New 7-Eleven to Open Without Drive-Through Window

The new 7-Eleven on Lacey Road will no longer be required to have a drive-through after the zoning board approved the applicant’s amendments.

“What happened is we got caught in the middle of 7-Eleven changing its corporate policy,” Attorney John Marmora of K&L Gates LLP said. “7-Eleven was promoting a drive-through and then they pulled it back and they told us that we couldn’t open a drive-through anymore.”

The 7-Eleven was originally The convenience store would have been one of the first in the country with the window, site owner, Waseem Chaudhary of Shaan Realty, LLC previously said.

Board Engineer James McKelvie said.

After the board’s unanimous vote to deem the application technically complete, the applicant will no longer need to add a drive-through window, the associated menu board and a canopy. The size of the Shell gas station’s kiosk can be adjusted and several additional parking spaces will be added to the site.

Monitoring wells were also paved over during the construction of the store. They will have to be uncovered unless the applicant can provide evidence that the wells are no longer needed, McKelvie said.

Marmora asked the board for a temporary Certificate of Occupancy, which would permit the applicant to proceed with operation at their own risk.

“The applicant has employees that are ready to start working and if you’ve seen the facility, you can see that it is complete,” he said.

The zoning board does not have the authority to give such approvals, Board Attorney Tom Gannon said.

“We really don’t have jurisdictions to make field changes,” he said.

“If they want to stock the shelves, I don’t have a problem with that,” board member Colleen Bradley said. “But no retail…we’ve had a lot of issues with this property and I don’t think we should open it to anything.”

Marmora was pushing to have the open prior to the 7-Eleven.

The gas station and the convenience store were required to open together, Nicole Casale of the zoning office previously said.

“We can’t make field changes when it’s associated with a use variance,” Gannon said.

“I don’t think the board should take an opinion on [a temporary Certificate of Occupancy],” Chairman Tim McDonald said. “Sure, I would like to see people working but we don’t have the authority… this board would be remiss in its duties to render an opinion.”

The applicant will be back in front of the Board of Adjustment on Monday, March 5 at 7 p.m. before it can finally open.