Nearly 100 people showed up for pre-Planning Board protests to the controversial proposed Spruce Street mega store (See related The Lawrence Ledger editorial)
By: Lea Kahn
It was standing-room-only Monday night as the township Planning Board voted 7-2 to grant preliminary and final site plan approval to Wal-Mart for a 143,233-square-foot store at 1060-1100 Spruce St. on the Ewing-Lawrence border.
Wal-Mart must now apply to the Mercer County Planning Board for approval, because Spruce Street is a county-owned road.
Robin Williams, who belongs to LET’s Stop Wal-Mart, a group consisting of Lawrence, Ewing and Trenton residents, said Wednesday afternoon that opponents plan to pursue the matter when Wal-Mart appears before the Mercer County Planning Board.
"We are not done yet," Ms. Williams said. "I don’t know how many of us can be in front of the (county) Planning Board because it meets once a month on a Wednesday at 9 a.m., but we are definitely going to pursue this."
The Monday vote capped a series of four public hearings on the application. The approved plan is the third version submitted by Wal-Mart since the Arkansas-based company announced its plans for a store on the site in 2004.
Planning Board Chairman Tom Wilfrid, board members Jim Kownacki, Nat Moorman, Dennis Waters and Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun, Mayor Gregory Puliti and Councilman Mark Holmes who also sits on the board voted to approve the application. Philip Duran and Marcy Kleiner voted no.
Mr. Duran and Ms. Kleiner said they voted against the application because of environmental concerns about the Shabakunk Creek, which borders the site. The applicant was granted a variance from the 100-foot stream buffer, because parts of the proposed driveway, parking lot, loading dock and storm water detention basin intrude into the buffer area.
"It’s the wrong place for Wal-Mart," Mr. Duran said after the meeting. "It’s too close to a congested area. The environmental impact (from the stream buffer) can’t be resolved with the current plan."
Mr. Duran said he also voted against the application because Wal-Mart was unwilling to move the garden center from the side of the store nearest to the Shabakunk Creek. He said he was concerned that if bags of pesticides and fertilizer broke, the garden chemicals would spill into the creek.
More than 80 people packed the Municipal Building as Wal-Mart representatives wrapped up their presentation. Many people expressed opposition to the plan when the board opened up the meeting for public comment.
Some audience members also took part in protest outside the Municipal Building prior to the meeting, standing on the sidewalk and waving signs showing their opposition. A few motorists waved or tooted their car’s horn in support of the protesters.
Testimony has recently focused on traffic issues, as Wal-Mart’s traffic engineer, Raymond DiPasquale, told the Planning Board the company’s professionals have been in contact with Mercer County officials over possible changes to Spruce Street to handle the increased traffic.
Mr. Wilfrid said the Planning Board and its professionals realize that traffic is a major concern. There has been much conversation among Wal-Mart, Mercer County and Lawrence Township professional staff to try to understand what to do about the traffic, he said.
Planning Board attorney David Roskos noted that Mercer County plans to conduct a study of the area, including Spruce Street and Princeton Avenue, as part of the proposed Mercer Crossings revitalization effort. The county received a $125,000 grant to fund the study and is seeking contract bids from prospective traffic consultants.
Attorney Robert Ridolfi, who represents Wal-Mart, said possible improvements to Spruce Street are dependent on the study’s recommendations. He said his client would contribute toward the cost of improvements to Spruce Street "to the extent that the county requires Wal-Mart to pay."
Mr. Roskos cautioned the audience that the Planning Board does not create the zoning and that it does not have the right to deny an application that conforms to the township’s Land Use Ordinance.
"We are a planning board," Mr. Roskos said. "People may want to say what kind of corporate citizen (Wal-Mart) is, but it carries no weight. We comply with the law."
Mr. Wilfrid, the Planning Board chairman, reinforced Mr. Roskos’ remark that the Planning Board would not be influenced by comments from the audience "or by the applause meter," and then allowed the first of 18 audience members to speak.
"The quality of life this store will impose on us is scary to me," said Jessie Phillips, whose family bought its home in Ewing Township in 1953. The neighboring smaller streets in Ewing will become short-cuts for motorists who want to reach Wal-Mart, she said.
Justin Weszolek, also of Ewing, said he was concerned about an increase in crime. The new store could attract people from out of the area who might rob the neighbors, he said.
"There is no need for people from one end of Prospect Avenue (in Trenton) to come up to my end (of Prospect Street in Ewing)," he said. "People could be coming through, down on their luck and see how we are doing well and take a piece of my pie."
Lawrence resident Nicole Plett, of Pine Knoll Drive, said she was opposed to approving the construction of a "big box store." She said 566 towns in New Jersey are competing for tax dollars such as those generated by a Wal-Mart and the plan to build a Wal-Mart store in Lawrence has driven a wedge between Lawrence, Ewing and Trenton.
Maria Nowicki, who lives on Brunswick Avenue in Lawrence, said Wal-Mart would not improve the quality of life for residents in southern Lawrence Township. She said plans to revitalize the neighborhood on Spruce Street encouraging small mom-and-pop businesses, such as those in the village of Lawrenceville would not happen if Wal-Mart builds its new store.
Ms. Nowicki also said the asphalt parking lot at 1060-1100 Spruce St. should be removed and a park should be created in its place. Everywhere one looks, someone is cutting down the woods for development, she said.
"Wal-Mart will not help us. They will help themselves. Lawrence does not need a Wal-Mart," she said, noting two nearby Wal-Mart stores in Hamilton and West Windsor.
The Planning Board voted on several variances, including one for the height of the building and signage, and the stream buffer variance. The proposed building is 36 feet 8 inches high, and the maximum height permitted is 35 feet.
After the board voted to grant the stream buffer variance, audience members many of them waving hastily made signs urging the board to deny the variances chanted "Shame, shame, shame." Mr. Wilfrid banged the gavel to quiet the audience.
LET’s Stop Wal-Mart’s Robin Williams, of Pin Oak Drive, said she was "appalled" that the Planning Board approved the application. She said there was a "preponderance of factual material" that would have allowed the board to deny it, such as the potential damage to the environment.
"It seems rather than the public interest, it was the corporate interest that took precedence," said Ms. Williams. "I am disturbed by that. Instead of looking at the facts, it was ‘Go along with Wal-Mart.’"
The property at 1060 Spruce St., formerly occupied by the Coleman Suzuki dealership, is currently vacant. The Suzuki dealership moved to Renaissance Boulevard, off Route 1 near the Quaker Bridge Mall, several years ago.
Craig Hibbert, who operates Hibbert’s Automotive at 1100 Spruce St., will be forced to move once Wal-Mart comes to town, was philosophical about the matter. He has leased the space, the site of a former new-car dealership, since October 2001.
"I guess I am not really surprised," he said. "It was a known fact that the place was for sale when we moved in. We’ll have to look for another place to relocate, if and when this happens."

