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| Depiction of new Chase Bank at Route 70 and Cropwell Road |
The Evesham Planning board met on 6/7/2018 and approved a new Chase Bank at the corner of Route 70 and Cropwell Road. The space is currently occupied by a Valero Gas Station and Convenience Store. It has been a gas station for a few decades under different names, - Lukoil, Getty and Mobil. The convenience store was briefly a 7-11 as well as a Circle K.
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| The Valero Gas Station and Convenience Store to be demolished |
When thinking about development of this site and what could be built there instead of a gas station, it is important to remember that while this station seems like it is part of the Staples Shopping Center, it actually is not - it is a separate property indicated in red below. Because of the small size of the lot, larger things like a Wawa or a CVS would not fit on the lot.
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| The Valero Station lot is a distinct property from the Staples Shopping Center |
Because it is a distinct property from Staples, it needs its own entrances and exits. When looking at an overhead shot, it is quite apparent that there are a lot of entrances and exits to the site confined within a very small area. There was quite a bit of talk concerning the exits as both 4 and 5 are exits very close to the intersection of Cropwell and 70. #5 below would be removed and #6 would be slightly altered and become both an entrance and exit. (Currently, many motorists enter the gas station via #6 and exit via #5.) #1, 2, 7 and 8 are NOT a part of the property and not included in this project.
A presentation was given by representatives from Chase Bank, including an attorney, an architect, a site engineer, a traffic engineer, and a professional planner. A plan was presented for a 3,170 square foot bank with a drive up ATM (a second ATM would be inside a vestibule). There will be no manned drive-thru teller lanes. The bank is smaller than a typical bank and will feature both human and automated tellers. You can read about Chase's vision for the future and automated tellers here.
It was noted that Chase does not have a presence in South Jersey, but they are currently building in Robbinsville and Toms River, and are also currently in front of the Planning Board in Cherry Hill.
This is how the property looks today.
Here are the plans for the new bank. (Note, there were actually two plans shown, though I was unable to get a copy of the second set. They were very similar, the differences being the layout of the dumpster area, and the movement of two of the parking spaces directly in a straight line from the entrance from Route 70.
There are 21 parking spaces. A curb cut (driveway) from the lot onto Route 70 has been removed, and the exit to Cropwell Road has been altered slightly. The drive-up ATM has queuing space for 3 cars so as not to block traffic.
Landscaping was discussed, as variances were needed. Because of how the lot was previously approved and developed, there are a lot of pre-existing non-conformities to current Evesham Town Code. The percentage of impervious coverage will need a variance, but there will be less impervious coverage than there is today (this will help with drainage after storms). Town Code would require 60 shrubs and 10 trees on the site, but Chase has stated there is not room for 10 trees. Instead, they will be adding 89 shrubs. (Yes, these plans and discussions get incredibly detailed). The landscaping will have built in irrigation, which satisfied the Evesham Town Planner, who noted that previous landscaping has died because it was not property irrigated.
The Traffic Engineer testified that based on site studies, the bank would bring less traffic to the intersection than the gas station - 67 fewer trips during PM peak and 89 fewer during Saturday peak.
After the Chase representatives spoke, the Town representatives spoke. In general, the project seemed to get the blessing from the Town Planner, town attorney, the town traffic engineer and the town environmental representative. (It was noted during testimony the the NJ Department of Environmental Protection is monitoring the site, and that the prior owner Lukoil is responsible for any remediation).
The Planning Board approved the project by a vote of 8-0.
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