The plan has raised the ire of many residents.
By: Lea Kahn
Objectors to the Westerly Road Church’s use variance application will have their last chance to make their point Wednesday when the Zoning Board of Adjustment continues its public hearing on the application.
The 7:30 p.m. meeting will be held in the Courtroom at the municipal building.
The Westerly Road Church, based in Princeton Township, is seeking a use variance to build a 42,600-square-foot church on the historic John Feaster Phillips property at 3850 Princeton Pike. Houses of worship are not permitted uses in the Environmental Protection-2 zone.
The plan has raised the ire of many residents. Some have even hired an attorney to represent their cause.
The major objections deal with the added traffic the church might bring and the negative effect the plan may have on the rural setting and the historic nature of the property.
Michael Kuzma, a real estate appraiser hired by some of the objectors, said at a previous zoning board meeting that would-be buyers of neighboring properties might reconsider buying one of those houses if they read about a development application and the traffic it might generate. This would affect the appreciation factor of the houses, he said.
The church’s proposed 42,600-square-foot building would contain a 550-seat sanctuary, a two-story educational wing and a one-story chapel on the 13.3-acre property, which is located near Fackler Road. The applicant may seek approval at a later date for an 11,000-square-foot recreation building.
The nondenominational church wants to convert the 18th-century Phillips House into office space and meeting rooms. The carriage house would be turned into a tool shed and the second floor may be used for visitors’ quarters.
The application calls for a 360-car parking lot. A future parking expansion plan calls for adding 122 spaces for a total of 482 parking spaces. A new driveway serving the property would be constructed about 600 feet south of the Fackler Road intersection with Princeton Pike.
In addition to the use variance, the Westerly Road Church is seeking other variances. A height variance is needed. The proposed church would be 45 feet tall, but the township’s Land Use Ordinance limits the maximum building height to 35 feet.
A variance for impervious surface ratio also is needed. The applicant has proposed an impervious surface area of 34 percent, which is more than the ratio of 8 percent that is permitted. The impervious surface coverage includes parking lots, sidewalks and buildings.
During the public hearings, Richard Coppola, the applicant’s planner, testified the church would not be an intrusive use because it would be fairly isolated. The surrounding 254 acres are owned by Lawrence Township or Mercer County, and will never be developed.
Churches are considered to be inherently beneficial uses, Mr. Coppola testified. An inherently beneficial use, such as a church, school or hospital, serves the public good, he said.