Testimony for Proposed CVS Continues

Washington Township Zoning Board members continued hearing testimony Tuesday from First Hartford Realty Corp. regarding the proposed CVS and a separate 4,000 square foot retail space to be placed at 660-680 Pascack Road, near the intersection with Washington Avenue. More than 50 residents were in attendance, and some displayed posters in protest of the proposal.

Zoning Board Vice Chairman Richard Miras opened the proceedings to the applicant’s new attorney, Carmine Alampi, who replaced Russell Huntington. Alampi assured the board that he had familiarized himself with the applicant’s proposal, as well as . He then proceeded to recall David Caruso, the applicant’s planner.

Caruso continued to speak about lighting and landscaping, meeting township mandated parking space requirements and maintaining adequate buffers between the proposed site and residents. Caruso presented a rendering from a local backyard of how the CVS building might appear behind the treeline. This caused quite a stir, as scale and accuracy of the rendering were called into question.

One issue that upset many of those present was the more than 100 trees that would be removed from the existing site. Caruso said he understood that this would be another issue requiring a variance.

Caruso discussed the proposed drive-thru window for the pharmacy and spacing between it, a pass-through lane and the vertical compacter of 6 feet by 6 feet enclosed by a 10 foot by 10 foot fence. Though the illustration gave a worst-case scenario of three of the largest possible wheel-based vehicles within six inches of one another, board members expressed concerns that this would not be sufficient.

Board Engineer Christopher Statile expressed concerns about several aspects of the applicant’s proposal, including the retaining wall, proposed fencing and snow removal concerns. It was acknowledged many would be addressed by later witnesses.

Residents were allowed to ask questions of Caruso, and these ranged from concerns with the throw from the proposed lighting to traffic concerns to set-back requirements to nearness to water supply. One point brought up was that another CVS is being proposed for Westwood, just over a mile away from this site.

Also at the meeting, board attorney Donna Buboulis proposed a resolution for members to retain their own architect, Joseph Bruno, which the board unanimously approved.

Testimony from the applicant will likely be ongoing for some time. The next meeting of the Zoning Board is scheduled for Sept. 20.