Changes to lighting made at Walgreens pharmacy
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

Jackson

JACKSON — There have been some changes in regard to lighting at the new Walgreens pharmacy at the intersection of County Line and Harmony roads.

“We had a formal meeting on Nov. 17 with representatives from Walgreens,” Richard Megill, director of code enforcement and zoning officer, said during the Nov. 20 Planning Board meeting. “They agreed in principle to remove 11 awning lights from on top of the awnings of the building.”

Megill said Walgreens will also lower the parking lot lights by almost four feet and turn off the lights on a portion of the store sign on Harmony Road.

“The light that faces the parking lot light pole will have a shield on it,” he said. “So the light will not shine across the property at all. It will be pointed straight down.”

Additionally, he said 40-watt sconce lights which were not put on the building for lighting will be checked for violations of the light ordinance.

Megill said inadvertently Walgreens did something right.

“The original site plan approval for the building had six 1,000-watt spot lights on the light poles [which were expected] to shine on the store,” he explained. “In lieu of that, they decided to put up the 11 awning lights to shine on the building. They haven’t done either one now. They’ve taken both ideas off the board, although they could put those lights up on poles. [But,] they’re not.”

Megill said it is expected that the lighting at the site will be re-examined and additional meter readings will be made. He told the members of the Planning Board that there were never any violations at the location.

“We also addressed the interior lighting being left on overnight,” he reported. “That was something Walgreens didn’t know about and they didn’t want it being done. They contacted the manager to reset the computer system.”

Megill said representatives of the pharmacy chain are working with the township to resolve any issues that may arise.

“These things affected our neighbors and that just wasn’t right,” he said.

Planning Board member Blanche Krubner said she was happy to hear about the changes being made at the site. She said she intends to keep an eye on the situation as she drives by the store.