Pinto Bros. Use Variance Application Carried to Oct. 11 Zoning Board Meeting

The Barnegat Township Zoning Board of Adjustment has postponed a continuation of the hearing f.

The company is seeking to begin storing trash trucks and containers on the Route 72 property.

The hearing was , due to the owner's inability to attend the meeting. The July meeting did not have enough board members present for a vote.

The solid waste company is asking permission to park 12 garbage containers and 12 garbage trucks at their gas station and auto shop site near the intersection of routes 72 and 554 in Barnegat.

Andrew Pinto of South Plainfield has applied for several variances that would allow him to use the 2.4-acre site for truck and container storage for Pinto Bros. Disposal.

The company handles trash pickup for the Barnegat Township School District, Long Beach Township, Barnegat Light and several other municipalities in Ocean County and beyond. The property is currently home to a gas and service station also owned by Pinto.

At its regular meeting in June, the board heard three hours of testimony from Pinto, his attorney and a planner for the project, but had to cut the meeting off before hearing final testimony and giving its decision.

Zoning Board members and several neighbors of Pinto’s property raised a range of concerns over his plan to park trucks there, questioning him and the other witnesses on everything from traffic obstruction to environmental impact. Residents who live near the site cited odor as a major concern.