Proposal for gas station, store

slated for Oct. 4 zoning meeting

By dave benjamin

Staff Writer

MANALAPAN — An application that proposes to construct a gas station and convenience store at the corner of Route 522 and Tennent Road is expected to be heard by the Zoning Board on Oct. 4.

Appearing before the board at a recent meeting, attorney Philip E. San Filippo, representing the BP Amoco Corp., asked for a postponement of a scheduled hearing. The applicant is seeking a use variance and site plan approval for a gas station and convenience store on the northwest corner of the intersection.

According to San Filippo, there was a defect in the legal notice that had been published in a newspaper to advertise the hearing.

In granting the postponement, board members asked San Filippo to have the 300-by-300-foot area of the property staked out so they will know the exact location of the commercial use when they visit the site.

In other business, zoning board members will wait another two weeks to hear further testimony as to whether a home sports court can be better located on property on Old Cider Mill Lane.

A public hearing was held for the construction of a sports court at the home of Craig and Marianne Meisner. The applicant has requested rear yard and side yard setback variances.

"We intend to install a sports court, 35-by-70 feet, with a concrete base and a rubberized top," said Craig Meisner, the applicant. "The intended use will be for basketball, paddleball, volleyball and a playground for the kids."

The court would be located on a 2-acre property within a setback area. Meisner noted that flexible net fencing would be put on either side.

It was determined that the township code does not permit lighting on the court.

Board members questioned the size of the proposed court and asked if a smaller, more conservative court could be constructed.

Board member Rudy Schmid asked if the court could be shifted or moved slightly to another location.

Meisner said that would conflict with other items on the property.

Schmid also suggested a buffer of 6-foot tall evergreens.

Board member Diane Padlo said all of the structures were not indicated on the site plan. Additionally, she said there was a 35-foot "no touch zone" around the property.

"That’s what 2-acre zoning is about," she said.

Chairman Fred Stone said after polling the board that the sense of the board was to have a 20-foot setback off the property line. The chairman said a resolution to that effect would be drafted.

Meisner said he would stake out the property and try to move the location of the court as much as he could. He said he would return to let the board members know if that is possible.