Politics & Government

Wawa, Gas Station, Chick-Fil-A Approved For Route 35 in Eatontown

The Eatontown Planning Board unanimously voted to approve the site plan and all variances needed for the project.

By Christopher Sheldon

The Eatontown Planning Board unanimously approved a site plan and all the variances needed for Fidelity Eatontown, LLC to build a Wawa, gas station and Chick-Fil-A on the corner of Route 35 and Wyckoff Road, during its Monday night meeting. 

The site includes a Wawa and 8-dispenser gas station that would be open 24/7 and employ 40-50 employees.

It also includes a drive-thru Chick-Fil-A which would be open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday-Saturday and be closed on Sundays.

Several neighbors of the site emotionally asked the board to not allow the project to move forward. The owners of three nearby gas stations had also hired an attorney to represent them, but the attorney was unable to attend the meeting and the board chose not to wait for him until the next meeting.

Neighbors said that traffic in the area was already a problem and that the site would only cause more. 

Despite the board's approval, the question as to where the left turn out of the site will be located is still unanswered.

The plan called for either have a left turn onto Route 35 or a left turn onto Wycoff Road, but not both.

The county, which has jurisdiction over Wycoff Road, and the New Jersey Department of Transportation, which owns Route 35, are working together to see which turn would make more sense.  

The board unanimously agreed to write a letter to the county and state requesting that the left turn onto Wyckoff Road, only, should be allowed.

"There's just too much traffic on that high speed road (Route 35) to allow it," Eatontown Planning Board Chairman Carl Sohl said.

The applicant's attorney, Peter Falvo, agreed.

"Even if the state permits it, we're not going to allow it," Falvo said.

The variances allowed for the project included those for signs, landscaping and the fact that the gas station is within 200 feet of a residential structure and 2,000 feet of another gas station.

A third building is proposed for the rear of the property, but it does not have any tenants at this time. If the project is approved, and a tenant is found, Fidelity would have to come back to the board for approval at a later date, as it was only given preliminary site plan approval on Monday.


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