MANALAPAN – Testimony is expected to resume on Aug. 20 on an application that proposes the construction of a Taco Bell restaurant at the corner of Route 9 South and Taylors Mills Road in Manalapan.
Yum & Chill TB Holdings, LLC, is proposing to demolish a Shell gas and service station at the corner and to construct a Taco Bell. The applicant is represented by attorney Peter G. Licata, of the firm Sonnenblick, Parker and Selvers, Freehold Township.
Initial testimony was presented during the July 16 meeting of the Manalapan Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Yum & Chill TB Holdings is seeking preliminary and final major site plan approval with “c” bulk variances and “d” use variance relief to permit the demolition of the Shell station and the construction of a 2,578-square-foot Taco Bell.
The Taco Bell is proposed to have dine-in and drive-up service. The 0.8-acre property is owned by PMG New Jersey, LLC, and is in the Office Park 3 zone. The construction of a fast food restaurant and drive-up is not permitted in the OP-3 zone, according to a legal notice published by Licata.
The applicant will seek variances, waivers and other relief to permit an existing lot area of 0.8 acres where a minimum of 3 acres is required; existing lot frontage along Route 9 of 227 feet where a minimum of 300 feet is required; and existing lot frontage along Taylors Mills Road of 151 feet where a minimum of 300 feet is required, according to the legal notice.
Members of the zoning board and the public who participated in the virtual meeting heard testimony regarding the Taco Bell application from project engineer Marc Leber and traffic consultant Jay Troutman.
Leber, of East Point Engineering, Marlboro, discussed the proposed demolition of the gas station and the construction of a restaurant that would seat 48 people inside and provide three tables outside, with 25 parking spaces provided for employees and customers.
He said Taco Bell would have one entrance/exit from Taylors Mills Road and one entrance/exit from Route 9. The existing gas station has two driveways from both roads. Leber said left turns from the Taco Bell property to Taylors Mills Road would be prohibited.
Leber testified that the hours of operation for the Taco Bell dining room would be from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and he said the drive-up window would remain open until 2:30 a.m. The application proposes a decrease in the impervious coverage on the property, he said.
Troutman, of McDonough and Rea, Westfield, said the Taco Bell would primarily draw its customers from existing traffic on Route 9 and on Taylors Mills Road. He said the change in use from a gas and service station to a fast food restaurant would not significantly change the traffic at the site.
Troutman said the primary concern for the applicant is the interaction of the property with Taylors Mills Road and he said, “I believe the design of the site does everything possible to make it better.”
The zoning board’s engineer, Brian Boccanfuso, questioned Troutman about several aspects of the site’s design, including the plan for stacking vehicles in the drive-up lane.
Board member Mollie Kamen said individuals who want to travel west when leaving Taco Bell – who will be prohibited from turning left onto Taylors Mills Road – will have to turn right onto Route 9 South and then drive through a nearby residential area (Briar Hill Drive, Country Lane, Princeton Drive) to get back to Taylors Mills Road to turn left and head west.
Troutman said most of the vehicles entering the Taco Bell site will be pass-by traffic that will not have to drive through the neighborhood Kamen mentioned, but he acknowledged there could be a small percentage of vehicles that might travel on Briar Hill Drive, Country Lane and Princeton Drive to return to Taylors Mills Road after leaving Taco Bell.
Troutman was asked by board members to provide additional information regarding the location when the public hearing on the Taco Bell application resumes on Aug. 20.
