Owner of Forked River House Plaza Seeks to Install Solar Carports

Applicant George Mackres, owner of the Forked River House Plaza, will be back before the Planning Board on Monday at 7 p.m. as he seeks to add solar carports in the parking lot.

The applicant is seeking to install two solar carports to the south of the building, totaling 318 solar panels. Mackres would also have solar panels installed on the roof.

The shopping center would not lose any parking and there would not be any change to offsite runoff, engineer Jason Marciano said.

The solar carports will produce 150,000 kWh a year, Nick Mackres of Easy Energy New Jersey LLC said. The average store uses about 5,000 kWh a year while restaurants use about 300,000 to 400,000 kWh per year.

In December, members of the Planning Board asked Mackres to relocate the carports but he said it would not be as financially productive.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s a good spot for it,” Chairman Steven Kennis said. “It would probably be better out of the parking lot.”

The Planning Board voted to allow an amendment to site hours at the previous meeting.

The shopping center previously had hour restrictions to accommodate the high volume of customers at the Forked River House, board member Gary Quinn said.

“There is an existing parking shortage,” attorney Jason Marciano said.

The site needs 134 spaces but has 127. Due to the lack of spaces, the shopping center could not be open after 7 p.m.

With a new tenant opening, Mackres was looking to amend site hours so the martial arts business can remain open for classes in the evening.

The parking lot is typically busy after 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings, Mackres said. Amending the site hours will not impact parking at those times.

The board voted to amend site hours so the shopping center can remain open until 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and until 7 p.m. on Saturday.