September 30, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 9 Mahwah Two sides weigh in on Pilot issue by Frank J. McMahon The public hearing on Pilot Corporation’s application to completely renovate its existing 4.5-acre truck stop on the south side of Route 17 just south of the West Ramapo Avenue overpass into a truck and automobile fueling service station is nearing a conclusion. The Mahwah Zoning Board will soon have to make a decision about whether to grant Pilot a conditional use variance from the township’s ordinance that prohibits service stations to be located within 500 of a school property. If the conditional use variance is granted and the site plan approved, Pilot would upgrade its site, on which the company holds a long term lease, from an overnight parking truck stop to a separated gasoline and diesel fuel service station for motor vehicles and trucks with a new 4,282 square foot convenience store. Pilot’s plan eliminates overnight truck parking and rooming facilities for truckers and the truck weight scale, and reduces the available truck parking spaces from 85 to eight and prohibits overnight truck parking and truck idling. Also, if the Pilot plan is approved, the Ridge Road access to the site, where several local schools are located, would be closed and that property line would be fenced and landscaped. The plan is opposed by the owners of the Valero service station located north of the Pilot site, and by residents, some of whom are parents of children who attend the schools on Ridge Road. One of the parents, Tom Powers, has issued a statement listing the objections of the parents to Pilot’s plan, which he calls an expansion of the truck stop. Powers claims in his statement that Pilot is the largest operator of truck stops in the country, having just doubled in size by acquiring a competitor, and they offer corporate/ fleet discounts that will attract significantly more trucks. But James Lott, an attorney representing Pilot, responded that Pilot does offer fleet discounts but so do all of its competitors on Route 17. Lott emphasized that the site is currently a Pilot site and Pilot’s fleet discount customers already use the site and will continue to use it whether or not this application is approved. Powers claims Pilot is adding gasoline to the station that isn’t there now which will add significant car traffic to the site. Lott disagreed, saying no car traffic will be added to the site because gasoline stations are not “destinations” but rely on pass-by traffic and the cars that will buy gasoline at the Pilot site are using Route 17 now. Another objection by Powers is that any increase in truck and car traffic will create increased danger to drivers, students, residents, and the environment. Lott countered that Pilot’s traffic engineer estimates a 25 percent to 50 percent decrease in trucks coming to the site if the plan is approved. He explained that this is because the Ridge Road entrance will be closed, making the site virtually inaccessible from Route 17 north, and because a large number of trucks come to the current site solely for long-term parking, which will be eliminated. Lott added that the zoning board’s own independent traffic engineer verified this traffic projection. Powers also objects to Pilot’s plan to build a large convenience store steps from township schools. He said the store would entice school children. Lott argued that there is already a convenience store on site offering the same types of items that would be offered if the Pilot plan receives approval. He pointed out that students from the school can currently cross the street and go to the convenience store, but if the plan were approved, a six-foot fence and landscaped buffer would make the site inaccessible to pedestrians. Another objection raised by Powers is that trucks carry hazardous materials, which can lead to fires, explosions, and spills that cause massive evacuations, road damage, and property damage. Lott agreed, but pointed out that trucks are on the site and on Route 17 now, and he reemphasized that there would be fewer trucks on the site if the Pilot plan gains approval. Powers emphasized that he and the other objecting parents have no political agenda and just care about the safety (continued on page 20)