Villadom Times Weekly Newpaper Online-November 18, 2009 Issue

Mahwah November 18, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 Decision on Pilot application due next week by Frank J. McMahon The Pilot Corporation’s plan to renovate and upgrade its site on Route 17 South into a service station for fueling trucks and automobiles will be deliberated on by the Mahwah Zoning Board of Adjustment at a special session set for Nov. 24 at 8 p.m. The session will be held in the municipal building on Corporate Drive. At that time, a decision is expected on whether to grant Pilot the use variance and other variances it would need to implement its plan. At the last public board meeting, the attorneys for the owners of the Valero service station located north of the Pilot site, the three parents who formed a non-profit organization to oppose the Pilot plan, and the Pilot Corporation, summed up their positions. Kevin Moore, the attorney representing Paks Fast Service, Inc., the owner of the Valero station, told the board Pilot has failed to meet the proofs required to obtain a variance from Mahwah’s zoning ordinance that was adopted less than two years ago and which prohibits gasoline stations within 500 feet of a school. “Pilot’s property is located 70 feet from the Mahwah High School grounds, 150 feet from its athletic field, and 400 feet from the high school building,” Moore told the board. “Yet Pilot is seeking a variance to increase its truck diesel fueling capacity by over 20 percent and add an automobile gasoline station with 12 fueling positions to its property.” Moore emphasized that Pilot has to prove that its property is suitable for an expanded truck stop and a new 12 fueling position gasoline service station notwithstanding the fact that its property is within 500 feet of the Mahwah High School. He said Pilot also has to show that the grant of this variance will not cause substantial detriment to the public good, and, that the granting of the variance is reconcilable with the township council’s legislative determination that the prohibition against gasoline service stations within 500 feet of a school should be imposed on all gasoline stations in the B-40 zoning district. “Pilot has failed to meet all three of its required proofs,” Moore said, adding, “Pilot has also failed to present adequate evidence about the impact of its application on the air quality at the high school, and has provided no information or testimony about the impact of benzene emissions from automobiles or trucks at its proposed facility on the air quality at the high school.” Ira Weiner, the attorney for the three parents, joined Moore in asking the board to deny Pilot’s plan, emphasizing the problems he says will be created by allowing up to 1,000 cars a day to visit the site for gasoline refueling, and the “major safety issue” that would be created by the driveway access to the site, which he characterized as confusing. Weiner described seven points of conf lict in the (continued on page 10) � �� T& B �� Est. 1982 �� 11-18-09 mike/janine TBConstruction2x2(11-18-09) 2 x 2” HEARING AIDS � Get the Right Information in a Private Consultation � Have a Complimentary Hearing Evaluation � FREE Hearing Aid Trial Call for Your Appointment 201-934-7755 www.HearNJ.com ADVANCED HEARING SERVICES, INC. 119 Interstate Shopping Center, Ramsey, New Jersey Intersection of Route 17 & Franklin Turnpike Supervising Licence. NJ Hearing Aid Dispenser * Licence # 743 �� Thomas J. Higgins, BC-HIS*, ACA** *Board Certiﬁed by the National Board for Certiﬁcation in Hearing Instrument Sciences. **American Conference of Audioprosthology ��