Those traveling on Route 33 in Monroe may have another station at which to drop big bucks on gasoline if the Zoning Board of Adjustment approves an application for a shopping center.
Slated for Route 33 and Butcher Road, the center would house a Wawa convenience store complete with gas pumps, a bank, and four other yet-to-be-determined retail tenants, according to Township Engineer Ernie Feist.
The applicant, going by the name of Monroe 33 Developers, presented its first round of testimony for Monroe Towne Plaza during the May 20 zoning board meeting. In order to bring the project to fruition, the builder must secure preliminary and final major site plan approval, as well as a use variance and bulk variances from the board.
“I think it’s important to get the reaction of the community,” Mayor Richard Pucci said. “You’re almost in the middle … it’s a matter of [the zoning board] weighing each individual application that would stand or fall on its own.”
Though the property is in the township’s HD, or highway development zone, the zoning board could determine that the application is worthy of a use variance due to a need for amenities in the area, Pucci said. At the same time, he added, there is a possibility that nearby residents would object to such a development.
An anonymous letter that is labeled “Concerned Neighbor” at the top was circulated to inform people of the application and ask that they voice opposition by attending the zoning board meeting or by calling Pucci.
Feist said that while he did not attend the May 27 meeting, he was told that few residents showed up regarding the application.
“There are really no homes around this thing,” Feist said. “I think the opposition that’s generated has a lot to do with competitors.”
Feist went on to say that Raceway, a gas station located nearby on Route 33, brought legal counsel to the meeting to thwart the applicant’s attempts. Representatives of Raceway could not be reached for comment for this story.
Pucci said the nearest homes are approximately a quarter-mile from the proposed site, with Renaissance at Monroe, an adult community, being about threequarters of a mile away.
The developer needs a use variance from the township because gas stations are not a permitted use within the HD zone, officials said. Variances for buffer and signage requirements were also requested as part of the application.
In last year’s first review of the application by Feist Engineering, Zoning Board Engineer Mark Rasimowicz noted several parts of the site that constituted “areas of sensitivity” based on the township’s cultural resource inventory. That aspect of the project’s impact was to be referred to the Monroe Township Historic Preservation Commission, according to the report.
John Katerba, who heads the commission, did not return a call for comment on the matter. According to Feist, the historical concerns stem from the site being the former home of Over Billy’s Inn. The building that housed the tavern still stands on the property, and while he said he does not think there is thought of preserving the building itself, there may be artifacts within it that warrant being saved.
The application will likely be heard again at the next zoning board meeting, scheduled for 8 p.m. June 24.