close public comment and move on to approval of the minutes from our September 3rd meeting. Any comments about the September 3rd meeting? It was a great meeting. Okay, it was a great meeting. I'll move that we approve the minutes as submitted. Support. Support. All in favor say aye. Aye. That's approved. Thank you for that. And item number four, signs. Corey, how are you doing today? I'm doing well. How are you? You want to tell us about 3669 West Maple Road, the Plum Market? Sure. Thank you. So this is the Plum Market we're all familiar with in our township, Maple Road. They are adding a third sign to their front facade. This is an aerial showing where it sits within our township. I think we're all familiar. There's the Kroger across the street, and otherwise it's surrounded by a single-family residential on most sides, which is also demonstrated in the zoning map. So it's a fairly straightforward and simple request. They currently have two signs on their facade. They have the Plum Market down here, as seen here, and they have the Plum Market sign down here for their secondary entrance. The secondary sign was approved in 2024, I believe, when they... when they... Plum Market expanded into the Rite Aid section of the plaza. They're coming back today requesting village pharmacy be added over here as a directional traffic, a way to direct people into the proper entrance. And so going over our zoning review. Yeah, I'm sorry, there's no entrance there. Oh, sorry. No, that's OK. I just want to clarify. It's just a denotation of that is occurring inside the building. OK, my bad. Sorry about that. There will be a pharmacy in the building, that's what it's saying. So we did a zoning analysis of the proposed sign. And it meets our zoning code in every way except for one, which is that this district limits you to one sign per use on site. So they're actually proposing a third sign. So they will have to go to the ZBA for permission for that additional sign. The applicant is aware of this, and we'll be making applications shortly. Otherwise, the sign meets our zoning requirements. It takes up less than 6% of the facade area. The total sign area is 37.87 square feet. There are no illustrations on this proposal.

2. 1:15

   So it's a fairly straightforward and simple request. They currently have two signs on their facade. They have the Plum Market down here, as seen here, and they have the Plum Market sign down here for their secondary entrance. The secondary sign was approved in 2024, I believe, when they... when they... Plum Market expanded into the Rite Aid section of the plaza. They're coming back today requesting village pharmacy be added over here as a directional traffic, a way to direct people into the proper entrance. And so going over our zoning review. Yeah, I'm sorry, there's no entrance there. Oh, sorry. No, that's OK. I just want to clarify. It's just a denotation of that is occurring inside the building. OK, my bad. Sorry about that. There will be a pharmacy in the building, that's what it's saying. So we did a zoning analysis of the proposed sign. And it meets our zoning code in every way except for one, which is that this district limits you to one sign per use on site. So they're actually proposing a third sign. So they will have to go to the ZBA for permission for that additional sign. The applicant is aware of this, and we'll be making applications shortly. Otherwise, the sign meets our zoning requirements. It takes up less than 6% of the facade area. The total sign area is 37.87 square feet. There are no illustrations on this proposal. It doesn't exceed the height of the facade. It will be internally lit. And then here are some examples of what it looks like currently on site. And this is where the proposed, it'll be added over this on in here. There is a four-inch projection, and I believe that's it. Any questions for me? There we go. Previous times. Oh. So the pre sign I'm trying to see this in the photos no the previous sign said village pharmacy down here I believe okay so they're actually removing the liquor there will be no liquor on any facade and they are relocating village pharmacy so that this sign will be much more subtle more minimalist just the plum market and then the village pharmacy is blown up a little and brought over to the side over here okay any questions comments is the styling design for village pharmacy the same as the other a market sign at the end they match each other I mean the two

3. 2:30

   There are no illustrations on this proposal. It doesn't exceed the height of the facade. It will be internally lit. And then here are some examples of what it looks like currently on site. And this is where the proposed, it'll be added over this on in here. There is a four-inch projection, and I believe that's it. Any questions for me? There we go. Previous times. Oh. So the pre sign I'm trying to see this in the photos no the previous sign said village pharmacy down here I believe okay so they're actually removing the liquor there will be no liquor on any facade and they are relocating village pharmacy so that this sign will be much more subtle more minimalist just the plum market and then the village pharmacy is blown up a little and brought over to the side over here okay any questions comments is the styling design for village pharmacy the same as the other a market sign at the end they match each other I mean the two next to each other the plum market there will they both be the same style a I mean this is the style that they will refer to the font style the whole thing I mean is it yeah idea is that it it matches the plum the secondary plum market sign so it's the same size height proportions we want it to be really clean and simple and tasteful and the same script is the one to the left yeah okay okay well you know what they're great partners in our community and they've been a tremendous success we're fortunate to have them and it's nice to see they moved into that space because they did need it and but it's I I go there frequently and I tell you it's quality so i don't have any questions i move we approve as presented to refer to the zba for further consideration support all in favor say aye aye any opposed passes three nothing thank you gentlemen good luck thank you yep item number two two two four two south telegraph road american divorce association for men adam so tom will be giving his first presentation to the drb right now the single guy good afternoon board hello tom

4. 3:45

   same as the other a market sign at the end they match each other I mean the two next to each other the plum market there will they both be the same style a I mean this is the style that they will refer to the font style the whole thing I mean is it yeah idea is that it it matches the plum the secondary plum market sign so it's the same size height proportions we want it to be really clean and simple and tasteful and the same script is the one to the left yeah okay okay well you know what they're great partners in our community and they've been a tremendous success we're fortunate to have them and it's nice to see they moved into that space because they did need it and but it's I I go there frequently and I tell you it's quality so i don't have any questions i move we approve as presented to refer to the zba for further consideration support all in favor say aye aye any opposed passes three nothing thank you gentlemen good luck thank you yep item number two two two four two south telegraph road american divorce association for men adam so tom will be giving his first presentation to the drb right now the single guy good afternoon board hello tom so today i'll be presenting the request for the refacing of an existing ground sign at 2242 south telegraph road this is a property located in the b3 community business district to the south it faces our multi-family residential district and to the to the north it's the local and general business districts okay so the sign details uh so as i said this is an existing ground sign it's a refacing for the existing organization on the top right corner the resurfacing is going to be taking up an area 2.28 feet by 3.83 feet for a total of 8.7 square feet the sign itself is going to be five feet tall by eight feet and then it takes up 40 square feet per side you you This surpasses the requirements of 32 square feet, but because this is an existing sign, it's grandfathered in. Okay. Let's see.

5. 5:00

   so today i'll be presenting the request for the refacing of an existing ground sign at 2242 south telegraph road this is a property located in the b3 community business district to the south it faces our multi-family residential district and to the to the north it's the local and general business districts okay so the sign details uh so as i said this is an existing ground sign it's a refacing for the existing organization on the top right corner the resurfacing is going to be taking up an area 2.28 feet by 3.83 feet for a total of 8.7 square feet the sign itself is going to be five feet tall by eight feet and then it takes up 40 square feet per side you you This surpasses the requirements of 32 square feet, but because this is an existing sign, it's grandfathered in. Okay. Let's see. Other details of the sign is that the sign only identifies the organization. It's internally lit and is therefore considered screened. It's the sole signage for the address, and you'll note there is an illustration on the sign, but because it's in the B3 district, it's not something that we regulate. So with that, I'll be happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Yeah, we don't regulate graphics on ground signs in our ordinance. Take a bite out of the apple. Okay. Any questions or comments? Nope. Nope. Okay. Any motion? And will we approve as presented? I'll support that. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you, Tom. Thank you, Corey. Item number five, General Bisson. Anything of recent design review board approvals? Anything to cover, Corey? Yes, so I did want to follow up on the Leo's Coney Island approval from a few months back, you may recall. You approved outdoor seating. Yep. And a screening requirement. Yes. So in your packet, you'll know. With some greenery. What was that? With some greenery, I think we talked.

6. 6:15

   Other details of the sign is that the sign only identifies the organization. It's internally lit and is therefore considered screened. It's the sole signage for the address, and you'll note there is an illustration on the sign, but because it's in the B3 district, it's not something that we regulate. So with that, I'll be happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Yeah, we don't regulate graphics on ground signs in our ordinance. Take a bite out of the apple. Okay. Any questions or comments? Nope. Nope. Okay. Any motion? And will we approve as presented? I'll support that. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you, Tom. Thank you, Corey. Item number five, General Bisson. Anything of recent design review board approvals? Anything to cover, Corey? Yes, so I did want to follow up on the Leo's Coney Island approval from a few months back, you may recall. You approved outdoor seating. Yep. And a screening requirement. Yes. So in your packet, you'll know. With some greenery. What was that? With some greenery, I think we talked. about greener so i did reproduce the motion so i'll read that to you the motion you made was uh the motion was by barnett supported by brooks to approve the request on condition five foot plantings are provided on each side and subject to an inspection by the fire marshal so we have gone out and this is what they provided so staff was a little this wasn't exactly what we were brown tree yeah this wasn't what we had pictured in our heads i think when we were discussing it however when you look at the language of the motion it was a little bag okay so we kind of want to use this opportunity and we have our our staff right now is looking at some opportunity to maybe come up with some standards well they could at least do two of those on each side yeah and i think that we'll be looking for some direction from the design review board in the near future regarding when we are looking to add vegetation or maybe we can come up with some standards that would better satisfy the desires of the township why don't we leave that administratively to you okay come back yeah no we can come back with recommendations but i don't think that this would meet the i don't think this necessarily meets the desire and intent of the of the design review board so we wanted to bring it to your attention yeah i think you could probably handle this administratively because when i look at that let's say you're sitting there you really want make sure someone doesn't walk into you and that you have a little bit of a breathing room when you're if you're

7. 7:30

   about greener so i did reproduce the motion so i'll read that to you the motion you made was uh the motion was by barnett supported by brooks to approve the request on condition five foot plantings are provided on each side and subject to an inspection by the fire marshal so we have gone out and this is what they provided so staff was a little this wasn't exactly what we were brown tree yeah this wasn't what we had pictured in our heads i think when we were discussing it however when you look at the language of the motion it was a little bag okay so we kind of want to use this opportunity and we have our our staff right now is looking at some opportunity to maybe come up with some standards well they could at least do two of those on each side yeah and i think that we'll be looking for some direction from the design review board in the near future regarding when we are looking to add vegetation or maybe we can come up with some standards that would better satisfy the desires of the township why don't we leave that administratively to you okay come back yeah no we can come back with recommendations but i don't think that this would meet the i don't think this necessarily meets the desire and intent of the of the design review board so we wanted to bring it to your attention yeah i think you could probably handle this administratively because when i look at that let's say you're sitting there you really want make sure someone doesn't walk into you and that you have a little bit of a breathing room when you're if you're sitting outside okay and as much as i can appreciate the effort i would think something maybe a little bit more bushier and uh private so it does force people to of move away from the area that you're sitting in yep and that's kind of exactly what we're thinking we have some examples of some wider taller planters that you see around uh sidewalk cafes and things like that so i think moving forward um we would like to probably instill some standards within our department as it relates to outdoor seating and be prepared to present that as part of their application to the board that'd be great yeah yeah okay thank you and our next meeting date is set for wednesday oh october the first i know yeah catching up to us and if there are no further comments or questions i move to adjourn all favor say aye aye we are adjourned thank you thank you very