Kudos to every Borough resident who cared enough to share his or her thoughts with the Zoning Board – or at least show up for Chatham Borough – about a bid to waive 19 zoning laws to add a convenience store to the gas station at the chaotic intersection of Main Street and Hillside Avenue.
You are the heart and soul of this small town.
On May 30, our Borough Zoning Board granted that application, unwittingly nudging the Borough one step further toward becoming a gritty little city.
NEW Revised HEARING DATE: May 30, 2024, 7:00 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue.
Imagine this: You’re a rich NJ gasoline distributor who owns more than 70 gas stations. You aim to get even richer by adding a busy convenience store to the Exxon station at the already congested, chaotic, and dangerous intersection of Main Street and Hillside Avenue.
You can’t add that convenience store unless you and your army of paid experts can persuade at least 5 members of the Chatham Borough Zoning Board to waive 19 laws to allow it. What do you do?
You do what the rich gas distributor did at last night’s Zoning Board meeting: Have his lawyer cap off his case with helpful testimony by Chatham’s very own traffic expert, who is paid by taxpayers.
That’s right. Last night, the big gas distributor called the Board’s traffic expert in to testify. The Zoning Board permitted residents to question him, but not to question the distributor’s own paid traffic expert, who was allowed to chime in from time to time with impunity.
Rest assured that this is not over. Not yet.
Before the Board votes on this proposal, the public will have a chance to express their views about adding a busy convenience store to an already congested, chaotic, and dangerous intersection. At the end of that session, the Board will hold an up or down vote.
Please seize this opportunity to show you care, get the facts, and have your say. Or at least hear what your neighbors have to say about this radical change.
Come to the public comment session on May 30, 7:00 pm (yes, that’s 7:00) at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue. Enter by the side door. Take the elevator to the upper level.
April Fools!
This April 16, come on down to Borough Hall to hear from the traffic expert the new Exxon owner has paid to convince our Zoning Board there’s no harm in adding a busy convenience store to the gas station at the already chaotic corner of Main Street and Hillside Avenue.*
April 16, 7:30 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, Chatham. (Use the side entrance and take the elevator to the Upper Level.) https://www.chathamborough.org/
Will the Board vote that night? It’s possible.
This could be your last chance to get the facts and have your say before they make their final decision.
April 16, 7:30 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, Chatham. (Use the side entrance and take the elevator to the Upper Level.) https://www.chathamborough.org/
*The author has elected to abstain from participating in or voting on this matter in her capacity as an alternate member of the Historic Preservation Commission.
Ever traveled through the intersection of Main Street & Hillside Avenue in Chatham Borough?*
Then you know those old streets are narrow and misaligned, making navigating the intersection confusing, chaotic, and dangerous.**
Knowing all that, our Zoning Board must nonetheless consider waiving a whole slew of our laws to allow the new Exxon owner to add a busy convenience store that would make that intersection even worse without doing any good for Chatham.
That vote could happen as soon as February 29, when the Zoning Board will hold a special 7 pm hearing on multiple variances the new Exxon owner needs to add that convenience store to the Main Street Exxon station.
What can you do about that? Plenty.
First, come join your neighbors and friends at the special 7 pm Zoning Board hearing on February 29 at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue. (Use the side entrance and take the elevator to the upper level.)
Second, ask the Zoning Board the total number of additional cars and trucks that will cross our sidewalks to get in and out of the Exxon site each day, in a day, during current peak traffic hours AND during the extended service hours of the proposed store, from 6 to 8 am and from 6 to 11 pm, when the current service station garage is closed.
Ask them to consider what effect that additional sidewalk traffic could have on pedestrians and cyclists on our Main Street, an important concern under our Master Plan.
Ask the Applicant’s Professional Planner if he would support construction of a similar enterprise at a busy corner near his own home.
Questions? E-mail [email protected]
* Police crash reports for 2018 through 2023 show that Hillside is the worst of the three big Main Street intersections, including also North & South Passaic and Lafayette/VanDoren.
**The author has chosen to abstain from participating in deliberations concerning, or voting on, this proposal in her capacity as an alternate member of the Historic Preservation Commission.
True or false? The new owner of the Exxon station at the corner of Hillside and Main has the right to add a convenience store on his property?*
False. The new Exxon owner has no such right. His proposal to add a convenience store there violates at least 18 Chatham zoning rules.
Adding a store there would also add traffic, delays, deliveries, crashes, pollution, noise, litter, and garbage to an already busy, chaotic, and dangerous intersection.
That would be a problem for everyone who lives in, works in, or drives through the Hillside neighborhood of Chatham Borough.
Fortunately, before the new Exxon owner can carry out his plans, he must convince our Zoning Board to grant several special exceptions from the normal zoning laws. Here are links to his applications:
Our Zoning Board should have no trouble saying no to that. At least two NJ towns have recently turned down similar proposals, as you can see here:
But will our Zoning Board have the courage to say NO?
Will our Zoning Board have on record the evidence necessary to make its decision stick on appeal?
Can Chatham residents help?
Yes, but we must act now, while there’s still time to get the necessary evidence on the record before the Zoning Board decides.
After that, it will be almost impossible to stop the new convenience store, which will bring more traffic, deliveries, crashes, litter, noise, pollution, and garbage into the already dangerously chaotic intersection.
What can you do? Plenty!
First, consider chipping in to help your neighbors and friends hire a good lawyer who can make sure the Zoning Board gets all the evidence necessary to make the right decision stick on appeal.
Unless we get enough pledges soon, we won’t be able to hire a lawyer. Without a lawyer, we’ll be gambling on our future. So if you don’t want a convenience store clogging up the corner of Hillside and Main St, please asap e-mail your pledge to: [email protected]
Second, at the very least, join your neighbors and friends at the special Zoning Board meeting set for Tuesday, January 30, 7 PM, at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue. (Use the north side entrance and take the elevator to the upper level.)
Please note that the Zoning Board has announced that there will be NO further public notice of hearings in connection with this Exxon application.
Questions? E-mail [email protected]
* The author has chosen not to participate in, or vote on, the application in her capacity as an alternate member of the Historic Preservation Commission.
PS The new owner sidestepped a significant part of the review process by chopping down a healthy tree before the Zoning Board could hear his application. https://chathamchoice.org/2023/10/gone/ Despite documentary proof that he wanted that tree gone, his engineer testified that cutting it down was the result of a misunderstanding.
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.)
*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
Are you satisfied with the number of cars and trucks on Main Street?
Would you like to see more vehicles? More crashes?
Did you know our Zoning Board is considering waiving the rules in a way that would probably achieve just that?*
Get the facts at the public hearing set for this Wednesday, Dec. 20, 7:30 pm at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue. (Use the north entrance & take the elevator to the upper level.)
Zoom https://chathamborough.org/resident/calendar/zoning-board-2-1703723400
(Yes, the hearing is less than a week before Christmas! No, that doesn’t give residents much chance to ask questions or make comments. Can the Zoning Board postpone the hearing? You’ll have to ask them. Email the Borough Administrator, [email protected])
Don’t you just love driving through the intersection of Main Street and Hillside Avenue, past the Exxon station?
Don’t you just love the narrow, misaligned streets? The challenge of turning left – or even right – without a crash?
Do you think it’s safe for a 12-year-old to cross there alone? Is it even safe for an adult?
Would you like to see more cars and trucks trying to navigate that tricky intersection, where children must cross on their way to school?
Would you like to see more cars and trucks crisscrossing the sidewalk to get gas at the Exxon station? No?
How about a stream of cars and trucks crossing the sidewalk to enter and exit the new convenience store (with bright lights, long hours, probably more litter, noise, and maybe some loiterers) that would replace the friendly car repair shop we’ve trusted for decades – and that currently closes at 6:00 pm?
Our Zoning Board is considering waiving the normal zoning rules to allow the new owner of the Exon station to do just that.
See for yourself, starting at pages 22 and 82: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/chathamborough/0bd700aa-3c52-11ee-9e9a-0050569183fa-21f92362-28af-4727-9270-fd5a12163dfa-1702391290.pdf
Check out the latest, starting on page 21: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/chathamborough/0bd700aa-3c52-11ee-9e9a-0050569183fa-21f92362-28af-4727-9270-fd5a12163dfa-1702931991.pdf
Wouldn’t that kind of place detract from our Historic District?
Why would they even consider taking such a risk without first correcting the street misalignment that makes that corner so tricky?
The corner indicated in red is not part of the Exxon lot. It is property of the Borough that could be used to better align the streets, improve traffic flow, and likely reduce accidents. (Amateur markup of Borough Tax map sheet 27)
The Zoning Board shouldn’t approve the Exxon proposal absent strong proof that it would serve Chatham Borough in some clear way, and wouldn’t undermine the purposes of our zoning laws or Master Plan. https://chathamborough.org/boards/zone
The hearing on that proposal is set for this Wednesday, December 20. This is your chance to get the facts and have your say.
Don’t wait until it’s too late to make a difference.
If you cannot get the public Zoning Board hearing postponed until after the holidays, come to the hearing this Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 7:30 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, take the elevator to the upper level.
https://chathamborough.org/resident/calendar/zoning-board-2-1703723400
You know the tall evergreen tree at the NW corner of the Main Street Exxon station, near Liberty Drug, in the Historic District?*
c. July 2023
That healthy Exxon evergreen tree is gone, chopped down a few days ago!
October 11, 2023
Exactly how that happened is a mystery.
Most trees near our streets are deemed Borough trees, under the protection of the Shade Tree Commission.
https://chathamborough.org/boards/tree
The Borough Code forbids chopping down even private trees without a good reason – and a permit – if the trunk exceeds 6” in diameter.
https://ecode360.com/33840218#33840218
Chopping down trees in the Historic District is specifically discouraged by Historic Preservation Guidelines (pp 39-40) which provide that:
Despite all that protection, that Exxon evergreen tree vanished on or about 10/10/23.
So what happened to the Exxon evergreen? Here’s what we know:
Will the Historic Preservation Commission and Zoning Board properly address the new owner’s flagrant flouting of the normal procedures for reviewing variance applications, or will they let it pass, in effect condoning similar behavior in the future?
https://ecode360.com/6793799https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNv8iODCAwE
*The author has elected to abstain from participating in or voting on this matter in her capacity as an alternate member of the Commission.
** The new Exxon owner postponed the Zoning Board hearing on his variance application to the November 15 meeting of the Zoning Board, but as of October 25, it appears the application won’t be heard until the December 20 Zoning Board meeting because the next HPC meeting isn’t until November 21. https://chathamborough.org/resident/calendar/zoning-board-2-1698276600
*** See meeting video, starting approx. minute 58:50. https://vimeo.com/875962789
Will our Zoning Board waive the usual rules and allow the new owner of the Exxon gas station to swap out the garage for a Tigermart convenience store?
Background: https://chathamchoice.org/2023/07/how-convenient/
With the hearing on that application set for October 25, the owner isn’t taking any chances. Last week, he polished up his proposal, with a new design.
Though not yet posted on the Borough website, the new design addresses some shortcomings identified by the Historic Preservation Commission at its September public meeting.*
One such concern was the fate of the tall, lovely evergreen at the NW corner of the lot.
After the HPC expressed its concerns, that tree vanished, down to the roots.
Will the Historic Preservation Commission accept that? We’ll find out at the Commission’s October 17 public meeting. Here are the standards:
Whatever the HPC recommends, the ultimate fate of the proposed Tigermart convenience store is in the hands of the Zoning Board.
https://chathamborough.org/boards/zone
The Zoning Board hearing on the Exxon application is set for October 25, 7:30 pm on the upper level of Borough Hall at 54 Fairmount Avenue.
https://chathamborough.org/resident/calendar/zoning-board-2-1698276600
This hearing is your chance to get the facts, ask questions, and comment on the proposal BEFORE the Zoning Board decides whether or not to waive our normal zoning rules to allow the addition of a convenience store to the Main Street Exxon station. Everyone is welcome to attend.
* The author has elected not to vote or otherwise participate in this matter in her capacity as an alternate commissioner.