BY JOYCE BLAY
Staff Writer
JACKSON — A convenience store with gas islands is not a suitable business for a residential neighborhood. That is the sentiment of residents who live adjacent to the site of a proposed Wawa convenience store that would be built at South New Prospect and Bethel Church roads if it is approved by the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
On March 2, the board began hearing an application by Wawa to build the new store as well as a request for a variance to install gas pumps there. Since the store would not be in a highway commercial zone, gas pumps are not a permitted use at the site.
Located on 3.94 acres, the 5,700-square-foot convenience store would have eight gas pumps, said William D. Crane of Bohler Engineering, planner for the project. He said the busy signalized intersection made the corner location ideal for attracting customers seeking gas fill-ups and store purchases.
The store would have on-site parking and loading, which would include four deliveries a day for groceries, dairy and gas. There will also be enclosed trash areas and sanitary sewer service.
Attorney Ray Shea, who represents Wawa, said the store would be the same size as one on Route 9 south in neighboring Howell. If the application is approved, the Wawa currently on New Prospect Road, a half-mile from the site where the new one is planned, would be closed. The existing store does not have gas pumps, which are becoming standard at many newer Wawa locations, according to the applicant’s representatives.
“That’s an accepted part of Americana,” Shea said prior to the hearing.
Dave MacDonald, real estate manager for Wawa, told the Tri-Town News that if the zoning board does not approve the application for a new store with gas pumps, the project would not be built.
Wawa does not own the land on which the convenience store and gas pumps would be built.
Mathew Rutt, a civil engineer with Bohler Engineering, told the board during testimony that there would be a 20-foot setback with 58 parking stalls. A 150-foot buffer with evergreen trees and mature plantings would separate the store and neighboring homes, augmented by an 8-foot-high fence.
“We have to be careful [not] to block [customers’ view of the store],” said Rutt. “The primary goal is to [shield neighbors] view of the facility.”
A 6-foot-high chain link fence would enclose a retention basin. Storm water runoff was designed for 100 percent capture by an infiltration basin, said Rutt.
There will be no waiver requested from having to build sidewalks. Four types of signs will be used at the site. Wawa also seeks variances to install two enter/exit signs and a 4-foot-high sign.
At 12:15 a.m., board Chairman Michael Kelly asked Rutt to conclude his testimony for that meeting so that residents would have an opportunity to speak out on the application.
“This location … is a poor choice,” said Diane Thompson of Bethel Church Road. “Do we really need another gas station? We have two other gas stations you can walk to from this corner. The value of our homes is at stake. Zoning board members, please [listen to our concerns].”
Joanne Doyle, also a resident of Bethel Church Road, said she was impressed by the “spin” Wawa’s representatives had put on their presentation of the application.
“If you’ve ever seen a gas station, the predominant visual [sight] is the gas station,” said Doyle. “This is not County Line Road or New Prospect Road; this was a quiet street and now there are people trying to turn it into a super highway.”
Doyle said the smell of gasoline would be particularly noticeable in the summer.
Prior to testifying before the board, Wawa project engineer Michael Redell told residents outside the meeting room that the gas would go into the tank and come back into the tank without any leakage. He asked residents to listen to the presentation before making up their minds to oppose the project.
However, Doyle remained unconvinced, according to comments she made during the public forum on the application.
“You can dress this up with a mini-mart, but it’s still a gas station,” she said. “This is a really bad precedent to set in a residential neighborhood.”
Doyle’s husband, Kevin, also addressed the board.
“Would anybody here want to live next to a gas station?” he asked board members.
Richard Miller said he would be most impacted by construction of the convenience store and gas pumps since his home is closest to the site. He cited concern over traffic issues.
“We have a lot of safety issues,” said Miller. This stretch of road “is called the Jackson Autobahn [because] people fly down there at 50 to 55 mph.”
Miller did not indicate what the current speed limit is on his street.
He also objected to Wawa’s request for a variance to install signs so close to his home.
“It’s a big sign, about 100 feet off my property,” he said. “If you have to ask for [so many] exceptions to the rule, there’s got to be a reason.”
Miller concluded by expressing the neighbors’ collective concern that the project would not only decrease the value of their homes, but diminish their quality of life.
“We just feel this is an inappropriate use of the area, that’s it,” he said.
Miller’s wife, Rachel, said she worried that the store would attract crime to the area along with pollutants and traffic. She told the Tri-Town News before the meeting that she has two children and that one would be starting kindergarten next year. She said the bus stop is 100 feet from the corner where the Wawa would be located.
“This isn’t what I expected” when I moved here, she said.
The Wawa application was carried to the board’s April 20 meeting.