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Business & Tech

Quick Chek Revising Butler Store Plans

The Butler Planning Board pushes Quick Chek to address neighbors' concerns.

Quick Chek has agreed to revise plans for a  they are proposing in Butler after hearing recommendations from the Butler Planning Board Thursday.

Changes include a 15-foot buffer along the entire northern border of the site, on Route 23 North, between Boonton and Bartholdi Avenues, differing from the present plan's variable distance of 10-15 feet. Modified plans will also show a wider, enter-only driveway off of Bartholdi Avenue to create safer entry of delivery trucks.

At a special meeting on Thursday, board members advocated the concerns of several Butler residents, making suggestions to Quick Chek representatives seeking permission to build a 24-hour gas station and convenience store at the site.

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The proposed site created concerns for several Lafayette Avenue homeowners because the site's property line borders the lots of the homes.

Agreements to add a few feet to the space between these homes and the Quick Chek did little to satisfy the residents, and left the board asking for more.

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Quick Chek Engineer Keith Cahill spent most of Thursday's meeting giving his presentation. He explained the architectural plans, displayed multiple diagrams and detailed all the use variances that would be required.

According to him, the current plans are difficult to change because of the proposed site being smaller than average.

“I looked at 10 to 15 ways of laying this out,” Cahill said. “This is an efficient, safe operation.” Quick Chek Operations expert Jeff Albanese said the average Quick Chek store is 5,400 square feet. The store planned for Butler would be only 5,190 square feet.

Butler Engineer Paul Darmofalski expressed concern over Quick Chek’s request to circumvent land use regulations which dictate the minimum size of parking lots and minimum space between bordering roads and properties.

Planning Board Member Jim Brown saw problems with seating planned for inside and outside the store.

“People are gonna stay too long, there will be less turnover on parking spaces, and you will have a mess on your hands with people parking everywhere,” he said.

Brown dispensed with formalities and took a more aggressive approach while he continued to question Cahill. “You aren’t taking the citizens into consideration!” Brown exclaimed.

He continued, “Why can’t you move the gas tanks as far away from the houses as you can?”

Cahill assured Brown he was following all the guidelines set forth by enforcement agencies such as the EPA. The distance of gas tanks, according to Cahill, is beyond the minimum distance of three feet from homes.

Updated site plans reflecting some of the changes requested by the Butler Planning Board will be presented at next week's meeting on Feb. 17. The hearing could take another two meetings due to the project's potential impact and the many use variances it requires.

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