Bank would be first to rise at County Line Road site
BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer

JACKSON - Members of the Planning Board are considering a plan that would see a bank, a restaurant, offices and retail stores constructed on the northeast corner at County Line and Harmony roads in a Highway Commercial (HC) zone.

The application was filed by CNLRS. It was heard on Nov. 19 and is scheduled to be continued at the board's Dec. 17 meeting.

Planning Board engineer Douglas Klee said the application seeks preliminary and final site plan approval. CNLRS is proposing to construct a shopping center with two buildings and a total of 9,400 square feet of floor area. The plans include a 4,200-square-foot bank, a 3,600-square-foot retail building and a 1,200- square-foot restaurant with a drive-up window.

Klee said there are some environmental constraints and some wetlands on the property, as well as the South Branch of the Metedeconk River.

"Public water and sewer will need approval from the Jackson Township Municipal Utilities Authority," Klee said. "The applicant will have to submit a formal description of operations disclosing the uses and a formal traffic impact study, as well as any impact to the adjacent property."

Architectural renderings have been submitted for the bank, but none have been submitted for the retail/office and restaurant building.

Klee said there are also sign variances requested.

The board's planner, Alan Dittenhofer, said, "The applicant is in compliance with the permitted uses in the HC zone. With respect to the master plan, it will serve as a prime area for shopping for residents. The applicant's construction of a bank, office/ retail and a restaurant is within the intended master plan."

Attorney Robert Shea, representing CNLRS, said the applicant had a previous application before the board and since then there have been changes in the area, resulting in a diminished use of the property, which resulted in 2-plus acres being available for use out of the 10-acre property.

"We are seeking approval for an approximately 4,600-square-foot bank," Shea said. "It will be a JP Morgan Chase bank. For Phase II of the project we are seeking just a footprint approval for a retail store and a restaurant yet to be determined."

Project engineer Robert J. Chankalian said the bank would have two drive-up lanes and a bypass lane.

"Phase II would be a 3,600-square-foot retail component building attached to a 1,200-square-foot drive-up restaurant," he said. "The subject property has several existing buildings and barns. There is a jughandle to the southeast. The Metedeconk River traverses the property to the east and it is proposed that there will be a 300-foot buffer" from the river.

Chankalian said the applicant is proposing to have two entrances/exits: a right turn in, right turn out access on North County Line Road, and an access point on the side of the property for a right turn out, full access in.

"The township ordinance only permits one freestanding sign per shopping center,"

the engineer said. "We're seeking

approval for two signs, one to the west of the entrance

on County Line Road and

one to the south of the

entrance on Harmony

Road."

He said there will be

some small directional

signs for the bank's driveup

window.

Chankalian noted that the state Department of Environmental Protection has established that there are wetlands on the site and has imposed a 50-foot buffer in regard to the wetlands.

With regard to traffic, a traffic report indicates the bank will generate about 57 trips in the morning and 210 in the weekday afternoon. The traffic service rating for the driveway will be at level B for the next two years and a projected level C outward to 2026 (on a traffic rating scale of A to F, with A being the best level of service and F being the worst level of service).

The eastbound lane on Harmony Road will be widened to a width of 25 feet from the island to the curb, an increase of about 5 feet.

A lighting plan has been submitted and the applicant's representatives said there should not be any glare for residents.

Board member Dan Burke suggested that the lighting should be softer.

Regarding landscaping, board Vice Chairman Todd Porter said he would like to see full-size trees planted and not a bunch of sticks.

Testifying on behalf of the applicant, James T. Lalli, of JRS Architect, Princeton, referred to a diagram of the bank's floor plan and said it is a one-story JP Morgan Chase bank of about 3,600 square feet. There will not be safe deposit boxes at this branch, he said. There will be a 24- hour security system with cameras and alarms. At automated teller machine will be at the rear of the building.

Board members Emily Ingram and Eileen Tobasco questioned the location and safety of that feature.

Lalli said that 90 percent of the time the automated tellers wind up in the back of the bank. He said the area is well illuminated and there is 24-hour camera security.