Car Wash Proposed Across From Brick Wawa Store That Prompted Traffic Concerns

The wooded area (bottom, right) is the proposed site of a car was, opposite an existing Wawa store. (Credit: Google Maps)

A new car wash has been proposed to replace a wooded property next to an existing strip mall – and across the street from a busy Wawa – on Route 88 in Brick Township.

The proposed car wash would be located at Route 88 and Kenneth Place, or 1905 Route 88, which is currently half-developed with a strip mall. The other half of the parcel, located closest to Kenneth Place, is undeveloped and wooded. It is located roughly across the street from the new Wawa at 1902 Route 88, which has been the subject of complaints over traffic safety on the oft-congested state highway.

A Popeye’s restaurant has been approved to be built next door to the Wawa, directly across from the would-be car wash, however construction has never gotten underway due to a failure to correct existing traffic issues, which was a contingency required as part of the approval.

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The proposed location of a Popeyes restaurant in Brick Township, N.J., Oct. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

The car wash would also be located about two blocks away from the long-existing Route 88 Car Wash.

The new car was facility is being proposed by JAC Operating, LLC, a Red Bank-based company, according to state business records.

The car wash will require approval by the township Zoning Board of Adjustment. In a notice provided by the board, JAC intends to build a “car wash building/structure with associated site improvements, including but not limited to, parking, lighting, utilities and stormwater management on the site.”

The property is located in the B2 commercial zone, where car washes are not a permitted use. Therefore, a use variance must be obtained by the developer, which requires support from a supermajority of board members. There are also more routine “bulk” variances that require approval, including a front-yard setback of 30.9-feet from Route 88 where 50-feet is required, and 27 feet from Kenneth Place. Another variance requests a larger monument sign than permitted – 68 square feet where 40 square feet are normally permitted. Other variances pertain to certain rights-of-way along the state highway.

The hearing will be held July 19, 2023 at 7 p.m. at the township municipal complex on Chambers Bridge Road.