LAWRENCE: Zoners to review plan for Mrs. G site

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   The Zoning Board of Adjustment will pick up where it left off when it continues 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 meets at the 7 p.m. special meeting on Wednesday, it will listen to more testimony from applicant 2012 Lawrenceville Associates LLC. The meeting will be held in the lower level conference room at the Municipal Building.
   Testimony is expected to be presented by the applicant’s planner. Last month, zoning board members heard testimony about the traffic impact of the project.
   Among the improvements associated with the project is the elimination of the jughandle on Route 1 and Bakers Basin Road. The jughandle 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 fast-food restaurant. A Wawa convenience 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.