LAWRENCE: Neighbors listen to automated car wash proposal

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   The fate of an application to demolish the existing service garage at the Exxon gasoline station on Brunswick Pike at Texas Avenue and replace it with an automated car wash may be decided at the Lawrence Township Zoning Board of Adjustment’s May 21 meeting.
   About a half-dozen neighbors — many of whom live on Johnson Road, which also borders the property — listened intently last week as applicant 2551 Brunswick Avenue Trenton LLC outlined plans to tear down the service garage and replace it with a car wash facility. The eight gasoline pumps would remain.
   The application is being heard by the Zoning Board of Adjustment because a conditional use variance is needed. Although a car wash is a permitted use in the Highway Commercial zone, it cannot be combined on the same parcel with a service station or gasoline operation, and that’s why a conditional use variance is needed.
   Anthony Cavanaugh, the director of operations for Leigh Gas Co.’s gas and car wash facilities, said the company operates 65 combination gasoline station/car wash facilities. The nearest one to Lawrence is in Allentown, Pa., he said.
   The car wash would be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week — the same hours as the gasoline station, Mr. Cavanaugh said. There would be three employees at the combination gas station/car wash facility.
   The proposed car wash is fully automated, he said. The driver would pull up to the pay station, pay for the car wash, and then drive into the car wash building. The car wash equipment moves around the car. It takes about six minutes to wash the car.
   Mr. Cavanaugh explained that the blowers that dry off the car reach 65 decibels. The car wash has doors, but they are not lowered until the outside temperature dips below 40 degrees, he said. The doors muffle the noise from the blowers.
   About half of the customers who drive up to buy gasoline will also purchase a car wash, Mr. Cavanaugh said. While the driver is at the gasoline pump, the attendant will offer him or her a chance to buy a car wash.
   ”A lot of people buy gas and make a spontaneous decision to get the car washed,” Mr. Cavanaugh said. Cautioning the board that he could not be more specific because each gas station/car wash is different, he estimated that about 20 to 50 cars would go through the car wash on a weekday. Weekends would likely be busier.
   Lisa Frantz, Lehigh Gas Co.’s real estate manager, told the zoning board that gasoline would be delivered two to three times per week. The deliveries could be made during off-peak hours, she said, adding that the delivery trucks would use Brunswick Pike. There would be no need for them to travel on Johnson Road.
   Engineer Robert Zederbaum told the zoning board that the gas station/car wash facility would include vacuum cleaners outside of the car wash building. They would be located on the edge of a wooded area that also is part of the gas station’s property. The nearest house on Johnson Road is more than 200 feet away, he said.
   Mr. Zederbaum said that putting up a wall to dampen the noise would not be as effective as vegetation. Walls bounce the noise around to other areas, he said, adding that vegetation would absorb the noise.
   Mr. Zederbaum said one of the two driveways from the gas station onto Johnson Road would be closed. The driveway closest to the Johnson Road/Texas Avenue intersection would be closed, and the other one would remain open.
   Asked whether a no-right-turn ban could be stipulated for the Johnson Road driveway, zoning board planning consultant Brian Slaugh said drivers would not travel through the residential neighborhood. They would turn left to go to Texas Avenue, and then turn right toward Princeton Pike or left toward Brunswick Pike.
   Traffic engineer Robert Hoffman said the car wash would not generate additional traffic, because the cars would already be on the property to get gasoline. There may be a few cars that go there just for the car wash, “but the reality is, it will be insignificant,” he said.
   ”The (existing gas station) is a generator of traffic. There won’t be a significant increase (because of the car wash),” he said, adding that the primary entrance into the gas station/ car wash would be the two Brunswick Pike driveways.
   Most of the cars would use the Brunswick Pike driveways to leave the property, but a few might use Johnson Road, Mr. Hoffman said. A couple of cars per hour might use Johnson Road, but the gas station/car wash would not create new traffic on that street, he said.
   The Zoning Board of Adjustment ran out of time and will continue the public hearing at its May 21 meeting. The 7 p.m. meeting, which will include time for public comment, will be held in the lower level conference room at the Municipal Building.