7-Eleven Planning Board Hearing Postponed (Update)

Update: This article was updated at 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 13 to include information on a letter the applicant sent to the Planning Board requesting the postponement.

Freehold Borough Planning Board hearings on a proposed 7-Eleven convenience store at 63 E. Main St. have been adjourned until Dec. 14 at the request of the applicant, HRC Investments. The developer's attorney, Mark Williams of , sent a letter to the Planning Board on Sept. 30 requesting the postponement.

The applicant has proposed removing the existing 2,971-square-foot structure at the former Exxon Station site and building a 2,556-square-foot, one-story 7-Eleven with 12 parking spots. The parcel is located in a historic zone and a redevelopment area, and the application required approval from the Freehold Borough Historical Preservation Commission and the before appearing before the Planning Board.

Consultants for the applicant and a representative from 7-Eleven testified during two sessions before the governing body. The hearing was expected to continue Wednesday, Oct. 12 with testimony from a traffic consultant before the Planning Board allowed comments from the public. Residents were allowed to question the consultants during the sessions on topics they touched on during their testimony.

HRC Investments is seeking several waivers and preliminary and final site plan approval from the board.

The municipality requires 26 parking spots for a self-serve grocery store of the size proposed by the developer. The applicant has requested a waiver on the 14 additional spots, according to Michael Geller, an engineer consulting on the project for the developer.

HRC Investments has also requested waivers to build the 7-Eleven on a similar footprint to the existing structure rather than building between 10 to 20 feet from the curb, as the redevelopment zone requires.

“This site is unique. If we were to build to the front setback line, we feel that would be a narrowing tunnel-vision effect of the Main Street corridor. Site safety and site triangles at the corridor are very important and should be maintained. The board should look at it differently than if it were a site at mid-block,” Geller said.

Joseph Staigar, a traffic engineer retained by the developer, estimated the proposed 7-Eleven would generate 86 trips in and 86 trips out during morning peak hours and 68 in and 68 out during evening peak hours. He noted that the numbers reflected what would be expected from a site reliant on vehicular access, and a convenience store in Downtown Freehold would draw pedestrians.

“A significant amount of traffic would be foot traffic from the site. The numbers of trips I gave you are only vehicular trips and may be transposed to pedestrian traffic. I think given the site location, the numbers are conservative,” Staigar said.