October 5, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 Mahwah Planner grilled on Flyte Tyme parking situation by Frank J. McMahon A professional planner hired by Flyte Tyme Worldwide Transportation testified at the last meeting of the Mahwah Zoning Board of Adjustment in support of her client’s right to park seven buses and vans at the Lukoil service station at the intersection of Stephens Lane and Franklin Turnpike. Kathryn Gregory was also questioned extensively by board members and the public. Flyte Tyme Worldwide Transportation is headquartered in Mahwah and provides transportation for companies that require on-demand car service for frequent trips. It has an agreement with the Lukoil service station tenant to park the seven vehicles on the site each night and have those vehicles inspected and refueled every morning before leaving for daily trips. The township’s zoning officer, Gary Montroy, has made a determination that the company’s practice of parking its buses and vans on the Lukoil service station property is in violation of the township’s zoning ordinance, and Flyte Tyme has filed an application to the zoning board challenging that determination. Gregory testified that she has reviewed the township’s zoning ordinance and master plan. She told the board she believes that this service station is particularly suited for Flyte Tyme’s purpose since the township’s zoning ordinance defines a service station as one that dispenses fuel and provides repair of vehicles. She also pointed out that this service station is the only location on Franklin Turnpike that dispenses diesel fuel, which is required by the Flyte Tyme vehicles. “With the proper buffering there doesn’t seem to be any reason not to park on this site because parking is permitted there as an accessory use permitted by the zoning ordinance,” Gregory said, adding that it is a “win-win situation” because her client gets to park there and the service station gets business from her client. “Parking on the site is a customary ancillary use whether it’s by a car or a bus,” Gregory told the board. Board member Wesley Whiteman, who lives on Stevens Lane, complained, however, that buses are not parking on the site as proposed by the applicant and there has been one bus parked there with garbage bags taped to the window even though the gas station does not do glass work or body repair. The bus, he said, creates an aesthetic problem for the community. Ira Weiner, Flyte Tyme’s attorney, emphasized that, while there may be a problem with that particular bus, the issue before the board is whether Flyte Tyme’s use of the site is parking or the storage of vehicles. “We say it is parking,” Weiner said, adding that driving the vehicles in at night and taking them out in the morning is not storage. Board member George Cimis questioned Gregory extensively and pointed out that there are no specific credentials required to perform the vehicle inspections, so an auto mechanic is not needed to perform them because the bus driver can provide the inspections each day. In addition, Cimis claimed that Flyte Tyme has a facility just north of the service station which is in a zone that permits the proposed use and appears to be big enough to permit the seven vehicles to park there. He said the planner testified that the proposed site is particularly suited for the use, but the Flyte Tyme facility seems especially suited for it, and the Lukoil site is no more suited for the use than in Flyte Tyme’s “own back yard.” Weiner emphasized again that his client has not applied for a use variance. “We’re here to get an interpretation if the parking is permitted or not,” he said. Cimis continued, however, to point out that Stevens Lane is a very busy street with hundreds of townhouses located nearby and its intersection with Franklin Turnpike is very busy with a curb cut close to the intersection. He also pointed out that a 26-foot bus has to back out and turn around close to the intersection to get to the gas pump. Weiner countered, however, that this application is not about a site plan and he said again, “This application is for an (continued on page 25)