By Michael Benavides
Staff Writer
HOWELL – An applicant who had been seeking municipal approval to build a self-storage facility and a U-Haul rental business on Route 9 has withdrawn the application from the Howell Zoning Board of Adjustment.
In an April 20 letter to the board, attorney John Giunco, who represents the AMERICO Real Estate Company, requested that the application be withdrawn from consideration. He did not state why his client was withdrawing the application.
AMERICO Real Estate Company came before the zoning board seeking a use variance to develop a three-story storage facility on Route 9 north between West Farms Road and Casino Drive. The project proposed a self-storage facility, a U-Haul truck rental location, warehousing and sales of products associated with U-Haul rentals.
A planner who represented the applicant had testified that a similar project for a self-storage facility was approved at the site in 2007, but never developed. He said the approval was for a three-story building with 118,800 square feet of self-storage space.
On April 25, Howell’s planning/zoning officer Eileen Rubano said the applicant has decided to proceed with the previous approval for the property.