Application was seven years in the process West Milford It took nearly seven years to get here but the 1952 Union Valley Road, LLC, also known as Q&S Deli, received its site plan approval from the Planning Board to build a new 5,000 square foot, two-story deli on its current site. The approval, which is not in effect until the planning board memorializes it with a resolution scheduled for Oct. 28, is just the first step in getting the project completed. With the township approval in hand, the owners now go to the county and the Highlands Commission for their approvals. The attorney for the applicant, John Barbarula, recapped the project for the board. A new building will be constructed just behind the current building, allowing the owners to continue to do business while the project is in progress. The new building will have a second floor with two one-bedroom apartments. One of the owners of the business, Lewis Qarmout, will occupy one of those apartments. The applicants asked for and received a variance from the planning board for the number of parking spaces required. For a building this size, 28 parking spaces are required per township code. However, because the applicant is not increasing the impervious surface space of the property, not adding gravel or blacktop to it, he instead asked to have 27 parking spots approved. Parking issues brought litigation And parking was the issue that caused most of the delays in the process. According to Tanya Cubby, the planning board secretary, this project came to the planning board in 2008. Before that it was with the Board of Adjustment because the owner originally wanted to add a gas station. When they decided not to add the gas station to the project, no change of use variance was needed and it made its way to the planning board. However, there is an unwritten agreement between a previous owner and the owner of the neighboring property, John Aiello, that allows Aiello to park on the Q&S property. Litigation ensued and the court decided that the agreement must be upheld until Aiello either sells the property or dies. The parking agreement cannot be passed along to a subsequent owner. The final configuration The new building will replace the 1,200 square foot deli currently at the location, which is next to the car wash on Union Valley Road. Parking will primarily be in front of the building; 10 parking spaces will be in the rear of the building for employees and the residents. “There will be no parking policemen,” said Barbarula, referring to the legal battle with Aiello. He acknowledged that if someone parks in the lot and goes next door to a restaurant or the liquor store, no one will object. Anwar Qarmout, one of the owners of Q&S Deli, said the new building is being built with the environment in mind. He said it will have a green roof and called the whole project eco-friendly. The green roof allows snow to roll off. Qarmout said a leading architect in green building is working on the project. Solar panels, skylights and geothermal heating are all part of the plan. “We are very anxious to make this a good model of how commercial can benefit from green building, not just residential,” said Qarmout. “It’s about our environment. Going green is very expensive. We want to be good neighbors.”