Warehouse roof limits may be increased 10 ft. Move deemed a way to bring facilities in line with modern standards BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer FILE PHOTO Under a proposed ordinance, new warehouses could be built 50 feet in height and older facilities would be allowed to be retrofitted to the new standard. SOUTH BRUNSWICK - The Township Council has moved forward an ordinance that would increase the height limitations of most warehouses by an additional 10 feet. The proposed ordinance, discussed at Tuesday's council workshop meeting, would allow the maximum height of warehouses to be increased from the current limit of 40 feet to a new limit of 50. Township officials see this increase as necessary to attract investment and remain competitive in the market. A higher warehouse ceiling means more room for goods, and more room for goods means a more attractive warehouse for potential tenants, which officials feel could translate into an increased tax base for the municipality. Mayor Frank Gambatese said the higher ceilings would also bring warehouses in line with contemporary equipment. "When buildings were being put up, they no longer met the criteria of the new stacking equipment, and consequently we were at a disadvantage," said Gambatese. Gambatese, who is also a member of the Planning Board, said that the board often granted variances for new warehouse applications anyway, so instead of going through the same process each time, it might simply be more prudent to change the height restrictions. "We have constantly been granting variances with regard to height to go from 40 to 44 to 46 [feet] because the stacking equipment requires the height of a building to go up to at least 46 feet. So the recommendation by planning is ... rather than granting these variances, we change our ordinance so we're not constantly having to grant a variance," said Gambatese. The ordinance, which was first discussed by the Planning Board during its March 15 meeting, drew some concern, especially from Councilman Charles Carley, a member of the board and an engineer by trade. At both March's planning meeting and Tuesday's council meeting, Carley expressed unease about whether it was a good idea to have 50-foot-tall warehouses close to homes, as there are industrial zones scattered throughout the town and not all of them isolated away from residents. The rest of the council echoed Carley's concerns, and it was decided that an exception to the ordinance would be made for warehouses close to residential zones. This means that the tall warehouses will be almost entirely in the eastern portion of South Brunswick. The ordinance would also allow for already developed warehouses to retrofit their facilities to take the new height limit into account. The ordinance was seen in a positive light by at least one warehouse developer in South Brunswick. "We support the proposed South Brunswick ordinance," said Kenneth A. Griffin, vice president of development for Matrix Development Group, which has owned and developed industrial properties in the South Brunswick area for more than 25 years. "There is a strong trend toward higher ceiling heights for sophisticated warehouse users, allowing them to maximize their operations. Obviously, this would translate positively for South Brunswick because it will enable the town to attract more and better ratables. We look forward to incorporating this in the future," The council is expected to introduce the ordinance for a first reading at its July 25 meeting. It appears to have strong support. "As long as the residential areas are protected ... I don't have any problem with it," said Councilman Chris Killmurray.