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Zoning board approves minor site plan for local karate school after use‑variance conditions
Summary
After previously winning a use variance, Brian Gordano received minor site‑plan approval to operate a karate school at 10 Tool Lane with conditions and several waivers, including reduced parking and stone surfacing; board required buffering, spot elevations and Pinelands coordination.
Brian Gordano won minor site‑plan approval from the Monroe Township Zoning Board on June 8 to convert a vacant building at 10 Tool Lane (formerly 603 Blue Bell Road) into a karate school following an earlier use‑variance grant.
Gordano and his engineer presented two exhibits (existing aerial and proposed site plan) and described minimal exterior work: a concrete apron and sidewalk tie‑in at Chestnut Street, realignment of a short stretch of Tool Lane that currently encroaches on an adjacent lot, minor stone parking expansions to add four spaces in front of the building and an ADA concrete pad to create an accessible stall. The applicant proposed a total of 17 off‑street parking spaces; the board’s planner recommended a waiver from the ordinance‑required 37 spaces based on the low‑impact hours and testimony that typical class size would be about 13–14 students.
Engineer and planning testimony addressed buffering, low‑profile lighting with timers, modest landscaping (evergreens to be staggered six feet on center and planted at about 8 feet to provide screening), and limits on signage to ordinance compliance. The board’s engineering staff requested spot elevations for the driveway realignment and confirmation from the Pinelands Commission about the increase in motor‑vehicle surface area; Gordano’s team agreed to provide those items as conditions of approval.
The board voted to grant the minor site plan with waivers and conditions (landscaping/detailing, spot elevations, Pinelands correspondence and compliance with lighting and trash pickup rules). Gordano said hours will be Monday–Friday, 3 p.m.–9 p.m., and Saturdays 9 a.m.–2 p.m.; he expects average class size of about 13–14 students.
