HOWELL – The Howell Planning Board has approved the construction of a new Aldi grocery store at the corner of Route 9 south and Lanes Mill Road. The business’s new location will replace an existing Aldi store on Route 9 north.
Attorney Mark Williams represented the applicant, Landmark Plaza Management, at the June 1 board meeting. Williams was accompanied by engineer Michael Geller, traffic engineer John Rea, architect Gaspare Accordo and Adrienne Kieliszak, the regional director of real estate for Aldi.
Aldi is in the middle of a national upgrade and expansion and intends to close its store at 6679 Route 9 north, Howell, in order to relocate to the larger space at Route 9 south and Lanes Mill Road, Kieliszak said. The new store will total 19,037 square feet.
The applicant sought a variance on the buffer between the commercial property and the surrounding residential area. Howell’s ordinance requires a 50-foot buffer between commercial parking lots and driveways and residential property lines.
The applicant’s representatives made the case that the odd shape of the property complicated meeting the requirements of the ordinance and the board granted the variance.
The applicant also requested a parking variance. According to Howell’s code, 127 parking spaces were required according to the size of the proposed Aldi. The applicant proposed 102 parking spaces for the site, which Rea said would be sufficient.
“I am not telling you that your ordinance is wrong for retail, but in this particular case I can comfortably say the 102 parking spaces that are provided for Aldi is more than enough,” Rea said.
The board approved the applicant’s proposed 102 parking spaces.
Vice Chairman Robert Nash and board member William Gotto, a former mayor, questioned the applicant’s witnesses for more than an hour about various aspects of the application.
“This is the Planning Board and we are supposed to be responsible for what certain areas of the town are going to look like,” Gotto said. “This is an area that is under extensive development. …
“Just because this is an Aldi today does not mean it is going to be an Aldi tomorrow. We saw that because you have (an Aldi) right across the street that is no longer going to be an Aldi. So I don’t know why we would want to grant any variances for anything in this section of town,” Gotto said.
The applicant proposed that trucks would enter the site from Lanes Mills Road, drive around the building counter-clockwise and then exit onto Route 9 South.
The applicant’s representatives testified they will instruct Aldi trucks to exit Route 9 south at Kent Road and to take Kent Road to Lanes Mill Road, and to enter the property from Lanes Mill Road. Following that route will prevent trucks from using a short exit ramp that leads from Route 9 south to Lanes Mill Road.
Nash was critical of the idea of commercial traffic using Kent Road.
The applicant’s representatives and other board members used a nearby Walmart as an example of Kent Road already being used for commercial traffic.
Nash expressed concern regarding traffic increases around the Lanes Mill Road intersection, noting Lanes Mill Road traffic from Kent Road going eastbound and traffic from Route 9 south using the exit ramp. He said he believed an increase in congestion will be the result.
In response, Rea said, “The ramp (from Route 9 south to Lanes Mill Road) has been a problem since day one. It is too close to the intersection. We are aware of that situation, we tried to address it in our traffic studies. Quite frankly, the Aldi is going to add a little bit more traffic to the eastbound Lanes Mill Road approach. There is not a lot more you can do there, you already have a five-lane approach.”
Nash asked if the development and subsequent additional traffic would adversely impact the area.
Rea said he did not believe the increase would be significant enough that the “average person would know there is an Aldi on the corner.”
“You could always make the case that one car would adversely impact it,” Rea said.
Board Chairman Paul Schneider said he believed the professionals who represent Aldi will work with Howell’s professionals to make the plan work.
Following the applicant’s testimony and questions and comments from the board members, the hearing was opened for public comment. No one from the public came forward.
A motion was made to grant Aldi preliminary and final site plan approval. Board members Nicholas Huszar, Police Chief Andrew Kudrick, Kenneth French and Schneider voted yes. Gotto and Nash voted no on the motion.
