Maplewood TC considers village vision plan

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Maplewood Township Committee heard the Maplewood Village Vision Implementation Plan at its Dec. 17 meeting, considering possibilities proposed by planners at the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs on how best to update Maplewood Village. No action was taken and the plan is not final; Mayor Vic DeLuca said committee members will continue discussions in the new year about the direction they will take.

“Maplewood has done a great job with Maplewood Village,” Robert Tessier, one of the planners on the study, said at the meeting. “A lot of things we recommend elsewhere you’re already doing. It’s a robust, healthy center; you’ve done improvements. But after some brainstorming, what can we do? That’s what this is, to implement in the village to bring you into the future.”

The report came about when the committee requested assistance from the NJDCA Office of Local Planning Services to create a vision for Maplewood Village. Taken into account in the study was land use, infrastructure, environment, economic anchors, community priorities and market trends. Community input was also included in the report, which suggested six major focuses.

One of the main concerns that came out of the community survey was the lack of parking in the village. Geoffrey Gray-Cornelius, another planner who worked on the vision plan, discussed this during the presentation.

“We took a closer look at the parking situation, which came up in the community survey as a concern,” he said. “There’s over 1,200 spaces within the village, including street parking. Only 668 are in public lots or on the street and not permit restricted.”

Gray-Cornelius said one problem is lack of enforcement on the timed parking spaces.

“People who don’t think they’re going to get a ticket will stay longer,” he said.

In the report, Tessier and Gray-Cornelius suggested adding parking meters.

“The big issue with parking is people are overstaying,” Tessier said. “You have to drive around and look for a spot and it’s very confusing.”

Smart parking meters have the ability to take a photo of a car’s license plate to enforce time limits and charge the owner. A mobile app that connects to the meters will track the availability of each parking space to eliminate circulation traffic and can send alerts to drivers when the time is nearly up.

“If parking is a major concern, as we’ve seen, that’s the answer,” Tessier said. “I don’t know another way to do that.”

Another major change suggested in the report was making the Maplewood Center Lot, which is informally known as Lorena’s parking lot, an area in need of redevelopment.

“Although this parking lot has high levels of pedestrian and vehicle activity and most businesses along Maplewood Avenue have rear entrances into the parking lot, the rear of the buildings are not attractive or coordinated, which does not represent the feel of Maplewood Village,” the report reads. “A mix of drop-off and pick-up areas as well as Dumpsters distract the viewer and conflict with the Maplewood Center Lot.”

The planners said the parking lot needs a reorganization of parking stalls to more efficiently utilize space. The pick-up and delivery systems need to be simplified and the building facades need to face the parking lot.

“The viewshed of this parking lot and surrounding buildings when entering the village is an impediment to the image and feeling of the village and should be addressed as a priority by the township,” the report reads. “This effort will provide additional parking spaces, better service to the businesses, and a new and enticing welcome to those entering the village from Baker Street or walking through the site.”

To continue to update Maplewood Village, Tessier said the committee should consider making it a smart village, and suggested adding smart kiosks that connect to WiFi, have the ability to make phone calls and dial 9-1-1, and provide maps, advertising and a charging station. The kiosks would be ADA compliant.

The report also suggests building office space and a communal “create space” for residents to use. As part of the vision plan, Tessier also introduced microapartments — small apartments that are between 250 and 400 square feet, including a kitchen and bathroom.

“They can be for people who work in the retail establishments, senior citizens or young people who come back to the community and don’t necessarily want to be with Mom and Dad,” Tessier said. “They have to be in a building where there’s community space. It’s almost like a dorm, where you’re using this room but you’re hanging out in a bigger space.”

There are zoning requirements for microapartments, which Tessier said the committee and Board of Adjustment would have to consider.

“I think it’s a way to make buildings more profitable without relying on retail tenants having to pay the whole nut, and provides a service,” he said. “One or two floors would add some vitality to the village and could be good for millennials and young professionals.”

Residents in the tiny apartments would not be allowed to have a car, and therefore would not exacerbate the parking problem.

Placemaking additions to the village were highlighted in the presentation and the report as well, including cafe lighting, moveable outdoor seating for restaurants, bright paint and additional sidewalk space.

“We’ve talked about adding a busker space there for performances and maybe adding an outdoor piano,” Tessier said. “It’s really creating a sense of place, which I don’t think you have in that space now. It’s only really the tip of the iceberg. As the businesses develop and move into ecommerce, there’s a whole world of opportunity. Later, as you get into it, you can add ecological elements and social equity elements and food security elements, but this is the first step.”

DeLuca said the committee will be monitoring the plan and keeping the public updated as it changes.

“We obviously have a lot to think about,” he said. “And a lot more planning to do, and we’ll be talking to the Village Alliance about it.”

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