Route 70 Wawa Hearing In Brick Continued To Special Meeting

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Township Board of Adjustment has scheduled a special meeting to continue to hear testimony on the proposal to build a Wawa and a quick service restaurant at the corner of Route 70 and Duquesne/North Lake Shore Drive.

The zoning board and more than 30 audience members listened to about two hours of testimony Wednesday night on the application by Brick 70 Developers, primarily addressing revisions to the plans that were presented at the Nov. 9 initial hearing. But more remains, as well as a public comment session, and Board Chairman Harvey Langer suggested a special hearing for 7 p.m. Feb. 22 that was approved. That hearing will be devoted to the Wawa application, Langer said.

In addition, John Jackson, the attorney representing Brick 70 Developers, said he would arrange a meeting with residents who live near the site to discuss their concerns about the project.

Among the revisions presented Wednesday night was the addition of a third lane to Route 70 eastbound in front of the property, changes to the configuration of parking spaces and traffic flow through the site.

Residents sat quietly through most of the hearing, occasionally whispering in response to information presented. Concerns are the Wawa at that corner will compound an already frustrating traffic situation, where left turns from Duquesne onto Route 70 create traffic backups and at peak hours, 1,500 vehicles go through the intersection eastbound on Route 70.

Brick 70 Developers is seeking a number of variances to build the Wawa with a gasoline station and quick-serve restaurant at the site, which would consolidate five lots. The plan requires a use variance, because convenience stores are not a permitted use under the split-zone of office-professional and residential that the lots are in. It also would require a conditional use to allow the gas station.

Some of the variances sought are related to the number of signs, size and height of signs. But the site also requires variances for minimum side setback, minimum lot width and minimum buffer.

The lot is slightly undersized, at 4,967 acres where 5 acres is required, and the developer is proposing a smaller floor area for the stores, 10,000 square feet where 30,000 square feet is the minimum.

In addition to traffic concerns, residents and zoning board members have expressed concerns about noise from the site, particularly from the quick-serve restaurant's drive-through area, which is closest to the homes on North Lake Shore Drive.

Jeremy Lang of Maser Consulting, the engineer for the project, said an 8-foot sound wall has been added to the design to mitigate noise as drivers place food orders. Board vice chairman Frank Mizer questioned whether that would be sufficient to keep the noise from bothering neighbors. An accoustical engineer will be consulted, he said.

"We dont want to become a nuisance," Lang said. "That's not good for business."

Langer suggested the developer consider shifting the position of the quick-serve restaurant forward, toward Route 70, which he said might not only help to reduce the noise potential, but might also address the setback issue. It was not clear how Lang or the developer felt about that suggestion, however.

Lang also addressed concerns expressed about parking spaces shown on the eastern side of the site plan near the North Lake Shore entrance, that some have speculated are intended for use by those conducting business with Tryko Partners on Duquesne. A conflict over overflow parking that was blocking residents' homes led to the township banning parking along the stretch of Duquesne in the same area last fall.

Jackson said those spaces are "green-banked" spaces; Lang said that means they are included in the plan and the land is prepared, but they are only constructed if the developer and the township agree they are needed. There are 13 green-banked spaces on the site plan, which includes a total of 122 spaces; 82 parking spaces are required, officials said.

Most of the testimony Wednesday night focused on how the developer will address the traffic concerns. Lang and traffic engineer John Rea said the addition of a third eastbound lane, which they said was originally drafted at the time the Costco project was proposed, would the bottleneck that occurs at the intersection at peak hours.

Rea, who said they had to file an Open Public Records Act request with the state Department of Transportation to get the draft drawings of the third lane, said Brick 70 Developers has agreed build the third lane as part of the project. It will be a significant added expense, Rea said, because it will require moving the pole for an existing traffic signal. It also will require an access permit from the DOT, Rea said.

Adding the third lane on Route 70, which Rea said would be 15 feet wide, will not only ease the current traffic issues but will increase safety, because it will eliminate the problem of drivers passing stopped cars on the right and using the shoulder to access the right turn onto North Lake Shore/Duquesne when traffic is backed up. Both maneuvers, though common, are illegal in New Jersey. Rea did not believe adding the third lane would increase rear-end collisions, he said in response to a question from the board.

"I think the postdevelopment conditions will be better with the third lane than they are now," Rea said.

Adding the third lane to the design resulted in changes to the traffic flow in the Wawa parking lot that Lang, the project engineer, said would eliminate chaos that would have existed under the old design. Traffic will flow in one direction around the site, which will eliminate bottlenecks from drivers trying to make turns amid incoming traffic, he said.

The layout of the site will allow drivers to access the Wawa from Route 70; from the connection between the site and the existing Market Place at Brick shopping center, and from North Lake Shore Drive. However, drivers will not be permitted to turn left onto Duquesne from the North Lake Shore Drive driveway in an attempt to get to Route 70 westbound, Lang and Rea said. Drivers wishing to go west will have to go through the connected lots to the light at the Market Place access, they said. The North Lake Shore entrance will be built in such a way to make left turns nearly impossible, they said.

Lang and Rea also addressed concerns that the connected lots would turn into a secondary thoroughfare for people trying to avoid Route 70, saying the way the lots and traffic flow are constructed, with turns and stop signs and walkways, it's not conducive to high-speed driving.

Rea also was asked what can be done to prevent motorists from using the site to get to eastbound Route 70 and avoid the traffic signal at the Route 70/Duquesne intersection, an issue that board members said was raised by Brick Township police.

Rea said the traffic flow pattern would discourage it. "You won't stop everyone," Jackson said.

"If it becomes a huge issue, the police will issue tickets," he said, prompting derisive laughter from the audience.

"It's very important to get this right because it's the last piece," Rea said, referring to the proposal for the site to connect through the medical office parking lot to its west to the Market Place at Brick.

The Feb. 22 special meeting will only address the Route 70 Wawa application, Langer said.

Photos by Karen Wall