Questions about a proposed 108,000-square-foot warehouse and office building on Route 31 dominated a Hopewell Township Planning Board meeting on May 28, with members spending nearly three hours scrutinizing the project before carrying the application to a hearing later this month.
The board also approved amendments to a previously approved green cemetery on Stony Brook Road, memorialized The Wedge affordable housing development on Scotch Road, and postponed discussion of the township’s Economic Development Element after the meeting stretched late into the evening.
Questions Remain on Proposed Route 31 Warehouse
The bulk of the meeting focused on an application by Hopewell Solar LLC seeking preliminary and final site plan approval for a 108,000-square-foot warehouse and office building at 61 Route 31 North. The property is located approximately across from Stony Brook Gardens and Cream King on land that is currently unused farmland. The proposal includes 29 loading bays, 73 employee parking spaces, office space, a private well, septic facilities and stormwater management infrastructure.
While the applicant’s professionals argued the project complies with zoning requirements, planning board members repeatedly questioned how the building would ultimately be used and who its future tenants might be.
Although no tenants have been identified, representatives for the project said they envision the building serving smaller commercial businesses rather than a large-scale distribution operation.
“The flex type users who would be interested in this building typically don’t have a lot of loading docks,” said Russell Smith of Hopewell Valley Engineering, the project’s engineer.
When board members asked what he meant by “flex users,” Smith said he anticipated businesses that need a combination of warehouse and office space.
“It would be a use like an electrician or plumber that would want a small amount of office space, and a place where they could have a drive-in door where they could load up their materials for the day and drive out and do their work,” Smith said. “We really don’t know but that is what we expect.”
Board members continued to press the applicant on the issue, noting that the building could potentially accommodate larger users in the future.
Smith acknowledged that the site is being designed to accommodate large vehicles.
“We have to plan for a large truck,” he said. “It also has to be designed for fire trucks and all those other things. It will be designed to handle tractor trailers and there will be spots for loading docks, but we don’t expect this to be like an Amazon warehouse because it’s not what it is.”
In addition to questions about future tenants and truck traffic, board members raised concerns about septic capacity, stormwater management, trash collection and the overall appearance of the building.
The proposal calls for the facility to be served by a well and to use approximately 2,000 gallons of water per day. Four bioretention basins would be constructed to manage stormwater runoff.
Board member Vanessa Sandom questioned whether the building’s design fit the character of the surrounding area.
“This building does not fit in with the area at all,” Sandom said. “You can build a nice modern building like that but not there, sorry.”
By the end of the evening, board members still had additional questions for the applicant. The hearing was paused around 11 p.m. and will continue at the board’s June 25 meeting on Zoom.
Green Cemetery Changes Approved
Earlier in the evening, the board approved amendments to a green cemetery proposed by the Universal Unitarian Congregation of Princeton on Stony Brook Road.
The cemetery, originally approved in 2024, will occupy Lot 15, Block 21 and is intended to provide natural burials without embalming fluids, concrete vaults or traditional headstones. Memorials instead would consist of natural features such as rocks, trees and shrubs.
The congregation returned to the board seeking modifications aimed at making the project more environmentally friendly while improving access.
“We realized it was going to be very expensive to build that,” said Peter Macholdt, referring to a previously approved driveway. “It wasn’t as green as we wanted it be.”
Under the revised plan, the gravel lot would be replaced with a 10-space turf paver parking area. The design includes gravel filter strips to help manage stormwater and would provide improved access for emergency vehicles.
Macholdt said the cemetery is expected to have limited use.
“When people are buried here it will be very small groups attending the burial immediate family usually which is why we needed such a small parking area,” he said. “We will not have big crowds for burials here.”
The board approved the requested amendments, including new signage identifying the property and its purpose.
The Wedge Resolution Memorialized
The board also approved a resolution memorializing its earlier approval of The Wedge development on Scotch Road. Last month the board approved separating the commercial and residential plans for the property. There have been no site plans presented to the board yet on either property.
Memorialization resolutions formally record actions previously taken by the board and are required before projects can proceed through subsequent permitting and approval processes.
Economic Development Discussion Delayed
Because of the length of the evening’s hearings, discussion of the Economic Development Element of the township’s Master Plan was postponed.
Board members agreed to move that discussion to August.
