A proposed car wash facility that raised the ire of residents who live off Route 88, where the business will be located, has received its final approval.
The township’s zoning board first granted approval for the project in March and recently adopted a resolution which outlines the conditions under which it can be built. The facility will be located roughly across the street from the new Wawa location at Route 88 and Jack Martin Boulevard, which has led to traffic issues and a drawn-out process for the state to prohibit left turns into the shopping center, which will eventually include a Popeyes fast food restaurant. Specifically, the car was will be located at Route 88 and Kenneth Place, which backs up to a residential neighborhood.
Residents raised concerns as far back as last year over traffic issues that the car wash could cause, but ultimately the board leaned upon advice from its attorney and approved a use variance that would allow the car wash to operate in the B-2 business zone.
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What will be known as the “Urban Express” car wash will be located on a plot of land currently divided between a wooded area and a strip mall. The car wash, like the strip mall, would back up to residential properties on Kieser Boulevard.
The zoning board, formally known as the Board of Adjustment, approved the facility to take up 2,800 square feet in a one-story structure. It will also include 12 outdoor vacuum stations.
The attorney representing business owner JAC Operating Corp., Jason R. Tuvel, told board members at a hearing that the facility would be largely automated and open seven days per week from either 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. It would allow enough space for 11 cars to “stack” while waiting to be washed, and between one and two employees would be on site during the hours of operation. Access to the site would be through the adjacent strip mall rather than local streets or a separate entrance on Route 88.
“We don’t need to have access to any of the residential side streets abutting the property,” Tuvel said.
The car was was approved in a 6-1 vote, with board member Eileen Della Volle casting the sole ‘no’ vote. Board member Mike Jamnick was absent from the meeting and board member Rocco Lepore recused himself from the case.