Making a decision on a controversial building application is no easy task for volunteers serving on land use boards in our communities. The members of planning and zoning boards have to weigh a complex group of mostly subjective factors before rendering his or her decision, knowing all the while that saying yes or no could ultimately affect the quality of life for some residents and also have a lasting impact on the entire community.
In East Brunswick, the Zoning Board of Adjustment is currently hearing several difficult applications — notably a plan for a drive-thru Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins at an existing Route 18 store space, and an application by Hess to add a convenience store on a residential lot behind one of its gas stations, also on Route 18.
The board is holding several hearings on each of the plans, which are both being opposed by nearby residents.
These are indeed some tough decisions, as we have seen other recent applications turned down in East Brunswick and surrounding towns wind up in court, where a judge has overturned the local rulings. Examples include a Ryders Lane Wawa application and the Tamarack Hollow housing development.
The township also tried to enforce an ordinance that prohibited Hess from selling snack foods at its gas station, but after litigation ensued, the town changed the ordinance to allow the food sales as a conditional use after Hess took legal action.
This is not to say that a town should say yes to every land use application for fear of the resulting legal bills, but that the very recent history alone shows how limited a town’s ability is in controlling these matters. At times it seems the only result of a negative vote is a legal bill.
As for the current Hess plan, it seems to us that it would be invasive to the residents who live around it. To suddenly have a convenience store spring up on a vacant, residentially zoned lot is not something that these residents want, and it just seems unfair to allow the use variance in this case.
The Dunkin’ Donuts plan may be inevitable, despite the contention that it, too, would be invasive to the residential area around it. This is, after all, Route 18. And the applicant has modified the plans to make the operation less severe, based on residents’ concerns.
But both matters must be judged on their positive and negative criteria, and considered with a great deal of concern for those who would be affected. That includes the applicant, the neighbors, and the community as a whole, which by the way has to foot the town’s legal bills.