Wells Fargo Threatens Litigation Citing Planning Board’s ‘Unlawful’ Requests

The township could face litigation after the Planning Board approved a resolution that would require the Wells Fargo on Lacey Road to adhere to conditions that the bank’s attorney considered “irrelevant” to the application.

for a minor site plan that would install five lighting fixtures at the bank but the board also asked the applicant to add eight to 10 shade trees along its property, install a trash enclosure and drop the freestanding sign to a ground mounted sign.

“It was an application that requires no variance relief; no waivers were required in connection with the subject's development. It completely complies with the requirements of your ordinance,” attorney Keith Davis said.

The applicant submitted a letter to the board on May 25 stating that the conditions imposed by the board were “unlawful.”

“All of the conditions that were imposed by the board last month don’t relate in any way to the lighting fixtures that are being provided as part of the subject's development,” he said.

Because the application did not require variances or waivers, the board’s review is somewhat limited, he said. The conditions have to relate to the applicant’s requests.

Davis asked the board to eliminate those conditions.

In May, Wells Fargo agreed to provide a trash enclosure around the dumpsters on site and additional vegetation, Committeeman Gary Quinn said.

All other sites in town have trash enclosures and Wells Fargo is currently in violation, he said. Rather than sending the township’s code enforcement officer to the site and issuing violations, the board included the trash enclosure as a condition so the applicant could address the issue.

As for the vegetation, the original site plan application included more landscaping, Quinn said.

“We’re trying to take and bring that site into conformity,” he said.

As the Planning Board continues to examine the township Master Plan, a guiding document on land use and development, one of conditions the board is imposing on applicants is the installation of a monument sign rather than freestanding.

Davis said the condition was “financially unreasonable.”

“We don’t want you to spend $10,000 on a sign. We want you to use the sign that’s there and drop the pedestal, which I don’t think will take an excessive amount of dollars to do it,” Quinn said.

Wells Fargo has two options—to file suit or not to do any improvements at all, Davis said.

It’s in the best interest of the community for the board to eradicate the additional conditions since the lighting improvements that Wells Fargo is seeking has a public safety impact.

The applicant said last month that the additional lighting is primarily for ATM use and is required by the state and Wells Fargo codes. The comany's banks are being improved throughout the country.

“It’s much better to have those lighting fixtures installed and operational so it’s a better lit site from the public safety perspective than what is out there today,” Davis said.

Quinn disagreed that the so-called financial burden of reducing the sign should be the deciding factor of whether Wells Fargo would provide lighting for its clients.

“I think Wells Fargo really has to revisit that because you certainly have an obligation to your customers to make sure your site is safe,” he said. 

The board approved the resolution unanimously.

In other news at the Planning Board meeting…

• The board gave the 7-Eleven on Lacey Road a site plan waiver and administrative approval to install concrete bollards.
• Sunrise Plaza, LLC was granted a site plan waiver and administrative approval to place two picnic tables with umbrellas outside of Sunrise Plaza for Sweet Kate’s Ice Cream, which is located at 249 North Main Street in Forked River.
• A resident at 120 Jones Road in Forked River was approved for a minor subdivision with variances. The resident sought to subdivide the current lot into two.

Conceptual Plan

A conceptual plan for a flea market that would be located behind the miniature golf course on Route 9 North was presented to the board.

The flea market would include indoor spaces in a building behind the Tenampa Mexican Restaurant and outdoor spaces on the go-kart track. There would be 110 paved parking spaces and 190 grass parking spaces.

The applicant who owns the mini golf course is short five parking spaces and would have to get a CAFRA approval to run the business, which isn’t worth the expense, he said. He added that the mini golf course is “economically unfeasible.”

Chairman Steven Kennis said he wouldn’t be in favor of grass parking while Quinn said he wouldn’t be in favor of the project altogether.

The applicant would have to come to the board with a full application, including traffic studies since it would be located off of Route 9 and open on the weekends, Quinn said.

The applicant said that the flea market was just an idea to utilize the property in the meantime while waiting to find another tenant.

The plan was conceptual seeking the board’s opinion and not an official application.