LAWRENCE: Zoning board meeting again on Mrs. G project

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   The Zoning Board of Adjustment was scheduled to pick up where it left off Wednesday when it continued its review of a proposal to redevelop a 16-acre parcel on the corner of Route 1 and Bakers Basin Road, anchored by the Mrs. G’s TV and Appliance store.
   When the zoning board was to meet at the 7 p.m. special meeting, it would be to listen to more testimony from applicant 2012 Lawrenceville Associates LLC.
   The township’s traffic consultant was expected to comment on the traffic issues at the Wednesday night meeting. The applicant’s traffic engineer discussed traffic and site design issues at the Oct. 10 meeting, but there was not enough time for the township’s traffic consultant to comment.
   Among the improvements associated with the project is the elimination of the jughandle on Route 1 and Bakers Basin Road. It will be replaced by a connector road at the rear of the proposed redevelopment. Three driveway entrances along the connector road would provide access to the site, plus one driveway on Route 1. The connector road would be built and maintained by the applicant.
   The developer wants to demolish the existing buildings and replace them with two retail buildings of 6,000 square feet and 15,000 square feet, respectively, plus the TD Bank and the McDonald’s restaurant. A Wawa store with gas pumps also is proposed.
   The application is in front of the zoning board because a conditional use variance is needed. Combined convenience stores and service stations are not permitted in the Highway Commercial zone. Wawa wants to build a convenience store with 16 fuel pumps on the site.
   Additional variances are needed because the township’s land use ordinance permits a maximum of three buildings on a parcel in the Highway Commercial zone, but five are proposed — Wawa, McDonald’s, TD Bank and the two retail buildings. One of the retail buildings will house the Mrs. G’s TV and Appliance store.