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Development Team Seeks To Have The Vacant Property Re-Zoned From Residential To Commercial To Accommodate Self-Storage Project
LAND USE ANALYSIS
They say three times is a charm — will it be for a developer who’s bringing his third proposal to a vacant parcel, this time a self-storage facility?
Monsey-based 31 Collins LLC is partnering with New York City-based PrimeSpace Capital to build Garnerville Mini-Storage, a 108,000-square-foot facility on a two-acre parcel at 3 West Ramapo Road in Haverstraw. PrimeSpace develops self-storage facilities in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.
This proposal marks the third time developers have come before the planning board with proposals — neither the retail strip, nor a childcare facility gained traction on the location, which is surrounded on all sides by residential neighborhoods.
“This is completely residential, all private homes,” said Ken Borchers, at last week’s Town of Haverstraw planning board meeting. ”
The appetite for storage facilities continues unabated in Haverstraw and throughout the county. This proposal sits at the corner of a state road (West Ramapo Road, also known as Route 202) and a county road (Central Avenue). The site, zoned R-15 Residential, is surrounded by residences on all sides, but is also eligible for inclusion in the Route 202 Overlay Zone. The overlay primarily allows retail and professional office uses, restaurants, banks, and childcare facilities. It does not allow self-storage facilities as-of-right.
The developer has chosen to bypass the overlay and is seeking a zone change for the parcel to C – Commercial, based in part on its proximity to the ShopRite shopping center and commercial development to the northwest of the site. The request to change the zoning to commercial is being reviewed by the Haverstraw Planning Board, but will ultimately need town board approval.
Self-storage and mini-storage facilities are allowed “as-of-right” in the C-Commercial zone. Variances may still be required for the number of stories. The current zone allows only 2-1/2 stories. The proposal calls for three stories. The building height, at 35 feet, is zoning compliant. A parking variance is also required. The code would require 724 parking spaces, but the facility is only planning on having six. Also, the developer is seeking a variance to allow one loading berth less than the code requires.
Several residential and ancillary buildings on the site have already been demolished.
The project, as designed, calls for a three-story mini-storage or self-storage facility. Each floor will be 36,200 square feet, for a total of 108,600 square feet. Plans include a small office/retail space (where packing supplies will be sold), an office and rest room for office employees. While the facility will be climate controlled, it will not be habitable.
The facility will be open seven days a week from 6 am to 10 pm, and all outdoor site activity would be occur away from neighboring residences. After the facility’s hours of operation were raised by Borchers, the planning board said the town and applicant had come to an agreement over the time restrictions.
But Borchers said he remains worried about the noise, particularly the sound of trucks backing up.
“That’s late,” he said, referring to the 10 pm cutoff. “I’m in bed at 9.”
The Haverstraw resident also questioned why the facility needed to be open seven days a week.
“People want to enjoy their homes,” he added.
A 25 foot wide buffer is also planned along the south and west sides of the building to mitigate the impact on residential neighbors.
According to the application, traffic and volume issues raised in the prior applications, are not applicable to self-storage, as self-storage is not a high volume or high intensity use. In fact, the plan only calls for six parking spaces.
The Planning Board has reviewed the application several times but has not issued any approvals pending a decision on the re-zoning.
31 Collins purchased the property in April of 2022 from an estate for $1,25 million. Financing at the time was provided by Kew Gardens, NY-based Goldens Bridge R2 LLC in the amount of $1 million. Two earlier development attempts did not secure the necessary approvals.
The Rockland County Planning Department recommended that the Town consider the impact of the project on the adjacent residential properties before changing the zoning.
