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| The late Casa Carollo |
For several years, speculation has run rampant over what would be replacing Casa Carollo on Route 73. Back in January, I noted that the property (which includes the Chick-Fil-A next door) was purchased in late 2016 by the owner of Colonial Diner in Woodbury. This led me to believe that a diner would soon replace Casa Carollo. It would appear that thought was correct - at the next meeting of the Evesham Township Planning Board, scheduled for May 3, 2018 at 7 pm, the board will hear plans for a new diner at the location.
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| Colonial Diner in Woodbury |
While I have not seen the plans that have been submitted to the board, they contain details of a 7,225 square foot diner to be located at the former Casa Carollo location. The hearing at the planning board will discuss a number of variances that the developer is requesting, including:
- A 16 foot setback (how far the building can be from the property line), where 20 feet is required on Baker Boulevard.
- Parking setback of 2 feet on Baker Boulevard and 12 feet on Route 73, where 50 feet is required. It would appear that this variance is so that the owners can use the property as is, without having to move parking spaces and car lanes. As the picture below shows, the parking spaces on the south side of the parking lot (bottom of the picture) go almost to the edge of the property.
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| High proportion of blacktop to landscaping, and parking lots are at the edge of the property |
- An impervious coverage variance of 72.75%, where 60% is required. The more impervious coverage (blacktop, cement) on a property, the more difficulty it will have draining during heavy rains. It would appear that this variance is needed so the property can be used as is, without the costly expense of digging up drive lanes and parking spaces to lay dirt and landscaping. As shown in the picture above, the property is mostly paved. Without this variance, it may prove difficult for the township to encourage a business to locate there.
- To allow a zero foot side yard parking setback. This is the northern edge of the Carollo parking lot that abuts the Chick-Fil-A parking lot. As both have the same owners, this does not appear to be an issue. (A similar variance was requested at the last Planning Board meeting when discussing the proposed Royal Farms and their parking lot, which abuts the parking lot at the Marlton 8. The attorney for Royal Farms referred to this as a 'pre-existing non-conformity').
- To allow a single loading area where two are required. As per Township code, one loading area is required for every 100 seats in a restaurant.
- To allow a loading area of dimensions 10 feet by 22 feet, where a loading area of 10 feet by 35 feet is required. This variance needs to be considered together with the previous variance request: the town requires 2 loading areas each measuring 10 feet by 35 feet. The developer is requesting variances to replace this with a single loading area of 10 feet by 22 feet.
- There are 4 variances for signage, to allow for larger and additional signs than are currently allowed under code. One variance is to place a sign facing the Chick-Fil-A, which would only be visible if you were already in the parking lot - by code, signs are only permitted facing a street. The other variance is for size and type of signs. The town has very specific requirements for signage in the town code, size of sign, sign of lettering, restrictions on flashing and rotating signs, etc.
One concern I have heard from residents concerned parking. When I first heard rumors of a diner replacing the former restaurant, I didn't understand the concerns - this is simply replacing one restaurant with another. However I can't figure out how the legally required number of parking spots will be placed on the site.
Using tools available in Google Earth Pro, I estimate that the old Casa Carollo had a footprint of between 8500 and 9000 square feet. (If someone knows the exact footprint, please let me know and I will update this blog). As the new diner is smaller, more parking spaces could be placed on the site. The parking lot can also be reconfigured to maximize the number of spaces. Since both the Chick-Fil-A and new diner have the same owner and a shared parking lot, I don't know what the provisions are for sharing spaces.
It should be noted that based on what was sent to local homeowners, there were no requests for variances on the number of parking spaces, so presumably the new diner will fulfill all the obligations required for parking.
According to the Township Code, a restaurant without a bar has to provide 15 parking spaces for every 1,000 square feet of restaurant. With a restaurant of 7,225 square feet, requirements would dictate 108 parking spaces, 5 of which would need to be handicapped.
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| Parking spaces at Casa Carollo |
By my count, there were 76 parking spaces as Casa Carollo, 6 of which were handicapped.
Depending on what the regulations were when the Chick-Fil-A was built, it is conceivable that some of the Chick-Fil-A parking spaces may be included in that count.
Chick-Fil-A has 88 parking spaces, 3 of which are handicap. If not all of those were required when it was built, perhaps spaces 15 through 29 or even 15 through 41 can be designated to the new diner.
I assume this will be discussed at the planning board meeting, which unfortunately I am unable to attend. Hopefully someone can report on what happens there.
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| Philadelphia Inquirer December 21, 1997 |
Update 4/30/2018
I didn't realize it the first time I drove by, but much of the asphalt parking lot has actually been removed. That may have an impact on impervious coverage as well as parking configuration.
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| To the right of the parking spaces, about 4 inches of asphalt has been removed |
Update 5/1/2018
The Planning Board meeting agenda is up, and it also includes altering the Chick-Fil-A lot to allow a second drive thru lane and designate a row of parking for employee only.
Update 6/7/2018
The Planning Board did approve the diner on 5/3/2018 and here is some additional information, including a very surprising name attached to the project.
1) The size of the diner is 7,225 square feet. The old Casa Carolla was 13,000 square feet. That would mean there would be potentially fewer patrons during peak hours, and presumably less parking would be needed.
2) The diner is expected to employ 67-75 people
3) Based on Evesham Township code, 108 parking spaces would be required. The plan has 110 parking spaces.
4) A traffic study was done and traffic concerns were determined not to be an issue
5) Bike racks and benches will be provided
6) The owner of the new diner owns Colonial Diner in Woodbury, which I previously mentioned, but also owns Oregon Diner and Penrose Diner in Philadelphia, along with Metro Diner in Brooklawn.
7) Most surprising of all, the owner plans to bring back the name 'Olgas', along with the architectural style and sign scripting similar to the previous Olga's Diner.
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