Ashopping center proposal that was rejected by Monroe Township last year has been scaled back and approved.
The plan known as Monroe Towne Plaza now calls for 142,235 square feet of retail space at Route 33 and Butcher Road. The Planning Board voted Feb. 26 to award preliminary site plan approval.
A previous plan for the shopping center included a Wawa store with gasoline pumps, but the Zoning Board of Adjustment denied its approval last August, citing traffic concerns and a lack of road improvements. Also, gas stations are not a permitted use in the township’s highway development zone.
The applicant, Monroe 33 Developers LLC, redesigned the plan with a new configuration and eliminated the Wawa and gas pumps, Township Environmental Protection Manager John Riggs said.
The newer application, which includes four retail buildings, went to the Planning Board in full conformance with township zoning, Riggs said. He noted that there are no environmental issues on the site, which is the former home of Over Billy’s Inn.
Traffic around the site remains a concern. At the Aug. 26 zoning board meeting, it was noted that the jughandle turn at eastbound Route 33 and Butcher Road becomes backed up with traffic during rush hour, something officials and residents saw as becoming a larger problem if the project were approved. Residents from the Renaissance and Monroe Manor adult communities turned out to voice opposition, with traffic their biggest complaint.
Route 33 is a state highway, falling under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT), while Butcher Road is county owned. Riggs said there is a great concern about traffic in the area and at the jughandle, especially for vehicles heading north on Applegarth Road, which is across the highway from Butcher Road. The issue was discussed at meetings involving state, county and municipal officials, Riggs said. Road improvement drawings are in place, and Riggs said the timing for the work to be done has yet to be settled.
Riggs said the final approval of the shopping center project is contingent upon the traffic situation being worked out.
The traffic conditions have to be corrected regardless of whether a shopping center is built, Riggs said. If the shopping center is built in phases, the traffic improvements would only be triggered by the second phase, according to DOT regulations.
“We don’t want that to happen,” he said. The township will meet with the DOT and county to see if the improvements can be accelerated by the applicant, or performed by the county and state, he said.