Planning board approves Applegard LLC variance for single retail building, with dissent on traffic study

Monroe Township Planning Board voted to grant variance relief to application BA5251-24257 from 257 Applegarth Road LLC, approving a plan for one retail building and two residential lots and allowing development on about 5 acres of a 15-acre parcel while dedicating roughly 10 acres to a conservation easement.

The vote followed presentations and revisions to a plan first heard in January and updated in June; the board approved the use and bulk variances necessary because the parcel exceeds the NC zone maximum lot size of 5 acres and because a portion of residentially zoned land lies on the other side of an on-site stream corridor. Kenneth Pape, attorney for the applicant, summarized the application as a pared-down proposal from an earlier plan that had included two retail buildings, a warehouse and additional bulk variances.

The variance matters were…