Since the last re-examination report in 1998, several new issues have cropped up in Lawrence including development along at Route 1 and the Brunswick Circle.
By:Jennifer Potash Managing Editor
The Planning Board adopted its latest re-examination of the Master Plan Monday night, taking steps to address looming expansion proposals such as the Quaker Bridge Mall and the Route 1 business corridor.
The board voted unanimously to adopt the plan.
The next step would be for the Township Council to considering changing the township’s land use ordinance and zoning regulations based on the Master Plan recommendations. The Master Plan is intended to provide a snapshot of the township’s present appearance and an overview of its future development. The Planning Board is required to re-examine the plan every six years. The last major re-examination occurred in 1998.
When the township’s Master Plan was adopted in 1995 and then updated in 1998, an expanded regional shopping mall or a new hospital was not on the horizon.
Since the last re-examination report in 1998, several new issues have cropped up in Lawrence including development along at Route 1 and the Brunswick Circle.
Planning Board member James Kownacki questioned whether the re-examination reports adequately reflects a new trend of large gas stations with attached convenience stores.
Mr. Kownacki said he was concerned that developers would now seek big service stations with associated convenience stores on too-small sites.
"I would like to see a minimum lot size," he said.
David Roskos, the planning board attorney, noted the Zoning Board of Adjustment gave a variance for a large gas station and convenience store application at the Brunswick Circle, located in the Highway Commercial Zone, last year, after reducing the size of the plan.
The township’s Master Plan had not addressed the issue of such gas stations in 1995 as few, if any, existed in New Jersey municipalities, he said.
Also, the site for the station, was in 1995, state-owned, Mr. Roskos said.
The zoning board found that with more gas stations appearing on highways such as Route 1 the proposal addresses "a new use for our modern way of living."
Township planing consultant Philip Caton, who prepared the report, said the Master Plan was "largely silent on this issue."
Mr. Roskos said the Planning Board should revisit the matter and consider an amended to the Highway Commercial Zone to allow the larger stations "provided the site is sufficiently large enough."
Service stations may not be combined with any other use on the same lot under the township’s Land Use Ordinance. Also, the Highway Commercial zone permits stations if certain standards are met, and allows convenience stores as permitted uses.
The report also address future development issues in the township. A proposed expansion of the Quaker Bridge Mall and the construction of a hospital on Princess Road are key issues with major implications, Mr. Caton said.
According to the re-examination report, the township’s land use ordinance caps the expansion of the Quaker Bridge Mall to its present 1.3 million square feet. The owners want to expand the mall by up to 895,000 square feet, and that would require an amendment to the land use ordinance.
The report recommends that the Planning Board consider whether the Master Plan should be amended to allow for the mall’s expansion. While the mall does not border any township-owned roads, the potential traffic impact of the expansion on state and county-owned roads, which surround the mall, will be a key consideration, according to the report.
The re-examination report addresses the proposed hospital that Capital Health Systems would like to build on Princess Road. Portions of the land are zoned for office and industrial uses, which do not permit a hospital, Mr. Caton wrote.
Capital Health has asked the township to consider amending the Master Plan and rezoning the land to allow for a hospital use. The report suggests that the Planning Board consider that request, but also examine potential effects including traffic impacts of such a proposal.
The Master Plan should look closely at infill housing, as some of the new larger houses are architecturally incompatible with the existing houses, according to Mr. Caton’s report. The report also suggests the Planning Board consider building size caps and how infill development can affect the stock of moderate-income housing.

