No Vote On Land Deal Creating Route 34 Wawa

The Board of Adjustment on Wednesday declined to vote on a minor subdivision that would create space for a Wawa convenience store and gas station and a nearly 3,000 panel solar farm on Hurley Pond Road and Route 34.

The applicant, township-based CJS Investments, wants to combine portions of two adjoining parcels at the intersection to create enough space on each to build a Wawa convenience store with gas station with a separate, unmanned, 2,968-panel solar electricity farm behind it.

Stuart Challoner, of Toms River-based Challoner & Associates, touted the benefits of moving the lot lines between the two parcels, taking some from one and adding to the other, saying that the new parcels would be of more benefit for the improvement of both, as well as increasing traffic safety.

The corner property, which fronts the state highway and is slated for the Wawa under the proposal, would have improved entrance and exit if the lot line was extended, putting traffic onto Hurley Pond Road farther back from the intersection, Challoner said.

But board member James Gray was the first to put the brakes on.

“I don’t see the point in voting on the subdivision now,’’ Gray said at the conclusion of the 40-minute CJS pitch.

Gray said he thought a vote on the proposal to move the lot line was premature, since the board did not know whether they were going to approve the two developments.

Other members agreed. CJS will have to continue to sway the board before they make a decision. The application is scheduled for a hearing next month.

CJS proposes to expand the first lot, which has access to Route 34, from less than an acre to about 2.5 acres. That is where the company proposes to put the Wawa store and gas station.

Behind that, on a 4.7-acre property fronting Hurley Pond Road, is where the company wants to build the solar electricity farm.

The first lot, at the corner of Hurley Pond and Route 34, is less than an acre, Challoner said, and has Planning Board approval for a bank. That approval would be abandoned if the totality of the CJS pitch is accepted by the board. 

CJS’ entire presentation Wednesday was the unsuccessful attempt to get the board to vote on the movement of the lot line. The pitch is scheduled to continue  on Feb. 1 and Feb. 22.