Hundreds are expected for the third hearing on the proposed convenience store/gas station on Route 22.
BRIDGEWATER -- A public hearing on a purposed QuickChek convenience store and gas station on Route 22 will continue Tuesday night before the township's Zoning Board of Adjustment with hundreds of residents expected to attend.
The hearing will be held in the auditorium of Somerset County Vocational and Technical School at 7:30 p.m. to accommodate another expected overflow crowd. Approximately 400 residents attended a hearing on Nov. 17 at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, many opposing the proposed QuickChek.
QuickChek plans to clarify its proposal, including its plan to have eight gasoline pumps, not 16 as previously reported. Site engineer Keith Cahill is expected to finish his presentation and the corporation is expected to have its traffic engineer available to answer residents' concerns.
QuickChek wants to build a 24-hour, 5,700-square-foot gas station and convenience store on a triangular 5.47-acre site that formerly housed Tectonic, an architectural and engineering firm, on the eastbound side of Route 22 east of the Route 28 intersection. The site also houses the Melick's Town Farm.
Last month, QuickChek announced it had revised its original plans and eliminated an entrance on Route 28.
Because the area isn't zoned for gas stations and food stores, QuickChek is seeking 22 use variances from the township's zoning board. The corporation said it needs so many variances, in part, because of the unique triangular shape of the property.
RELATED: Hundreds voice opposition to proposed QuickChek
The property, QuickChek said, comes to a long narrow point at one end and virtually any development of the property would require a similar number of variances from the setback requirements.
If approved, QuickChek would be the only convenience store on eastbound Route 22, west of Route 202-206.
Some of the residents who oppose the QuickChek have formed a nonprofit organization, Bridgewater Residents United. They have argued that the QuickChek doesn't fit the township's master plan.
They have expressed concern about about traffic, gas fumes, potential fuel spills, lighting, crime and the negative impact a QuickChek would have on their property value and the character of their neighborhood.
Residents are also concerned about possible blasting to insert the two 20,000-gallon and two 12,000-gallon fuel tanks could damage the foundations of nearby houses. Furthermore, they feel that if approved, the QuickChek could pave the way for similar businesses in their neighborhood.
QuickChek, which is headquartered in Whitehouse Station, has created a website, www.quickchek-bridgewater.com, that details their plans for the store.
Bridgewater Residents United have also created a website, www.BWRU.org, that explains their opposition.
Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com.Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
