Residents oppose 24/7 super Wawa Planning Board hearing continues Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. BY AMANDA BELING Staff Writer EATONTOWN - At the borough Planning Board meeting Aug. 27, residents voiced their opposition to the proposed 24- hour Wawa convenience store and gas station proposed for the site of the Eatontown Roller Rink on Route 35. This was the fourth meeting on the application to redevelop the site, and among the couple of dozen residents in attendance, there was a unanimous concern that the ambiance of their adjacent residential area would be adversely affected. Mayor Gerald Tarantolo, a Planning Board member, said the proposed site plan is a permitted use within the borough's B-2 zone. "The site plan calls for a convenient store and an associated gasoline distribution with 12 external gas pumps, spanning a little less than 6,000 square feet," said Tarantolo. "It's not that we don't want anything put in that lot, we just don't want a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week business there," said resident Christopher Raike, Conifer Crest Way. Another concern residents have is with drivers making the illegal right-hand turn out of the proposed exit onto Clinton Avenue. "Looking at the angle of the exit, how is the exit going to stop people from making a right turn? Because it's so wide, it looks too easy for people not to take that turn," said resident Kathleen Maziarz. According to Wawa's engineer, Mark A. Whitaker, the width of the exit is approximately 20 feet but will have a 35-degree radius to the left, making it difficult to make a right turn out of the parking lot. "There are going to be massive problems because people are going to turn right anyway, which will have more traffic cutting through Clinton Avenue, ultimately turning it into another Route 35," said resident Bart D'Averso. "We had speed bumps put in on Clinton Avenue for a reason - to slow down the cars and keep the traffic to a minimum," he said. "The radius to the right is only 3 feet, so it is very difficult to make a right turn, because the exit has been designed only for left turns," said Whitaker. "The issue with the exit onto Clinton is that drivers can't go left out of the property onto Route 35 because the state says it's too dangerous," said Tarantolo. "The only way to get back to Route 35 south is to use the egress onto Clinton Avenue, and that will take you to the traffic light where you can make a left back onto Route 35," he said. Tarantolo noted that another issue was reconfiguring Route 35 and Clinton Avenue to accommodate two lanes of traffic at the intersection, where there would be a leftturn lane and a right-turn/straight lane. "That's where we'd have to go to the DOT [New Jersey Department of Transportation] and get permission to reconfigure the road," said Tarantolo. Raike and other residents said they feel that having a business that's open all day long every day of the week isn't necessary. "It's not fenced in, either, so there is no security. I live right behind the property; it's easy for people to cross into my property," said Raike. "And who wants to live next to a gas station? It's about quality of life, and they could put any other business there that's not going to concern us with gas fumes and a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week convenience store. They could put in a restaurant, or a different kind of store that has a closing time," he said. Tarantolo said that the board does not have control over that aspect. "There's no ordinance in the borough in place that defines what the business hours are for commercial entities," he said. The next step for the Planning Board, Wawa representatives and borough residents will be a fifth Planning Board meeting, which is scheduled for Oct. 8. "We listened to the engineer and the traffic consultant and Wawa's operations people, and last night [Aug. 27] was a summary of the previous three meetings," said Tarantolo. "On Oct. 8, we'll be listening to a testimony of Wawa's planner. She will be giving justification for why they have the 24-hour business operation and why they're asking for the variances they're asking for. Once the planner testifies, the residents will have a chance to ask her about the planning aspects of Wawa," he said.