7-Eleven Receives Zoning Board Approval to Reduce Parking

The Lacey Road 7-Eleven will be down four parking spaces after the zoning board approved the applicant’s amended and preliminary major site plans.

“What brings us back this evening is the approval that came from the board last April was subject to review and approval of the Fire Marshal, who subsequently objected to the four employee parking spaces that were located in the rear of the building,” said Lawrence De Bello Jr. of K&L Gates LLP.

The 7-Eleven was That portion of the project was and replaced the drive through with four employee parking spaces.

“It doesn’t allow defendable space,” said Chief Ray Brandmahl of the Forked River Fire Company, who denied the application because most of the electrical work is located in the back and is where a fire would most likely occur. 

The fire department would not have the ability to access the back of the building properly with the four employee spaces, he said. Generally stores should have a minimum of a 16-foot buffer.

In addition to removing the four parking spaces, the applicant will have to provide proper striping and signage to make behind the building a fire lane.

“I’m confident in my decision,” Brandmahl said.

The site plans were originally approved with the required 30 parking spaces but will now have 26. Once a Partial Certificate of Occupancy was granted on April 20, the store started operating with 26 parking stalls. But the applicant still needed the official variance approval from the zoning board.

“It is my understanding that there have been no parking issues,” De Bello said.

The four spaces were only originally included to comply with the township’s ordinance, he said.

“In reality, as we all know we don’t pump our own gas in New Jersey, so the fueling positions actually serve as parking spots,” he said. “It is common for a patron to park while getting gas and then go in and buy something.”

If the 12 fueling positions are accounted for in the site plan as parking, there are 38 spots, which actually exceeds the township’s requirements by eight, he said.

James Henry of Dynamic Engineering added that the employees have either been parking in regular spaces, are dropped off or ride their bikes to work.

“The board should not be looking at (the fueling positions) as usable parking spots as part of the application,” zoning board member Colleen Bradley said. “I don’t think you’re supposed to leave your vehicle unattended.”

Board member Shep Moore said leaving a vehicle while getting fuel and shopping at 7-Eleven could be a safety hazard and also ties up the pumps.

Chairman Tim McDonald called the practice “bad manners.”

The zoning board briefly questioned whether the township should develop an ordinance to prevent motorists leaving their car unattended while filling up at the gas pumps and shopping at the associated convenient store.

“It is a practice that is done and is probably an ordinance that the township should consider passing that you do have to remain with the car,” said Edward Scanlon of the zoning board, who added that Wawa employees have left receipts in the door handles of cars while the customer was in the store.

Brandmahl said he would look into whether the issue is a safety hazard and something the township should consider enforcing.

“I don’t think we need to make more regulations,” board member Craig Tomalo said. 

“Let the township deal with it,” McDonald said. “If there are enough complaints, they’ll deal with it.”