Town considering plans
for Foodtown expansion
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — The operator of a local shopping center is seeking approval for four variances that will address pre-existing conditions at its site and allow it to build an addition to a supermarket.
Raintree Towne Center Associates, which operates the Raintree Towne Center, Route 537, wants to build a 10,000-square-foot addition on the west side of a Foodtown supermarket.
According to a report prepared for the Planning Board by township planner Guy Leighton, the addition to be built by the shopping center’s operator would allow Foodtown’s owner to relocate the bakery, dairy and frozen food departments and expand the general grocery capacity in the supermarket.
Leighton said the proposal is for a one-story, 10,000-square-foot addition. The addition would extend the supermarket 30 feet closer to Village Center Drive. Plans indicate the addition would house the three relocated departments. The existing floor space those three departments now occupy would be stocked with additional grocery items.
Leighton noted the plans would need to be revised to reflect the fact that Foodtown has already expanded on the east side of the building into a space previously occupied by a Spirits Unlimited liquor store.
The latest addition as proposed, according to Leighton, would eliminate 30 parking spaces on the west side of the building while a parking lot at the rear of the building would be reconfigured for the addition of 24 parking spaces.
Leighton also noted that with the addition, 55 more parking spaces are required under township ordinance. He suggests in a written report to the Planning Board that "thought be given to designating the rear parking spaces as employee parking as their location will not be convenient for shoppers."
The planner also notes that at present, traffic circulation within the shopping center is a problem the applicant plans to address through several improvements.
Leighton suggests the applicant make improvements to the parking area in front of the post office with the goal of finding a "solution" to that "dead-end parking lot."
Another of the requested variances is to cover a shortfall of area needed for the buffer zone. A 30-foot buffer is required along the rear of the property. The parking lot as it is presently built and with the proposed addition will make the buffer 8 feet short of the requirement.
Also, a 65-foot rear setback exists instead of the required 100 feet, and a 50-foot side-yard setback exists where 100 feet are required.
The applicant is also seeking a waiver from the requirement to provide an environmental impact statement.
The matter which was held for public hearing on Nov. 2 is scheduled to be heard again at the Planning Board’s Dec. 7 meeting.
— Kathy Baratta