SPRINGFIELD, NJ -- After more than a year of testimonies, revisions and delays, the Springfield Board of Adjustment Tuesday night unanimously denied an application to build a Chick-fil-A Restaurant at the corner of Hillside Avenue and Route 22 West.
All seven members of the Board of Adjustment voted to deny the bid for the drive-thru chain establishment at the location that has housed a Barnes & Noble Bookseller for the last 30 years.
In her summation, Jodi Cohen, who chairs the Board of Adjustment, said, "I appreciate the presentation. I appreciate everything that the applicant has done to work with the concerns, with our professionals, and to address all of the concerns that the board has. However, I agree with the board members here that it really just comes down to the use, and whether or not the use is suitable and appropriate for this particular site."
Cohen said the combination of potential traffic backups with the location adjacent to a residential neighborhood on Hillside Avenue ultimately outweighed the potential benefits the new business might have.
"I think that a drive-thru is an intense use to be next to a residential area--adjacent to. I think there is noise that comes along with it," Cohen said, "I think that there is a lot of debris that comes along with it, and I think that (with) this particular applicant, there is a lot of traffic that comes along with it--and traffic that could sit on Hillside Avenue, a residential thruway. If it were not for the proximity to the residential (area), perhaps I would think differently."
Stephen Hehl, a Union-based attorney, had given extensive testimony during several Board of Adjustment meetings in the last year on behalf of the applicant. Everyone on the board who spoke Tuesday night complemented Hehl on his preparation and cooperation, but they all voted no.
"I do not believe that the burden has been met based on the evidence and the testimony that I have heard," Cohen said. "Based on everything that has been presented, I think that the benefits on this site do not outweigh the detriments. ... I also don't believe it is consistent with our master plan. For these reasons, I am not in favor of approving this use. I am making a motion to deny."
Harris Laufer, the vice-chairman of the Board of Adjustment, said, "For me, it comes down to the use variance."
Board member Rajeh A. Saadeh said he was concerned about "whether and to what extent this fits in with this location's plan and our land-use ordinance. I don't think we have a fast-food restaurant with a drive-thru. This would be the first one (in Springfield). What kind of impact would that have on what Springfield is, is fundamentally the question. The presentation has addressed everything except the parking to my satisfaction."
Prior to the board's final decision to deny, Hehl said, "This is a win-win not just for the area, but for the township in general." Hehl added, "The days of bookstores and retail outlets, unfortunately, are changing to more service-oriented (businesses)."
No public comment was permitted on this application at Tuesday night's meeting, but the members of the public who did come forward to speak on the potential presence of the Chick-fil-A opening at that location in other meetings earlier this year almost all spoke out against the Board of Adjustment giving its approval, citing potential noise, traffic and safety issues that its presense would pose.