I previously posted a blog entry detailing how Royal Farms would be coming to town in the near future. While that blog post documented what Royal Farms is and where it would be going, there was a lot of information that was disseminated at the four and a half hour Planning Board meeting when it was approved. (To be fair, the first 45 minutes or so was spent discussing Barclay Chase). This is probably far less interesting information to the vast majority of people, but I wanted to document it anyway.
The meeting began with the Planning Board's attorney noting that the residents within a specified distance of a project like this need to be notified at least 10 days prior to the Planning Board meeting. The list the town gave to Royal Farms was not correct and some residents were not properly notified. The attorney stated that the applicant (Royal Farms) has the option of postponing the meeting, or proceeding and risking future legal action. However, it was affirmed that they are legally allowed to rely on the information given to them by the town. Royal Farms chose to proceed, since all the residents had been notified, just not within the legally required 10 days.
The representatives for Royal Farm then took the floor. They were led by their attorney, Damien Del Duca. He spoke for quite a while, giving the history of the company, a brief overview of the project, and called a few 'experts' to testify on behalf of Royal Farms: the Regional Site Selector for Royal Farms, a traffic engineer, and a professional engineer. It was obvious that all of these speakers had spoken in front of Planning Boards before. It was also apparent that discussions/negotiations between Royal Farms and Planning board officials had been ongoing for several months prior to the Planning Board hearing.
I have struggled in trying to put this blog together in a sequential faction, as multiple topics were revisited over the course of the evening, so I have decided to group topics logically. It is quite possible that I misunderstood some of what was discussed at planning board. If I get anything wrong, please feel free to let me know in the comments. The legal proceedings were quite a bit outside my sphere of knowledge.
Much of the time was spent discussing variances that would be needed for the property. The town sets certain requirements for building projects, and any item that won't conform to those requirements will require a variance. (It is possible that not all of these items required variances - there were also mentions of waivers and I don't know the difference between the two.)
After much discussion, it was agreed that Royal Farms would work with the Planning Board's traffic engineer to put up signs stating that left turns were not allowed during hours when school buses would be picking up children across the street at the entrance to the Orchards. The attorney for the Planning Board advised she did not think this would prevent people from making a left turn regardless.
The meeting began with the Planning Board's attorney noting that the residents within a specified distance of a project like this need to be notified at least 10 days prior to the Planning Board meeting. The list the town gave to Royal Farms was not correct and some residents were not properly notified. The attorney stated that the applicant (Royal Farms) has the option of postponing the meeting, or proceeding and risking future legal action. However, it was affirmed that they are legally allowed to rely on the information given to them by the town. Royal Farms chose to proceed, since all the residents had been notified, just not within the legally required 10 days.
The representatives for Royal Farm then took the floor. They were led by their attorney, Damien Del Duca. He spoke for quite a while, giving the history of the company, a brief overview of the project, and called a few 'experts' to testify on behalf of Royal Farms: the Regional Site Selector for Royal Farms, a traffic engineer, and a professional engineer. It was obvious that all of these speakers had spoken in front of Planning Boards before. It was also apparent that discussions/negotiations between Royal Farms and Planning board officials had been ongoing for several months prior to the Planning Board hearing.
I have struggled in trying to put this blog together in a sequential faction, as multiple topics were revisited over the course of the evening, so I have decided to group topics logically. It is quite possible that I misunderstood some of what was discussed at planning board. If I get anything wrong, please feel free to let me know in the comments. The legal proceedings were quite a bit outside my sphere of knowledge.
Much of the time was spent discussing variances that would be needed for the property. The town sets certain requirements for building projects, and any item that won't conform to those requirements will require a variance. (It is possible that not all of these items required variances - there were also mentions of waivers and I don't know the difference between the two.)
- Loading Zone variance - the town requires loading zones not be located in a 'front yard'. However, because of the location of the property on the corner of Route 73 and Lincoln, most of the property is considered a 'front yard'. The irregularly shaped lot was frequently brought up as a reason for variances being needed.
Loading Zone is at the lower right
- Sign Variance - the town has a limit of 60 square feet for street signs. Royal Farms uses a standard sign among its stores of 163 square feet, but are requesting only 120 square feet. It was noted that the 'Royal Farms' letting was smaller than 60 square feet, but the State of NJ requires a gas station to display gas prices.
Signage at Magnolia NJ Royal Farms - Impervious Coverage variance - the town requires a maximum of 55%. 'Impervious coverage' is surface area that will not absorb water (such as asphalt or buildings). Too much 'impervious coverage' leads to poor drainage. The lot currently has 59.4% and Royal Farms is requesting a variance to set it at 59.2%.
- Parking Variances - there were a few parking variances requested. The town requires parking spaces to be 15 feet from adjoining lots. Royal Farms was requesting 5 feet, as there were parking spaces already onsite that were 5 feet from the AMC Marlton 8 lot. This was referred to as a 'pre-existing non-conformity'. There was also a request for a variance for the 'front yard' parking spaces, reducing the requirement from 50 to 37.8 feet.
Parking spaces in the center right of the picture are a 'pre-existing non-conformity'. Also shown is the connector between Royal Farms lot and Marlton 8 lot. - Facade Sign Variance - The town allows only 80 square feet of signage. Royal Farm is requesting 92 square feet, for two combined signs, one showing 'Royal Farms' and one below it showing 'World Famous Chicken and Fresh Kitchen'
Variance needed for facade signs - Canopy Sign Variance - Royal Farms requested Canopy Signs (the 'Royal Farms' lettering on the gas station roof) to be larger than the town allowed
Canopy signage variance required
A lot of discussion ensued around the Lincoln Drive exit and whether a left turn could safely be made out of the lot. The traffic engineer employed by Royal Farms discussed the current traffic on Lincoln Drive, and that after calculating a 'trip generation analysis', there was no significant additional traffic expected on Lincoln Drive after the completion of Royal Farms. The Planning Board's traffic engineer seemed to agree with this assertion, but there was still some hesitation on the part of the Planning Board. Many residents of the Orchards were in attendance and were also concerned about pedestrians, as there are school bus stops directly across the street from the entrance. The residents also warned that the Yield Sign on the Route 73 exit to Lincoln Drive was frequently ignored, which would further hamper left turns out of the Royal Farms Lincoln Drive exit.
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| Yield at Route 73 exit to Lincoln Drive. Residents claim sign is frequently ignored. |
It was suggested that since the connector from the Royal Farms site into the AMC Marlton 8 parking lot would remain, those wishing to make a left turn could traverse the lot to the Marlton 8 exit, where a left turn was less dangerous.
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| Trying to make a left out of Royal Farms, this is the current view out the passenger side window. Note the berm. It is difficult to see oncoming traffic, though some of the trees are being removed. |
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| View out the driver's side window isn't much better |
Royal Farms advised that they would be removing the berms (the high dirt mounds) on either side of the entrance, and though they acknowledged that there were some trees that restricted view, there was the legally required sight distance to safely make a left turn.
As previously mentioned, there were quite a few residents from the Orchards in attendance. For those unfamiliar with the neighborhood, it is just across Lincoln Drive from where Royal Farms is going.
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| Royal Farms will be going where the building on the top left currently is. The Orchards is the neighborhood to the right. |
The neighbors were concerned about the smell of both gasoline and chicken, the noise, the light pollution, litter and the value of their homes. While Royal Farms assured them they would not smell gasoline in their yards, they stopped short of saying residents would never smell chicken. The Town Planner suggested the use of scrubbers to dissipate the smells, and I believe that topic will come up again at a later date.
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| View of Firstrust Bank from where Jonathan Lane loops back on itself. Picture it at night as a well-lit Royal Farms just beyond the backyard of residents. |
Other items of note:
- Royal Farms will be installing a sidewalk on the property
- Royal Farms will be installing a crosswalk across Lincoln Drive to the Orchards. They will coordinate with the town for proper signage to warn drivers.
- Trash trucks will be on the site approximately 3-4 times per week. Tanker trucks will deliver approximately once per day. 18 wheelers will use the Route 73 entrance only and park in the loading zone. Box trucks can use either entrance and park in regular parking spaces.
- No deliveries can be made between 10pm and 6am.
- During peak hours, approximately 10 employees are expected on site. Peak hours are from 7am to 9am and 5pm to 7pm
- Some cleanup on the site needs to be performed as there was arsenic found on site. It is believed this is from a farm that was previously on the site.
- The Town Planner pushed hard for Royal Farms to use Promenade Lights, which the town has set as the standard for retail establishments, instead of Royal Farms usual lighting. I am not certain what Promenade Lighting is, but Ms Furey, the Town Planner, advised she will send me the specifications next week. Promenade Lighting is currently in use at the Wawa on Route 70, Enterprise, Staples, Marlton Crossing and a few others. Royal Farms seemed to agree.
- As neighbors expressed their concerns about light pollution, Royal Farms agreed to pay for trees to be planted on the Orchards side of Lincoln Drive.
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