BRICK – White Castle could be coming to Brick, and construction should begin in September, pending Planning Board approval of its final site plan.
Their attorney Louis L. D’Arminio and engineer David H. Boesch came before the June 14 Board of Adjustment meeting to ask for an extension of a preliminary site plan that expires on June 28.
Planning Board Attorney Harold Hensel said the preliminary site plan approval is good for three years, and then an applicant can apply for two one-year extensions.
“The reason for extensions could be that it’s taken time to get CAFRA approvals, or county approvals…and the only revisions that would affect [the site plan] are for public health or safety,” Hensel said.
D’Arminio outlined the history of the White Castle application that dates back to July 2013 when a preliminary plan was approved for the fast food restaurant to be located between the Outback Restaurant and Investors Bank, on the site of the former Lukoil Gas Station on Chambers Bridge Road.
He said that there have been a number of legal issues, or “craziness” regarding cleanup from the former gas station there.
“For two years the cleanup was in limbo, and finally someone stepped up to the plate,” D’Arminio said.
Monitoring wells were to be located where the restaurant was going to be built, so that needed to be overturned and resolved, and it was when the monitoring wells were relocated, he said, but then they had to renegotiate the lease.
There were also driveway issues with Investors Bank, who said they didn’t want to share a driveway with White Castle. “We just needed some access,” D’Arminio said. “It prompted us to revise our plan.”
There were also county issues, the attorney said, because officials wanted a better site line exiting the restaurant onto the county road, but due to the conflict with Investors Bank it became a Catch-22, he said.
Just recently, Investors Bank has agreed that the White Castle could move their driveway to the other side, closer towards the Outback, so it lines up with the shopping center lane, D’Arminio said.
“We’ll still need your approval, and then we’ll go back to the county to get their approval for the site line easements,” he said.
Boesch, who was the project manager for the preliminary plan, said that once construction begins it could take as little as four months to complete, which is how long it took to build the White Castle in Eatontown.
The Planning Board approved the one-year extension of the preliminary site plan, which expires on July 1, 2018.
The final site plan for the Chambers Bridge Road White Castle application should be presented at the June 28 Planning Board meeting.
Public Works Building Approved
In other Planning Board news, a storage facility for new 95-gallon robo-cans used for trash and recycling in town was approved for the Department of Public Works on Ridge Road.
Township Engineer Elissa Commins said that DPW Director Glenn Campbell asked for the building when residents complained that new garbage cans looked old since they are currently being stored outdoors.
The board approved the 74.5-foot-by-25.5 foot steel pop-up building that would be assembled by DPW workers. The building would be located at the same site where they are presently stored, onsite at the DPW about 30 feet from the property line, and 150 feet from the closest building, Commins said.
New High School Track
Also during the planning board, Netta Architects presented the new running track planned for Brick Township High School. Engineer Jason Pollard said they would strip the existing surface, demolish the asphalt underneath the track and the triple jump runway and, keeping the exact same footprint, replace the six-lane, 400-meter oval track in accordance with all high school track regulations, he said.
They would also renovate the long triple jump runway, the high jump area and make other improvements, he said. They would re-use existing sandpits, Pollard added.
