Chase Bank gets approval for Marlboro Plaza branch
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

MARLBORO - A new Chase Bank branch will be moving into the Marlboro Plaza, Route 9 north, after gaining preliminary and final site plan approval from the Planning Board on March 5.

Mayor Jonathan Hornik said of the project, "I'm pleased with the clean commercial ratable and the bank itself."

At present, a 4,430-square-foot building with medical tenants occupies the space, but that building will be demolished to make room for the 4,610-squarefoot bank. The bank will feature two drive-up lanes, one for a 24-hourATMand the other for teller transactions. The property is inMarlboro's C-3 commercial zone.

Board members expressed a few concerns over the area of the drive-up lanes.

One concern focused on the number of cars that would queue up to use the driveup lanes and whether that would affect motorists who were trying to maneuver around the building. The applicant's engineer, Michael Junghans, testified that the lanes could fit six vehicles comfortably.

Board Vice Chairman Gerald Bergh noted that most people would examine that type of situation and if they saw six cars lined up for a window they would chose not to wait.

The board's engineer, Ernest Peters, told the board members he believed the proposed bypass around the bank and the teller lanes setup would be sufficient.

Another concern in the area of the drive-up lanes was over the direction patrons would be turning when exiting the drive-up area. The applicant agreed to narrow the lanes upon exiting to fit one car at a time and to make it a right turn only.

Another concern relating to the application was the placement of a pylon sign along the Route 9 frontage, which would put the applicant over the number of signs allotted.

Architect James Lalli said the placement of the sign on the lot's frontage would notify drivers at a further distance of the bank's location.

Peters noted that if the board granted the applicant this specific sign, then other businesses in the area might appear requesting one. The board's engineer told the members they must consider what their overall vision for Route 9 would look like.

Bergh noted that two other banks are in the Marlboro Plaza and do not have signs along Route 9. He suggested that the applicant remove the pylon sign.

Representatives of Chase Bank agreed to remove the sign from the plan, requesting to move a sign placed on the side of the building closer to the front to make it visible along Route 9. The board members agreed to that request.

Hornik thanked the bank representatives for being so accommodating to the board's requests.

Chase Bank gained its approval in an 8-0 vote.