The Zoning Board of Adjustment voted to approve a change of use and site plan for Star Suspension Parts at 306 Journey Mill Road, allowing a truck suspension and maintenance facility to operate at an existing industrial building. The motion to approve passed on a roll call vote during the July 23 hearing.

Why it matters
The applicant seeks a D‑1 use variance because the proposed truck maintenance operation is not a permitted use in the SED zone. The board received engineer and planner testimony that the site previously hosted truck operations (a 1981 planning‑board approval was entered into the record) and that the proposed, limited suspension‑only operation would be less intensive than the historic use.

What the board heard
Attorney Jonathan Clement (Clement Mueller, P.A.) represented the applicant and called technical witnesses. Engineer Frank Farrell (Gatto Engineering) testified the lot is 181,555 square feet, the building is about 5,700 square feet, and the front retail/office portion of the building would be roughly 400 square feet; no structural expansion of the building is proposed. Farrell said the applicant will increase striped parking from 10 to 24 spaces without adding new pavement, provide five large 10x25 truck parking stalls for queuing, install landscaping and lighting along Journey Mill Road, and replace an existing facade sign with a similar non‑lit tenant sign.

Operator Phil Santos testified the business will focus on suspension repairs for dump trucks and similar heavy vehicles, not routine passenger vehicle oil changes or engine rebuilding. Santos said initial staffing would be about five employees, expanding to as many as ten, and he estimated servicing roughly five to 12 trucks per day; repair duration could range from about 15 minutes to several hours depending on the job.

Planner Kevin O’Brien (Shamrock Interfront) told the board the application meets the municipal master plan goals and recommended approval, noting the site’s prior truck use and the application’s limited scope. O’Brien said, “I can conclude that this application can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantial impairment to the zone plan and the zoning ordinance.”

Waivers, conditions and public‑safety items
The applicant requested waivers for Belgian‑block curbing, certain sidewalk requirements, and hairpin parking striping; the borough professionals and applicant agreed waivers were reasonable given existing pavement and the goal to preserve continuity of existing striping. The applicant agreed to comply with any comments from the borough’s fire official and with checklist items from the board’s engineer and planner. The board asked the applicant to post signage designating truck parking stalls to reduce confusion with passenger parking; the applicant agreed.

Parking and ADA
The ordinance calculation produced a requirement of 27 spaces under a conservative interpretation (treating multiple service bays as separate); the applicant provided 24 striped spaces and an ADA‑compliant stall. The board and applicant discussed adding an additional ADA stall if required; the applicant indicated they could make changes if the board requested them as a condition.

Outcome and conditions
A motion to approve the application carried on roll call. Board members recorded affirmative votes and the chair said the approval will be memorialized at the board’s next meeting. Conditions discussed on the record include compliance with fire‑official comments, provision of truck‑parking signage, satisfaction of engineering/planning checklist items, and restoration of the rear lease area to previously approved conditions.

Ending
The applicant may begin work after memorialization of the board’s approval and after satisfying the listed conditions and any required permits.