Bloomfield Township Design Review Board Meeting on June 3, 2026

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1. 0:00

   Welcome to the Design Review Board for Wednesday, June the 3rd at 2 p.m. We'll take attendance. Looks like all present. We'll open up for public comment. If you're here to comment on any agenda item, you're welcome to come up to the podium to introduce yourself and keep it to three minutes. Okay, I'll close public comment and move to item number three, approval of the minutes for May 20th. So moved. Support. All in favor say aye. Aye. Passes three to nothing. New item, signs number one, 3644 West Maple Road, the Beauty Lounge. The first item before you today is the new sign proposed at the Beauty Lounge located on West Maple Road in our B1 district. It'll be replacing the Quinlan and Company Salon and Spa sign, which is currently 37 square feet. This sign is going to be slightly smaller, coming in at around 36 square feet. And it complies with all the requirements of the township ordinance, such as projecting nine inches from the building, being internally lit with no neon lighting. And I'm happy to answer any questions. I don't, is the applicant here? Yes. Did they want to, do you want to say anything or are you, oh, okay, okay. Here's some photos of the site is, you know, what's currently there, right? So smaller than what's there? Yes. Okay. I move we have. I move we have. I move we have. Approve as presented. Small and square feet, though. I just move we approve as presented. Support. All in favor say aye. Aye. Passes 3-0. Thank you, and good luck. Item B, site improvements, 1400 South Telegraph Road, Oakland Veterinary Referral Services. So OVRS was last at the DRB back in July of last year. They're located in our B3 district, and they are coming before the board with some changes to relocate the bulk oxygen storage and then do a reassignment and expansion of their dumpster enclosures, as well as a revision to their self-parking lot landscaping along South Telegraph Road. We forwarded the plans to dual landscape architecture, and they just noted that any plantings in the right-of-way need to seek appropriate approvals, and we do have the OVRS landscape architect, George, here who could answer any of the more technical questions.

2. 1:15

   Did they want to, do you want to say anything or are you, oh, okay, okay. Here's some photos of the site is, you know, what's currently there, right? So smaller than what's there? Yes. Okay. I move we have. I move we have. I move we have. Approve as presented. Small and square feet, though. I just move we approve as presented. Support. All in favor say aye. Aye. Passes 3-0. Thank you, and good luck. Item B, site improvements, 1400 South Telegraph Road, Oakland Veterinary Referral Services. So OVRS was last at the DRB back in July of last year. They're located in our B3 district, and they are coming before the board with some changes to relocate the bulk oxygen storage and then do a reassignment and expansion of their dumpster enclosures, as well as a revision to their self-parking lot landscaping along South Telegraph Road. We forwarded the plans to dual landscape architecture, and they just noted that any plantings in the right-of-way need to seek appropriate approvals, and we do have the OVRS landscape architect, George, here who could answer any of the more technical questions. So just explain to us again what they were doing. We got sidetracked here for a second. The changes involve relocating the bulk oxygen storage, reassignment and expansion of the dumpster enclosures, and a revision to the landscaping along Telegraph Road, the South parking lot. That's good. Okay. They have some site photos, too. Does it need to go to Z- VA or planning? Just DRB. Okay. Yeah, I'm good with it. I'll move that we support. I will move that we approve as submitted. Support. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Passes 3-0. Thank you. Good luck. Item number 2, 6400 Telegraph Road. Telegraph Road Holdings, LLC. This is another site improvement for 6400 Telegraph Road. It's in the B1 District. This pertains to a site improvement to install an

3. 2:30

   and we do have the OVRS landscape architect, George, here who could answer any of the more technical questions. So just explain to us again what they were doing. We got sidetracked here for a second. The changes involve relocating the bulk oxygen storage, reassignment and expansion of the dumpster enclosures, and a revision to the landscaping along Telegraph Road, the South parking lot. That's good. Okay. They have some site photos, too. Does it need to go to Z- VA or planning? Just DRB. Okay. Yeah, I'm good with it. I'll move that we support. I will move that we approve as submitted. Support. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Passes 3-0. Thank you. Good luck. Item number 2, 6400 Telegraph Road. Telegraph Road Holdings, LLC. This is another site improvement for 6400 Telegraph Road. It's in the B1 District. This pertains to a site improvement to install an emergency generator near the Farm Brook Dental Office. The property experiences intermittent power outages, which creates some safety hazards for the patients. So they're looking to have this generator operates when there's times of intermittent power, and it will only operate during regular business hours, which are Monday through Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Friday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. The generator. I can pull up the site plan here. It will be located here. It will be placed on a concrete pad and screened from public view by existing ARPAVIT plantings, and the unit will also be utilizing an advanced sound. ... ... ... attenuating enclosure to ensure compliance with ordinance standards. And then it will need to go to ZBA because it is not adjacent to the building. We have the building wall, the five-foot sidewalk, and then some grass between the generator here and here along the property line too. Does this service the whole building or just that one tenant? Just the one tenant.

4. 3:45

   This pertains to a site improvement to install an emergency generator near the Farm Brook Dental Office. The property experiences intermittent power outages, which creates some safety hazards for the patients. So they're looking to have this generator operates when there's times of intermittent power, and it will only operate during regular business hours, which are Monday through Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Friday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. The generator. I can pull up the site plan here. It will be located here. It will be placed on a concrete pad and screened from public view by existing ARPAVIT plantings, and the unit will also be utilizing an advanced sound. ... ... ... attenuating enclosure to ensure compliance with ordinance standards. And then it will need to go to ZBA because it is not adjacent to the building. We have the building wall, the five-foot sidewalk, and then some grass between the generator here and here along the property line too. Does this service the whole building or just that one tenant? Just the one tenant. And is the proximity to the property line also a reason for ZBA consideration? It seems to be. There's nothing behind them. It's just that park. Yeah, right. There's condos. Outdoor parking structure. I'd have to double check with Director Schenke for whether the encroachment is considered, but I do know they have made an application to the ZBA because this is not adjacent to the building. How do they keep it only running during business hours? Mark, would you be able to? I don't know. I think we can, my understanding from the electrician is it can be programmed when to cycle, when to not cycle. So I'm not an expert on this particular genre. You're just referring. Do you mind introducing yourself? I'm sorry. Mark Weinbaum. I'm the building representative. And you can see adjacent to the Arborvitae is a driveway at Foxcroft Condominions. I'm sorry. And then they're not quite garages, but they're like overhead parking. I think I included some pictures of them. Yeah, you did. So, but the generator's only gonna be used when the power goes out. It's all, yeah.

5. 5:00

   And is the proximity to the property line also a reason for ZBA consideration? It seems to be. There's nothing behind them. It's just that park. Yeah, right. There's condos. Outdoor parking structure. I'd have to double check with Director Schenke for whether the encroachment is considered, but I do know they have made an application to the ZBA because this is not adjacent to the building. How do they keep it only running during business hours? Mark, would you be able to? I don't know. I think we can, my understanding from the electrician is it can be programmed when to cycle, when to not cycle. So I'm not an expert on this particular genre. You're just referring. Do you mind introducing yourself? I'm sorry. Mark Weinbaum. I'm the building representative. And you can see adjacent to the Arborvitae is a driveway at Foxcroft Condominions. I'm sorry. And then they're not quite garages, but they're like overhead parking. I think I included some pictures of them. Yeah, you did. So, but the generator's only gonna be used when the power goes out. It's all, yeah. And they recycle once a week for like 10 minutes. Yeah, so it does run a test. I think that can be set when it is. So it can be set for a Friday afternoon or something like that. I know that that's- But if it's running, if the power is out, and it powers out overnight, does it keep running? Yeah, that I, my understanding from the electrician is he can set cycle parameters on this thing. I haven't validated that myself. I'm just getting it from the guy who- So by cycle parameters, you mean- When it runs, when the power goes out during business hours. When it runs, yes, yes. So then if the power is out overnight, this would shut off at 7 p.m. and then- Well, no, no, presumably it wouldn't run at all if he sets up the parameters of when it cycles. That's my understanding. I guess I don't understand what you mean by cycles. In other words, I believe electronically they can like put a timer in there and say, you know, if power goes out between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or on particular days, it can kick in. And if it's outside that parameter, I don't think- So if the power goes out at 4 o'clock in the afternoon and it continues past 7 p.m.

6. 6:15

   And they recycle once a week for like 10 minutes. Yeah, so it does run a test. I think that can be set when it is. So it can be set for a Friday afternoon or something like that. I know that that's- But if it's running, if the power is out, and it powers out overnight, does it keep running? Yeah, that I, my understanding from the electrician is he can set cycle parameters on this thing. I haven't validated that myself. I'm just getting it from the guy who- So by cycle parameters, you mean- When it runs, when the power goes out during business hours. When it runs, yes, yes. So then if the power is out overnight, this would shut off at 7 p.m. and then- Well, no, no, presumably it wouldn't run at all if he sets up the parameters of when it cycles. That's my understanding. I guess I don't understand what you mean by cycles. In other words, I believe electronically they can like put a timer in there and say, you know, if power goes out between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or on particular days, it can kick in. And if it's outside that parameter, I don't think- So if the power goes out at 4 o'clock in the afternoon and it continues past 7 p.m. Will the generator continue to run, or will it shut off at 7 p.m.? My understanding is it will only operate within the stated parameters that it's programmed. Do we ever put restrictions on time like that? What's next to it? It's just parking? Yeah. Parking on the other side is the condos. How far away are the condos? That's pretty far. Well, that's pretty close. I live next to the generator. I do, too. It's in the house next door, and it faces my garage, so when he asked me, he used to still be a nice neighbor, he came over and asked me, and I said, sure, that seems like the best place to put it. Has there been any communication with the neighbors? Foxcroft Condo approved us putting it there, and they've agreed we need to get a crane in on their side to actually bring it in, so they've approved that as well. Oh, okay. Yeah, for sure. So if they didn't want it, they could tell you no to the crane. Right, yeah, we couldn't put it in if they didn't want it, and this is really a life safety issue. It's more a function of patients are put under with anesthesia, and power goes out,

7. 7:30

   Will the generator continue to run, or will it shut off at 7 p.m.? My understanding is it will only operate within the stated parameters that it's programmed. Do we ever put restrictions on time like that? What's next to it? It's just parking? Yeah. Parking on the other side is the condos. How far away are the condos? That's pretty far. Well, that's pretty close. I live next to the generator. I do, too. It's in the house next door, and it faces my garage, so when he asked me, he used to still be a nice neighbor, he came over and asked me, and I said, sure, that seems like the best place to put it. Has there been any communication with the neighbors? Foxcroft Condo approved us putting it there, and they've agreed we need to get a crane in on their side to actually bring it in, so they've approved that as well. Oh, okay. Yeah, for sure. So if they didn't want it, they could tell you no to the crane. Right, yeah, we couldn't put it in if they didn't want it, and this is really a life safety issue. It's more a function of patients are put under with anesthesia, and power goes out, and the system physically shuts down, and it's become an issue. Yeah, so just a full disclosure, that's my dentist's office. I go there. I've never been put under anesthesia. though for anything well for whatever whatever they use it for but they're you know the point is is every time it goes out there like we gotta figure something out because this is a life safety issue so should we make a motion that conditions sit upon the cycle times that the dentist is operating only regular business hours okay so i make a motion to approve as presented forward to the zba under the condition that the um generator is programmed to operate only during business hours which are 7 a.m to 7 p.m whatever their business whatever their business it's it's a 7 a.m to 7 p.m monday through wednesday and then i think seven to four yeah i mean i i don't want to start having to go back every time they change their hours because i think they've got three dentists in there and who knows what they do so if we can just do sort of we do monday through friday are they monday through friday yeah monday through friday let's

8. 8:45

   It's more a function of patients are put under with anesthesia, and power goes out, and the system physically shuts down, and it's become an issue. Yeah, so just a full disclosure, that's my dentist's office. I go there. I've never been put under anesthesia. though for anything well for whatever whatever they use it for but they're you know the point is is every time it goes out there like we gotta figure something out because this is a life safety issue so should we make a motion that conditions sit upon the cycle times that the dentist is operating only regular business hours okay so i make a motion to approve as presented forward to the zba under the condition that the um generator is programmed to operate only during business hours which are 7 a.m to 7 p.m whatever their business whatever their business it's it's a 7 a.m to 7 p.m monday through wednesday and then i think seven to four yeah i mean i i don't want to start having to go back every time they change their hours because i think they've got three dentists in there and who knows what they do so if we can just do sort of we do monday through friday are they monday through friday yeah monday through friday let's say seven to five seven to seven that'd be great seven to seven seven okay okay i'll support that all in favor say aye aye aye any opposed passes three nothing thank you thank you okay uh site improvements oh village pharmacy hi guys welcome back 3580 west maple road so the next item is for the village pharmacy in the b1 district they're looking for to do some site improvements and to install you two signs when looking at the overlay of the plan their improvements will consist of the existing planting bed to receive perennial plantings and a new ground-mounted sign the ground-mounted sign will be located here and then the sign will match the stone cap of the building facade and they're looking to replace the existing tube railing at the front entrance of the building and then also install a drive-through window which at a former time used to be there there used to be a bank right yep is this they haven't moved there yet right no it was a bank in a dentist office wasn't it I know it was a bank because they had

9. 10:00

   sort of we do monday through friday are they monday through friday yeah monday through friday let's say seven to five seven to seven that'd be great seven to seven seven okay okay i'll support that all in favor say aye aye aye any opposed passes three nothing thank you thank you okay uh site improvements oh village pharmacy hi guys welcome back 3580 west maple road so the next item is for the village pharmacy in the b1 district they're looking for to do some site improvements and to install you two signs when looking at the overlay of the plan their improvements will consist of the existing planting bed to receive perennial plantings and a new ground-mounted sign the ground-mounted sign will be located here and then the sign will match the stone cap of the building facade and they're looking to replace the existing tube railing at the front entrance of the building and then also install a drive-through window which at a former time used to be there there used to be a bank right yep is this they haven't moved there yet right no it was a bank in a dentist office wasn't it I know it was a bank because they had to move the safe I recall I think it was in PNC it's a PNC I think does it need ZBA approval because there's a ground sign and a wall sign it will need ZBA approval for the ground sign the main issue is that it's currently 20 feet from the right-of-way when it needs to be 25 feet but when it comes to illumination square footage it all complies and then for the wall sign everything complies but because of the two signs they'll have to go to the ZBA to to to to to to that and a bloomfield village will be considering the proposal on june 15th their regular meeting their comments pertain to the monument sign being too large which has been reduced to what you're being shown now and the other comments they have pertained to the drive-through window which alex can elaborate further on do we need to address the drive-through window here uh the bluefield village has to sign off on this yes it's going before them it's in the village i didn't know that

10. 11:15

    it was a bank in a dentist office wasn't it I know it was a bank because they had to move the safe I recall I think it was in PNC it's a PNC I think does it need ZBA approval because there's a ground sign and a wall sign it will need ZBA approval for the ground sign the main issue is that it's currently 20 feet from the right-of-way when it needs to be 25 feet but when it comes to illumination square footage it all complies and then for the wall sign everything complies but because of the two signs they'll have to go to the ZBA to to to to to to that and a bloomfield village will be considering the proposal on june 15th their regular meeting their comments pertain to the monument sign being too large which has been reduced to what you're being shown now and the other comments they have pertained to the drive-through window which alex can elaborate further on do we need to address the drive-through window here uh the bluefield village has to sign off on this yes it's going before them it's in the village i didn't know that i didn't know that that commercial part of it was in the corner i guess but okay i think there's that little slight the actual mall itself is not but this is a side oh that's right it's right next right next that's right okay all right good afternoon alex soroky soroky architecture i'm here with the village pharmacy owner louis wida village pharmacies serve the bloomfield township community from this exact shopping center for the past 11 years earlier this year you may remember but they expanded their presence in the community with a new 500 square foot location across maple road and plum market which will continue to operate the project shows village pharmacy or the project allows village pharmacy to expand its footprint and services While remaining in the center, they have called home for more than a decade. This represents a significant long-term investment in both the property and the community. So in terms of the overall project, we're proposing a complete interior renovation of the existing building, which includes a new pharmacy, compounding, lab, treatment room,

11. 12:30

    village has to sign off on this yes it's going before them it's in the village i didn't know that i didn't know that that commercial part of it was in the corner i guess but okay i think there's that little slight the actual mall itself is not but this is a side oh that's right it's right next right next that's right okay all right good afternoon alex soroky soroky architecture i'm here with the village pharmacy owner louis wida village pharmacies serve the bloomfield township community from this exact shopping center for the past 11 years earlier this year you may remember but they expanded their presence in the community with a new 500 square foot location across maple road and plum market which will continue to operate the project shows village pharmacy or the project allows village pharmacy to expand its footprint and services While remaining in the center, they have called home for more than a decade. This represents a significant long-term investment in both the property and the community. So in terms of the overall project, we're proposing a complete interior renovation of the existing building, which includes a new pharmacy, compounding, lab, treatment room, and retail space, and it's an opportunity to bring an underutilized building back into active use, as we know it's currently vacant. In regards to the exterior improvements, our approach was to make thoughtful improvements that respect the existing architecture. So there's the existing, I'll call it more institutional pipe railings that we're proposing to, at the front, that we're proposing to replace with decorative iron railings that better complement the building and the architecture. We're proposing new signage, as mentioned, designed to be understated and architecturally integrated. And overall, we believe that the project elevates the appearance of the property and also the shopping center. The signage on both the ground sign and the front facade fascia are pin-mounted letters that have concealed rear illumination. The letters themselves are opaque and do not illuminate. This is an example of the rear illumination approach. So, as you can see, the lighting source is hidden behind the letters and it creates a soft, warm glow against the building surface and the ground sign. So, after a combination of the two times the highest energy readings, there'll be a four minutes in the mix.

12. 13:45

    the existing building, which includes a new pharmacy, compounding, lab, treatment room, and retail space, and it's an opportunity to bring an underutilized building back into active use, as we know it's currently vacant. In regards to the exterior improvements, our approach was to make thoughtful improvements that respect the existing architecture. So there's the existing, I'll call it more institutional pipe railings that we're proposing to, at the front, that we're proposing to replace with decorative iron railings that better complement the building and the architecture. We're proposing new signage, as mentioned, designed to be understated and architecturally integrated. And overall, we believe that the project elevates the appearance of the property and also the shopping center. The signage on both the ground sign and the front facade fascia are pin-mounted letters that have concealed rear illumination. The letters themselves are opaque and do not illuminate. This is an example of the rear illumination approach. So, as you can see, the lighting source is hidden behind the letters and it creates a soft, warm glow against the building surface and the ground sign. So, after a combination of the two times the highest energy readings, there'll be a four minutes in the mix. And, you know, our intent is architectural accent lighting rather than sort of a bright commercial sign or internal lighting. The proposed ground sign continues a sign location that existed at this property for many years. The previous tenants, including PNC Bank and Henry Ford Urgent Care, maintained a sign in this exact same location. So we're not introducing a new condition but approving upon an established one. The new sign incorporates brick, limestone, dimensional lettering, and new landscaping. And we believe it's a substantial improvement over the existing condition, which today is just raised curb and mulch. In regards to the pharmacy pickup window, the building historically operated with a drive-through bank window in this location for many years, which at some point transitioned to an ATM. The previous tenant, the Urgent Care, removed and infilled the exterior of this opening. We are proposing to reestablish the window as a prescription pickup amenity. The primary purpose is improving accessibility and convenience for patients, particularly seniors, parents with young children, mobility-limited patients, and immunocompromised individuals.

13. 15:00

    And, you know, our intent is architectural accent lighting rather than sort of a bright commercial sign or internal lighting. The proposed ground sign continues a sign location that existed at this property for many years. The previous tenants, including PNC Bank and Henry Ford Urgent Care, maintained a sign in this exact same location. So we're not introducing a new condition but approving upon an established one. The new sign incorporates brick, limestone, dimensional lettering, and new landscaping. And we believe it's a substantial improvement over the existing condition, which today is just raised curb and mulch. In regards to the pharmacy pickup window, the building historically operated with a drive-through bank window in this location for many years, which at some point transitioned to an ATM. The previous tenant, the Urgent Care, removed and infilled the exterior of this opening. We are proposing to reestablish the window as a prescription pickup amenity. The primary purpose is improving accessibility and convenience for patients, particularly seniors, parents with young children, mobility-limited patients, and immunocompromised individuals. We expect the demand is quite modest, and existing circulation patterns remain unchanged. The proposal provides an important health care service while reusing a feature that historically... political inflation-stсем New York Region. existed in this location we we've kind of talked about the variances and understand we'll have to go to ZBA for the ground sign location and also the second sign the village pharmacy has demonstrated a long-term commitment to Bloomfield Township and continues to invest in the community this proposal improves the building the site and expands access to health care services and activates a building that is set vacant we appreciate the consideration and of course happy to answer any questions you have are we reviewing the interior of the building or is this just landscaping just the landscaping and on the sides good to me yeah I don't I have no concerns yeah I think your real question will go through the village board and then go to the ZBA yes when we've I've met with Kathy the village manager and have gone through the

14. 16:15

    The primary purpose is improving accessibility and convenience for patients, particularly seniors, parents with young children, mobility-limited patients, and immunocompromised individuals. We expect the demand is quite modest, and existing circulation patterns remain unchanged. The proposal provides an important health care service while reusing a feature that historically... political inflation-stсем New York Region. existed in this location we we've kind of talked about the variances and understand we'll have to go to ZBA for the ground sign location and also the second sign the village pharmacy has demonstrated a long-term commitment to Bloomfield Township and continues to invest in the community this proposal improves the building the site and expands access to health care services and activates a building that is set vacant we appreciate the consideration and of course happy to answer any questions you have are we reviewing the interior of the building or is this just landscaping just the landscaping and on the sides good to me yeah I don't I have no concerns yeah I think your real question will go through the village board and then go to the ZBA yes when we've I've met with Kathy the village manager and have gone through the project and as Tom mentioned that the two comments they felt was the sign the ground sign was initially too large which we revised and so you're seeing that revised smaller version and her second comment was about the drive-through or I'm sorry the pickup window and seeing if we could mirror the other windows in terms of the divided lights and muttons I've looked into it since then and there's only a handful of manufacturers that make these types of windows and zuna and they do not offer uh that feature unfortunately okay of course that part of it was between you and the village not between yes you know the township at all that's correct yep no i understand their approval is independent and um we've been communicating with them great thank you looks great thank you okay i'm happy to make a motion to approve as presented subject to and refer to the zba for further consideration or not approved except as presented and forward zba for further consideration all right i support all in favor say aye aye any opposed passes three nothing thank you good luck yep looks great any uh next order of business would be wednesday june

15. 17:30

    we've I've met with Kathy the village manager and have gone through the project and as Tom mentioned that the two comments they felt was the sign the ground sign was initially too large which we revised and so you're seeing that revised smaller version and her second comment was about the drive-through or I'm sorry the pickup window and seeing if we could mirror the other windows in terms of the divided lights and muttons I've looked into it since then and there's only a handful of manufacturers that make these types of windows and zuna and they do not offer uh that feature unfortunately okay of course that part of it was between you and the village not between yes you know the township at all that's correct yep no i understand their approval is independent and um we've been communicating with them great thank you looks great thank you okay i'm happy to make a motion to approve as presented subject to and refer to the zba for further consideration or not approved except as presented and forward zba for further consideration all right i support all in favor say aye aye any opposed passes three nothing thank you good luck yep looks great any uh next order of business would be wednesday june the 17th move to adjourn so moved we are adjourned thank you