Application also
proposes gas
pumps, traffic light
for Quick-Chek Dec. 16
Application also
proposes gas
pumps, traffic light
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer
A plan filed by an applicant who wants to build a Quick-Chek convenience store with gasoline pumps in Englishtown is scheduled to be heard on Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Representatives of Quick-Chek will appear before the borough’s Unified Planning and Zoning Board in the municipal building, 15 Main St., for a public hearing.
"We feel it’s a very good location for Quick-Chek," said Henry-Kent Smith, the attorney who will represent the applicant.
Plans on file with the borough call for the removal of the Three Corners Tavern at the intersection of Wilson Avenue, Main Street and Gordons Corner Road. Replacing the tavern will be a 5,236-square-foot one-story convenience store. The proposal calls for six gasoline pumps to be placed on the south side of the convenience store. There will be two pumps on each of the three proposed islands.
The 120,000-square-foot parcel is primarily in a C-2 commercial zone. A portion of the property which will not be developed is in a conservation zone. A use variance is being sought which would permit gasoline sales in conjunction with the convenience store, a conditional use in the C-2 zone.
A municipal ordinance prohibits gasoline and filling stations in Englishtown unless they were grandfathered in prior to the present ordinance.
To the south of the property is McGellaird’s Brook. There is a wetlands buffer on the west end of the property and there are homes to the north of the site. Wilson Avenue is on the east side of the parcel.
A bakery will be on the site to prepare baked goods which will be sold at the store. The store will be closed to the public from 1-5 a.m., however, employees may be on site to prepare the baked goods during that time, according to the plans.
Parking facilities will consist of about 50 stalls which would be 10 by 20 feet in size. Two of those stalls will be identified as handicapped parking spaces. A borough ordinance requires one parking stall for every 175 square feet. If any stalls are not required for parking, those areas may be planted with grass, trees or other botanicals.
There will be bushes planted along Wilson Avenue and trees will be planted at various locations on the south side of the property. The plan calls for a 6-foot wide brick paver sidewalk on Wilson Avenue.
The application also calls for a traffic signal to be placed at the intersection of Wilson Avenue, Main Street and Gordons Corner Road. The cost of the signal will be shared by Quick-Chek and Traditional Developers/Goddard School if the Quick-Chek application is approved.
A Goddard School for children is expected to be constructed near the intersection. The Manalapan Planning Board approved that application several months ago.
A sign for the Quick-Chek store will be placed on the northeastern corner of the Englishtown property and is expected to be 75 square feet in size. There will be additional signs on the canopy over the gasoline islands. The application proposes a 20-foot side setback where 40 feet are required.
Regarding traffic flow, plans call for an entrance to the site on the northeast corner of the property (Wilson Avenue) and an exit on the southeast corner of the property (also on Wilson Avenue). Traffic flow within the site near the gasoline pumps will be in either direction.
A trash enclosure on the northwest corner of the property is shown on the plan.