Walgreens wants to build at busy Route 9 corner
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP - An application that proposes the construction of a Walgreens pharmacy has multiple issues, according to township senior planner Guy F. Leighton.

The questions include the following:

• Will the pharmacy generate additional traffic at one of the most crowded intersections in Freehold Township?

• Will the pharmacy be properly screened from nearby residences?

• What can be done to eliminate or reduce the number of variances being requested?

Among the variances being requested are frontage, depth, parking and buffers, according to Leighton. The application is on the agenda for the Zoning Board of Adjustment's Dec. 14 meeting at town hall.

The Cornerstone Group is applying for a use variance to allow a Walgreens pharmacy with a drive-up window, parking and related site improvements to be built at the corner of Route 9 north and East Freehold Road.

According to Leighton, the applicant's proposal is to raze the existing Shore Power and Sport (motorcycle dealership) building and to construct a 14,820-square-foot Walgreens pharmacy on the 1.8-acre parcel. The property is in a CMX-3/A zone and a pharmacy is not a permitted use at this location.

A use variance granted by the zoning board would permit the project to proceed.

The proposed development site is adjacent to the intersection of East Free-hold and Pond roads, which is one of Freehold Township's traffic hot spots.

Variances in this application are as follows: the application proposes 1.83 acres, the township ordinance requires 3 acres; the application proposes 119 feet of frontage on East Freehold Road, the township requires 300 feet; the application proposes less than what is required on all three frontages, the township requires 400-foot lot depth.

Also required are variances for lot coverage and front setback. The application proposes 72 parking spaces, the township ordinance requires 119 parking spaces.

A 50-foot scenic corridor buffer along Route 9 frontage and a 25-foot buffer from residential zoning along Pond Road are also not proposed.

According to a report prepared by Leighton, "a new building conforming to the Architectural Ordinance with appropriate site improvements would be a vast improvement over the Shore Power and Sport facility. The existing building is also too close to Route 9 and the lot is very unattractive."

Leighton's report also states that consideration should be given to acquiring a lot next to the proposed development parcel, demolishing a building and expanding parking and landscaping for the proposed Walgreens. Doing this would eliminate another unsightly building, eliminate another traffic generator and make the lot more conforming as to lot area, add more green space and lessen the percentage of impervious coverage, according to the report.

The proposed development parcel was rezoned from B-10 permitting retail use to CMX (corporate multi-use) in 1990, according to the report. The idea of rezoning the lot was to exclude retail use and to permit office use so that traffic peaks would occur at different times of the day and on different days of the week.

If the Walgreens application for a use variance is approved by the zoning board, it would be subject to site plan approval in the township, as well as approval from the state Department of Transportation and other agencies.

Leighton's report states that according to municipal land use law, the zoning board has the power to grant a use variance in particular cases and for special reasons.

"The onus is on the applicant to provide evidence in support of the variance satisfying both the positive and negative criteria. The applicant must also demonstrate that a variance can be granted without impairing the intent and purpose of the master plan and zoning ordinance," the report states.