HOWELL — A QuickChek convenience store that is planned for construction at the intersection of Route 33 and Colts Neck Road remains an issue in court even though it has been approved by Howell’s planning and zoning boards.
The QuickChek property would include a gas station.
“We have had the New Jersey Department of Transportation permit as of June 6, 2012 [for a traffic signal at the intersection] and the approval of the Planning Board [for the store] since Sept. 6, 2012, but we have not been able to move forward because of the lawsuits from New Horizon,” said QuickChek Vice President of Real Estate Bob Vallario. “We will be able to move forward once [the legal issues] are settled.”
New Horizon owns a Petroleum 19 convenience store and gas station that is across the street from the property on which the QuickChek would be constructed.
Vallario said QuickChek prevailed in several legal actions against New Horizon earlier this year regarding the validity of Howell’s ordinances dealing with the construction of the store and the proposed traffic light, and the validity of the Planning Board’s decision to allow the store to be built.
New Horizon is appealing those decisions, but no date has been scheduled for the hearings.
“We would not be challenging these decisions if we did not think we could win,” said attorney Ronald Gasiorowski, who represents New Horizon.
The intersection of Route 33 and Colts Neck Road is currently controlled by a blinking light. The intersection is near the Equestra adult community and handles a significant amount of traffic heading from the Freehold area to the shore.
Motorists who are driving on Route 33 see a flashing yellow light and are not required to stop at the intersection. Motorists who are driving on Colts Neck Road see a flashing red light and must stop at the intersection and yield to vehicles on Route 33.
Plans call for QuickChek to install a full traffic signal at the intersection as the company constructs the convenience store and gas station.
A press release from QuickChek notes that since the construction of the traffic signal was approved, there have been nine crashes at the intersection.
QuickChek will pay $585,000 toward the cost of the traffic signal.
In September 2010, representatives of QuickChek agreed to construct the traffic signal as well as “road widening and full pedestrian accommodations,” Vallario said.
QuickChek said its facility would create between 35 and 50 jobs and generate about $1 million in tax revenue.