can be built at
Rte. 18 service station
Hess is given the OK
for compromised plan
Convenience store
can be built at
Rte. 18 service station
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer
Amerada Hess Corp. will be allowed to build a convenience store at its Route 18 gas station in East Brunswick.
However, it will not be permitted to build it within the residentially zoned lot it owns behind the existing gas pumps, as was initially proposed.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment voted last Thursday to grant a use variance and site plan approval for the minimart construction and pump island reconfiguration at the Hess station at Route 18 north and Albert Street. The Hess application had raised the ire of residents of nearby roads such as Albert Street, Serviss Avenue and Andrew Place who said the store did not belong in a residential zone and would encroach on their neighborhood.
Board members also pressured Hess to keep its expansion within the highway commercial (HC-2) zone at the front of its property. And after several hearings Hess representatives agreed to build the store almost entirely within the commercial zone.
Hess made a number of other changes to its application, increasing the size of a sound barrier from 6 feet to 8 feet, agreeing to run the wall almost the entire length of the rear of the property as a buffer to the residences, and reducing the amount of lighting at the site.
The convenience store is a conditional use in the portion of Hess’ property that is zoned highway commercial. However, the oil giant had initially sought to extend the minimart about 30 feet into a portion of the property zoned as residential.
The plan includes the construction of a 1,660-square-foot store to replace the existing 390-square-foot building and 225-square-foot kiosk.
Board member Richard Walling thanked Hess for deciding to change the plan and move the mini-mart almost entirely within the HC-2 zone.
He called it a "vast improvement to the site plan."
The plan still includes drainage in the residential zone, as well as building overhang, however.
Residents were pleased that Hess reconsidered its idea of where to locate the mini- mart. However, some said they still do not like the direction in which the neighborhood is going.
Jorge Bunag, Andrew Place, said residents were grateful to the board for the suggestion that Hess limit the use of the residential zone.
"We are still not jumping for joy, though," he said. "We are still under siege."
He said Hess also did not address the issue of vehicular traffic or overflow parking coming into the neighborhood.
"This plan is the lesser of two evils," Bunag said. "We would prefer the neighborhood stay as it is."
Paul Dukat, also of Andrew Place, is the one who suggested the 8-foot-wall be extended so that it runs almost the entire back length of the property to provide more of a buffer.
"You guys get to go home [elsewhere] tonight," he told board members. "We have to live there."
After some discussion, Hess agreed to run the wall as Dukat suggested.
Board member Richard Klein expressed gratitude with Hess for being flexible with the plan, as did some others.
"We really reached a happy medium," said member Joel Henkin.
Board member Stuart Kohn said that based on the original plans, he was ready to vote no.
Hess engineer Glenn Phillips said the company would also provide sidewalks along its Route 18 frontage and a new drainage plan to accompany the relocated mini-mart.
Hess planner James Higgins said the company also increased landscaping improvements proposed for the site.
At previous hearings, residents have argued there was no reason to allow Hess to locate the store in a residential zone. Residents said there would be increased garbage, rats, noise and lighting from the use, and contended that it would impede on their quality of life and property values.
Meanwhile, Hess representatives made the point that other businesses along Route 18 are already operating on properties that are split between commercial and residential zones. They also said their property is misshaped, in an effort to show there was a hardship reason for the board to grant the use variance.
At an April 1 hearing, Hess attorney Donna Jennings agreed the sound wall could be increased in height to 8 feet and said Hess officials would discuss the possibility of relocating the mini-mart entirely in the commercial zone.