SCOTCH PLAINS — The planning board on Monday approved an application to subdivide two properties into four lots, retain two of the existing homes, and raze two others and replace them with new houses.

The lots in question are located on Juniper Lane, a private road that extends from Glenside Avenue to the border of the new Glenside development at the former Bowcraft Amusement Park site. Presently, there is one oversized lot apiece on the north and south sides of Juniper Lane, each containing two houses. Afrim Marke, the applicant, will split the north and south properties into two lots each of nearly equal sizes. The two houses on the north side of Juniper Lane will be retained, and an existing detached garage with an apartment will be permanently vacated of any tenants. The two houses on the south side of Juniper Lane will be razed and replaced by new dwellings.

Flood-control systems, including retention basins, will be included in the southwestern lot, meaning it will have less-buildable area than the neighboring lot, explained engineer Joseph Bachi. A homeowners association will be formed to deal with maintenance of Juniper Lane, snow removal, etc.

In addition, Juniper Lane will be widened from 20 feet to 28 feet, and its western end will provide access for emergency vehicles into the Bowcraft site via a paper street labeled as Old Bridge Road that runs behind one of the new apartment buildings. Planning Board Chairman Jeffrey Strauss asked why the road needed to be widened, and Deputy Fire Chief Skip Paal explained that a wider street would allow fire vehicles to safely move down Juniper Lane to the Bowcraft site if, during an emergency such as severe flooding, access to the Bowcraft site from Route 22 was blocked. He said that if cars were parked on Juniper Lane during such a situation, the widened street would provide extra room for fire equipment access to the Bowcraft property via a locked gate.