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Board memorializes Walmart shipping-container variance despite a dissent over precedent
Summary
The board voted to memorialize a previously granted variance allowing Walmart to keep a shipping container; Board member Frank Sivulich objected, saying an annual permit should have been required and that approving Walmart sets a precedent.
The Hampton Township Planning Board on April 16 memorialized a resolution for Walmart Real Estate Business Trust concerning a shipping container at 26 Hampton Hse Rd, a step that formalizes a variance the board previously granted.
Board member Frank Sivulich voiced strong objections before the memorialization, urging the board to treat the container like a construction permit that could be renewed annually. He argued granting the memorialization without an annual review ‘‘sets a precedent for other companies to expect relief from the ordinance,’’ and would undercut the township’s recent shipping-container limits.
Board Attorney Brady responded that ‘‘each variance rises and falls on its own merits’’ and that memorializing a resolution is not the appropriate vehicle to add material conditions not agreed to during the initial approval. Brady told the board that if members wanted additional conditions they would need the applicant’s consent to revisit the case; otherwise altering the memorialization could trigger legal challenge.
Secretary Kathryn Schroder read part of the record during the exchange and noted an apparent inconsistency: she reported that the minutes indicated Mr. Sivulich had voted for the approval at the prior meeting, while Mr. Sivulich stated he had voted against it. The board did not revise the prior action. A motion to memorialize the resolution passed (Roll Call: Mr. Daniels, Yes; Mr. Gunderman, Yes; Mrs. McCarthy, Yes; Mr. Sivulich, No; Mr. Ambrosi, Yes).
The Board’s action memorializes the earlier variance decision; Attorney Brady said memorialization memorializes the vote and cannot add the annual-review condition Mr. Sivulich sought unless the applicant agrees to return.
