Council postpones retail decision

Traffic concerns cited as reason for delay

By: Joseph Harvie
   The Township Council postponed action on a proposed ordinance Tuesday that would allow permanent retail stores to be built in warehouses in certain industrial zones.
   Council members said they tabled the proposal because of concerns over the traffic the stores could generate.
   The ordinance will be discussed at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Main Meeting Room in the Municipal Building on Route 522 and will be up for a public hearing and possible adoption Oct. 24. If changes are made to the ordinance before then, it would have to be reintroduced for first reading at a later meeting. Under state law, an ordinance must be reintroduced if substantive changes are made to it.
   Henderson Road resident Frank Chrinko spoke against the proposed ordinance at the council meeting Tuesday on the behalf of the citizens organization Take Back Our Town. He said residents near the township’s borders with East Brunswick and Monroe on roads such as Deans Rhode Hall and Davidsons Mill roads are concerned that the stores could generate a lot of traffic in the area.
   In addition, township Public Affairs Coordinator Ron Schmalz said residents on Ridge Road in Monmouth Junction and along Route 522 also raised concerns about the proposal.
   If approved, the ordinance would allow stores to be added to warehouses in sections of the I-3 and LI-4 industrial zone that are east of Route 130 or west of Route 130 and south of Friendship Roads, in buildings 50,000 square feet or more.
   The stores could be no smaller than 2,500 square feet and no larger than 5 percent of a building’s total floor area or 10,000 square-feet, whichever is smaller, according to the proposed ordinance.
   In the I-3 zone, stores could be open to employees from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week, but open only to the public from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, according to the proposed ordinance.
   In the LI-4 zone the stores could be opened for employees from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, but only opened to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.