Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Commercial Change Of Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Zoning board hears detailed testimony on proposed conversion of repair garage to convenience store at 339 Elizabeth Avenue; matter carried to June 5
Summary
The Franklin Township Zoning Board heard detailed expert testimony April 3 on a proposal to convert a repair garage and service station at 339 Elizabeth Avenue into a convenience store with fuel service; the board carried the application to June 5 and asked for revised plans and vehicle‑movement exhibits.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment held an extensive hearing April 3 on an application to convert an existing repair garage and gas station at 339 Elizabeth Avenue into a small convenience store with fuel service. The applicants are identified in the docket as Manjit Singh and Ravinder Kalir; counsel for the applicants presented multiple witnesses including the property owner/operator and technical consultants.
Attorney Michael Salvaggi introduced the application and called owner/operator Manjit (Bajwa/Bajwa) to describe current operations and the proposed convenience-store model. The property is a triangular lot in the R‑10 zone with an approximately 2,000+ square‑foot building, two fuel dispensers (four fueling positions) and a history of an on‑site repair bay. The applicants proposed to retain the fueling positions, repurpose the repair bays as a convenience store, and perform façade and site improvements.
Witnesses who gave testimony included the owner (site operations and delivery practices), civil engineer Tyler Vandervalk (site plan and alternate layout), architect William Byrne (building elevations and materials), and traffic engineer Elizabeth Dolan (traffic counts and trip‑generation analysis). Key details and concerns raised at the hearing:
- Site layout and parking: The submitted plan showed 10 physical parking stalls plus a credit for one EV stall (total claimed 11), while staff reports and ordinance interpretation placed the likely parking requirement at about 17 stalls. An alternate layout the applicants later offered would provide more landscape buffer and a loading/dumpster interior to the site but would reduce parking to six stalls. Board members and the town engineer raised concerns about aisle widths, the 26‑foot driveway width requirement (plans showed narrower aisles), and the operational impacts when a tanker is refueling the underground tanks.
- Deliveries and loading: Testimony said deliveries for merchandise would typically come by box truck or van during daytime hours; milk and soda deliveries would be weekly. Gasoline deliveries occur about two to three times per week. The board requested turning‑template exhibits to show how delivery trucks, tankers and passenger vehicles would circulate without blocking fueling access or public sidewalks.
- Lighting, screening and proximity to homes: Engineers proposed building‑mounted lighting and limited pole fixtures under the canopy; the board asked for precise photometrics and for additional screening (vegetation or a low fence) along Cedar Avenue to reduce glare for nearby residences.
- Operations: Applicants proposed hours of operation of roughly 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. with two employees on duty at peak times. The owner said similar convenience‑store operations he manages typically do not generate sustained parking demand because many patrons use fueling positions as functional parking while purchasing.
After questioning the assembled witnesses and discussing staff reports, the board did not render a decision. The applicants agreed to revise the original plan (the board asked for turning templates, clearer loading and dumpster placement interior to the site, circulation diagrams, and refined parking calculations). The board carried the matter to its June 5 meeting at 7:30 p.m. and directed the applicant to supply updated drawings and the requested technical exhibits before that hearing.
