Mahwah May 12, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 7 Pilot responds to pair of zoning approval lawsuits by Frank J. McMahon The Pilot Corporation has responded to two lawsuits that were filed in Superior Court to challenge the Mahwah Zoning Board’s approval of its plan to renovate and expand its truck stop site on Route 17. The lawsuits were filed by Paks Fast Service, Inc, which owns the Valero service station on Route 17, and Parents for Safety LLC, a non-profit organization created by three parents of children who attend the schools located on Ridge Road. Pilot denies the allegations in the two lawsuits and asks the court to enter a judgment dismissing the complaints with prejudice and award Pilot court costs and attorney fees. According to the Civil Case Management Division of Superior Court, a trial date in the Paks Fast Service, Inc lawsuit has been set before Superior Court Judge Joseph S. Conte for July 19. No date has yet been set for a trial in the Parents for Safety lawsuit. In the lawsuit by Paks, the plaintiffs claim the expansion of the site into a service station serving trucks and cars will create an unsafe condition on the site due to the addition of the cars, which might come in contact with the trucks that will continue to use the site for fueling. They also claim the expanded site will create more noise and air pollution in the area and that the large convenience store proposed for the site will be an attractive nuisance for the students who attend the schools on Ridge Road. They point out that the plan violates the township’s ordinance that prohibits service stations within 500 feet of a school property. In the Parents for Safety lawsuit, the plaintiffs maintain that the zoning board’s interpretation of the township’s zoning ordinance that the project proposed by Pilot would be a service station was legally erroneous, because the board should have applied the proofs for a use variance and not a conditional use variance. In addition, that complaint claims that the zoning board failed to properly consider the expert testimony presented in opposition to Pilot’s plan, and it did not consider that the Pilot design contains serious safety concerns which are substantially detrimental to the public good. That appeal also claims the Pilot site plan design required a subdivision, but one was not applied for or approved and, as a result, the additional variances that were required were not granted. The appeal further asserts that the board ignored the hazmat testimony that the proposed plan would present a substantial risk to the nearby high school and other schools along Ridge Road and was, therefore, substantially detrimental to the public good. The Pilot plan approved by the zoning board at the end of last year includes a cleanup of any soil contamination on the site, the demolition of the complete site, and its reconstruction into a fueling service station with a six station truck diesel fueling area and a 12 station car fueling area, each with overhead canopies, and the construction of a new 4,282 square foot convenience store building on the site. The plan eliminates 90 percent of the existing truck spaces on the property and all overnight truck parking and permits the local police department to enforce the state’s law restricting the idling of trucks. The zoning board’s approval will, if not overturned on appeal, permit Pilot to change the use of its site from a truck stop to a service station even though a township ordinance, that was adopted just prior to the Pilot application being submitted to the zoning board, does not permit service stations within 500 feet of a school property and the high school athletic field is located within that distance across Ridge Road from the Pilot site. Six of the seven members of the board agreed the proposed use would still be appropriate for the site even though it is within 500 feet of school property in violation of a township ordinance. They also agreed the site can accommodate any problems such as air quality, noise, and traffic associated with the use; that it did not pose any substantial detriment to the public good, and that the character of the neighborhood would not be substantively impacted by the use. The Pilot plan includes the closure of the Ridge Road access to the site and the installation of an eight foot high pool size chain link fence with landscaping along the Ridge Road side of the Pilot property in order to separate the site from the school property. Free clothing available at Ramapo Reformed The Clothing Closet Ministry at the Ramapo Reformed Church has free clothing available. Seasonal items for everyone from infants through adults are currently in stock. Choose from a variety of T-shirts, shorts, jeans, shirts, blouses, dresses, sneakers, shoes, and more. For a referral, call the Mahwah Township Department of Human Services at (201) 529- 5757. Participants need not be Mahwah residents. An appointment will be made with volunteers of the Clothing Closet. WALK-A-THON th Sunday, May 16 at 2pm Rain or Shine Walk, stroll or walk your dog with us for 2 miles! From St. Paul Church, 200 Wyckoff Ave, Ramsey, NJ to Finch Park St. Paul Interparochial School CARNIVAL May 19-23, 2010 187 Wyckoff Ave., Ramsey NJ Cost to Register $10.00 Won’t You Please Join Us and Walk… so that a Child Who Cannot Walk May Someday be Able to. All proceeds benefit Special Needs Children & Spinal Research at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital at Columbia Presbyterian. Mary’s Basement will be performing after the walk. For more info or for sponsorship forms, e-mail: GDRice96@aol.com Wednesday 6:00-10:00 PM Thursday 6:00-10:00 PM (Bracelet Night $25.00 unlimited rides) Friday 6:00-1 1:00 PM Saturday 3:00-1 1:00 PM (Early Bird Bracelet, $25.00, 3:00-7:00 pm, unlimited rides) Sunday 2:00-7:00 PM (Bracelet Day, $25.00, unlimited rides) 5-12-10 joan/janine WalkAThon3x3(5-12-10) 3 x 3” Rev3 Advance ticket sales available at St. Paul School and after all weekend masses. For Further Information: 201-327-1108