Bullet dodged?* | Hometown Chatham

Good news: The Zoning Board didn’t ok adding a convenience store to the Exxon station at the busy corner of Hillside & Main. Or rather they didn’t approve it at the December meeting.

But that doesn’t mean the Zoning Board won’t approve it on Tuesday, January 30, 2024, when the hearing on the Exxon application continues! (7:00 PM at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue)

That January 30 hearing may be your last chance to find out what’s going on and have your say before the Zoning Board votes to waive at least eighteen normal zoning rules for the sole benefit of the new owner of the Exxon station.∞

This hearing promises to be a fun one. We’re expecting to hear the new owner’s hired traffic expert testify that the intersection of Hillside and Main is ok, and can handle more cars and trucks on the road and darting in and out of the Exxon lot.

Please join your friends and neighbors at the hearing on the Exxon convenience store at 7 PM on January 30 at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue. (Use the side entrance and take the elevator to the upper level Council Chambers.)

How late will the new store stay open? Will it close at 10 pm, as the applicant’s engineer recently assured TapintoChatham? https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/sections/business-and-finance/articles/exxon-owner-returns-to-chatham-historic-preservation-commission-with-new-design-application-for-tiger-mart-convenience-store. Or will the store stay open until at least 11 pm, as the engineer admitted under oath at the hearing? (Start at approx. 2:13:05 and 2:50:10, where the engineer contradicts and cannot recall what he told the Tap.)

*The author has chosen to abstain from participating in or voting on this issue in her capacity as an alternate member of the Historic Preservation Commission.

∞ What rules does the new Exxon owner want waived? See p. 195 here: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/chathamborough/0bd700aa-3c52-11ee-9e9a-0050569183fa-21f92362-28af-4727-9270-fd5a12163dfa-1702931991.pdf