Focuses on land that includes old landfill
By John Tredrea, Special Writer
An ordinance creating a new zone in Pennington Borough, the Route 31 Corridor Business Overlay Zone, was adopted by the Borough Council Monday night.
The ordinance covers 7½ acres of borough land, including the long-abandoned borough landfill, between West Delaware Avenue and Broemel Place. A grassy hill now stands where the landfill used to be. The 7 ½ acres are bordered to the west by shops that have frontage on Route 31.
A consulting firm has told the borough that a little more than two acres of the 7½ acres of land the borough owns could be developed commercially.
The consulting firm, Maser Associates, summarized its findings and recommendations on the development potential of the land at a council meeting last year.
Maser was paid $30,000 for its work by a grant from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. Before Maser began its presentation, borough Mayor Anthony Persichilli said, "There are few properties left in the borough that can be developed. Getting new tax ratables was our primary concern" in having the study done.
Dave Roberts, a land-use planner with Maser, noted that 3 acres of the 7½ acres studied by his firm are the landfill. Maser recommends that the landfill be left alone.
"Any use of it would require DEP oversight," he said.
Another 1 and eight-tenths-acre piece of the 7½ acres would have to remain undeveloped to provide legally required buffers around Lewis Brook, which has its headwaters on the land.
He said two possible development scenarios emerged from his firm’s study of the site. Under both scenarios, the development would be near an existing gravel road that runs between West Delaware Avenue and Broemel Place.
Under one scenario, there would be 15,500 square feet of new development in three buildings. The gravel road would be reconstructed and paved, and there would be 95 new parking spaces. Thirty other spaces would be shared with the Pennington Fire Company, which is on Broemel Place. The firehouse’s parking lot abuts the land Maser studied.
Under the second alternative put forward by Maser, there would be 14,000 square feet of new development, in two new buildings, with 86 new parking spaces and 30 spaces shared with the fire station.
"If you can optimize shared parking, then you wouldn’t have to build as much new parking on the site as you would otherwise," Mr. Roberts said.
Maser recommends that the gravel road be turned into a two-way street and that the borough ask the state to install a new traffic signal at Broemel’s intersection with Route 31.
Maser admitted that it would probably "be tough" to get the DOT to agree to install that light.
Mr. Roberts said the new street would be a plus to local people, in that it would allow them to avoid the nearby stretch of Route 31, which is heavily congested.
Maser says its economic analysis indicates the land that could be developed could generate thriving businesses. Grocery stores, hardware stores, an optical supply store and a specialty food store are among the types of businesses that could do well there, Maser said.