County Line Shoppes gains planners' nod
BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer

JACKSON — The Planning Board has approved an application which proposes the construction of a 23,000-square-foot shopping center, County Line Shoppes.

The new shopping center will be on County Line Road, just west of Harmony Road, between a Walgreens pharmacy and a Sunrise assisted living facility. It is expected to include a bank (5,400 square feet) and retail stores (17,600 square feet).

The application was approved Oct. 6.

The board's engineer, Douglas Klee, said no variances are required. He said the applicant had a soil survey made that indicated there are no wetlands on the site, and noted that an environmental impact statement was submitted. The property is outside of any flood hazard area and there will be public water and sewer service.

Attorney Harvey L. York said the project is moving forward in what have been called difficult economic times.

"We're here tonight to tell you that we are looking at a $5 million ratable," York said, adding that some design waivers were being requested. The waivers dealt with items such as landscape islands and signs. "The basic structure and the lot conform and seek no variances. We are doing this in difficult economic times and we're trying to make the site work."

York said Klee had suggested the entire site could be a shopping center.

"Well, we are very happy to be here to do what we can do," York said. "We're not developing the balance of this site even if it were better economic times, because this is a difficult site which is short on frontage and very deep."

York said it is not known exactly which bank will go into the shopping center.

"These are difficult times, but what does a $5 million project mean? Ratables and jobs," he said.

He said there will be a change to the site that the Jackson Police Department requested. A curved island will replace the painted island where the site is adjacent to Walgreens. That change will prevent traffic from going from the shopping center back to Walgreens. Traffic will, however, be able to go from Walgreens to the County Line Shoppes area.

The entire project has been scaled down from the original 125,000-square-foot proposal.

Testifying on behalf of the applicant, engineer William A. Stevens, of Professional Design Services, Toms River, said the site is on the north side of County Line Road adjoining the existing Walgreens pharmacy on the east and on the west is the Sunrise assisted living facility.

"Access to and from the site can be made on County Line Road through the existing Walgreen's driveway and there will be a secondary access from the Sunrise development," Stevens said.

The bank and a doughnut shop will have drive-up service. There is a loading zone at the rear of the retail stores. Stevens said an adequate number of parking spaces will be provided.

There is a substantially landscaped area between the Sunrise assisted living facility and the proposed retail site, he said.

No landscaping is proposed along the front of the building.

Stevens pointed out there is an Ocean County easement for drainage along County Line Road, as well as a Jackson Township Municipal Utilities Authority easement for sewers, and therefore no landscaping was proposed on County Line Road at the front side of the site.

York said the applicant was willing to add a low type of landscaping with about six trees dispersed throughout.

Under questioning from the board's planner about possibly rearranging the buildings, York said if the applicant cannot secure a bank or other tenants he will not build the project.

"The economy is the economy," the attorney said. "This applicant is the one who built ShopRite and he is not new to Jackson. Somebody has to pay the bills."

Stevens said there will be landscaping on the traffic islands and a double row of evergreens at the rear of the site near a residential area.

David A. Hellman, director of acquisition and development for Pasbjerg Development Company, Springfield, the management company for County Line Realty, the owner and applicant for the project, said the project was once approved for a 125,000-square-foot shopping center.

"After Walgreen's went in we saw a concern for a major impact for the neighborhood and we elected to pursue an alternate option," Hellman said. "We sold [Sunrise] their portion of the property."

Hellman said he wanted to develop something with a low impact that would complement Walgreen's.

Traffic engineer John Rea, testifying on behalf of the applicant, said there are two right in/right out entrance and exit points. One access will be shared with Walgreen's and one access will be shared with Sunrise. He said there will not be any new access points created on County Line Road.

The flow of traffic around the project works and has been tested by emergency vehicles, he said.

Architect Thomas Brennan described the style of the building as a one-story center and said he designed an exciting center with attractive elements including stone, stucco and a metal roof.

Board members then voted to approve the project.

Hellman said he expects construction to begin in the spring.