Chateau Mansion Plan Crumbles Before the Edison Zoning Board
Applicant seeking 14,000-square-foot luxury home told to scale back after tense hearing.
Architect Nehal Jhaveri presents a rendering of the proposed 14,346-square-foot “French chateau”–style home planned for Out of Bounds during the November 25 Edison Zoning Board meeting. (EdisonTV)
November 26, 2025
A proposal for a sprawling luxury home in north Edison unraveled Tuesday night as the zoning presentation quickly spiraled into board frustration, unanswered questions, and a threat to have police remove someone from the chamber.
The hearing began with the clerk reading a long list of variances the application required. The RAA zone permits a maximum 10 percent building coverage; the applicant sought 15 percent. The zone allows a 15 percent floor-area ratio (FAR), the portion of the lot a home may occupy as interior space; the application requested 28 percent, nearly double.
These limits — building coverage, FAR, and impervious surface — are designed to control the intensity of development, prevent oversized homes from overwhelming their lots, and reduce the risk of stormwater runoff and flooding on both the property and neighboring homes.
These limits — building coverage, FAR, and impervious surface — are designed to control the intensity of development, prevent oversized homes from overwhelming their lots, and reduce the risk of stormwater runoff and flooding on both the property and neighboring homes.
The project’s address is listed as 1651 Woodland Avenue, but attorney Benjamin Wine, representing the property owner, clarified that the proposed house sits on a private road named Out of Bounds, just off Woodland Avenue and bordering the Plainfield Country Club.
“You’ll see as we go through this application that the site itself is certainly located in a very nice part of town,” Wine said.
The property is one of several lots created when the Planning Board approved a subdivision of land along the private road in 2019. According to a public notice posted by a resident on Facebook, that subdivision required future homes on Out of Bounds to comply with the RAA zone’s strict bulk standards. The notice also listed the proposed house at 13,870 square feet, while the version presented Tuesday totaled 14,346 square feet — nearly 500 square feet more than what had been advertised earlier in the month.
Once the testimony began, the application quickly hit resistance. Engineer Aaron Chan of Stonefield Engineering opened with site plans and the list of variances sought, including requests for increased building coverage, additional impervious ground, and a reduced combined side-yard setback. To justify the request for increased impervious coverage — the portion of a property that cannot absorb rainwater — Chan described a large underground stormwater chamber he said provided more than three times the storage volume required by ordinance. Impervious limits exist specifically to prevent flooding and protect surrounding properties, especially in older neighborhoods with limited drainage capacity.
The board quickly intervened. “My concern is for the size of this home,” Chairman Michael Comba said immediately following the presentation. He told Chan the township engineer would have to review the stormwater design, a level of scrutiny typically reserved for commercial or institutional projects. Comba also questioned how far the current plans had strayed from what the Planning Board approved when the property was subdivided in 2019.
As the architect took over, the tension only grew. Architect Nehal Jhaveri described a “two-story French chateau inspired house” filled with luxury spaces: an indoor swimming pool, fitness room, a second-floor media room and lounge, six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, three half-baths, and a three-car garage. The basement includes a sauna and open entertainment area. Renderings showed an elaborate stone façade, a recessed entrance, and a sweeping motor court.
But Board Member Devendra Dave was not persuaded. He reminded the team that the earlier subdivision resolution explicitly stated the lots were expected to comply with the zone’s standards.
“What changed?” he asked.
“What changed is the property was sold to my client, Mr. Pereira,” Wine responded. “And this is his desire, having purchased the property, to come before the board and seek the relief.”
Dave pressed further. “You’re asking for double the FAR,” he said. “So you guys need to come up with something else.” He pushed the team on whether they had any plan to reduce the size of the house to meet zoning limits. Jhaveri and Wine said they were open to the board’s feedback but would need to consult with the homeowner before proposing changes. “This is a nice area and some of the houses are bigger,” Jhaveri said. “It kind of fits within the neighborhood.”
A Google Maps aerial view of Out of Bounds, the private road where the proposed 14,346-square-foot mansion would be built. The 2019 subdivision created three estate-size lots adjacent to the Plainfield Country Club.
The RAA zoning designation applies to areas with large, high-value properties, and the neighborhood features a mix of large and medium-sized homes. While the zoning board regularly hears requests from homeowners seeking variances for small additions to their homes, requests for variances of this magnitude are uncommon in Edison.
With no viable path forward, Wine requested a ten-minute recess. The board granted five. After the break, Wine said the team would reconsider the design and asked to return in December, but the board had no availability in December or January due to scheduling constraints and reorganization. The earliest open date was February 17.
Wine conferred briefly with his client and confirmed the February hearing date would work. But as Chairman Comba began to adjourn the case, someone in the audience attempted to speak. Board Attorney Bhavini Tara Shah immediately shut it down.
“There will be no public comment entertained,” she said. “It is inappropriate. It is illegal to do so.”
The board had not opened the application to public comment during the meeting, making the person’s remarks procedurally out of order.
When the person continued, Comba warned, “If you’re gonna keep interrupting, I’m gonna have the officer remove you.”
The future of the French chateau on Out of Bounds now rests on how much the applicant is willing to scale it back, and how the board responds when (or if) testimony resumes in February.