Senior citizens, many of whom live in the Holiday Village East 55-and-over community, packed the meeting room at Mount Laurel municipal offices to oppose Mavis Discount Tire's application to open a store next to their neighborhood.
A couple of times on Wednesday night Christopher Gray stopped the Mount Laurel zoning board meeting he was chairing to good-naturedly request that the standing-room-only crowd avoid applauding or making other noise.
While the room full of mostly senior citizens kept any clapping to a minimum, the occasional gasp, groan or scoff erupted every now and then as the older residents listened to representatives of Mavis Discount Tire, which has applied to build an eight-bay store within 228 feet of their Holiday Village East neighborhood, which is restricted to residents 55 and older.Â
They came to protest the Mavis application for a use variance, which is needed because the automotive shop is not a permitted use on the former bank property at Morning Glory Drive and Union Mill Road in the Neighborhood Commercial zone.Â
"Our position is not simply a NIMBY (not in my backyard) position," Rocco Palmieri, president of the Holiday Village East Board of Directors, told the zoning board.
The proposed Mavis use does not fit the zoning plan for the area, Palmieri said, adding that those who live in the 963 homes in Holiday Village East co-exist well with the Towne Square Shopping Center, which includes a ShopRite supermarket. Palmieri contended the addition of a Mavis store at the edge of the shopping center would change that relationship.
Palmieri's board hired land-use lawyer Henry Chou, a partner in the Hill Wallack LLP Princeton office, to be a formal intervenor in the Zoning Board of Adjustment application process. While members of the public can testify about applications at the public hearing, a lawyer as intervenor can question applicants during their presentation to the board.
Emphasizing that the Mavis Tire store is prohibited by zoning law, Chou told the board: "Noise is an issue that should be considered."
Chou also told board members that his clients had issues with the Mavis Tire property potentially discharging stormwater into Holiday Village retention ponds and also how deliveries from tires to oil to towed vehicles would be handled.Â
Other concerns brought up by Chou or the public at the hearing included increased traffic, pollution and potential hazards from stored used tires and oil.
The board's planner also brought up a 1989 Township resolution that dictates the appearance of commercial buildings at the shopping center. The Mavis representatives seemed surprised by the appearance requirements.
Realizing many questions needed answers, including the appearance of a new building, Mavis asked to postpone further discussion to a future meeting. The board moved the application to the January 14 zoning meeting.
Noise was a standout issue with residents and others.Â
Many Mavis Discount stores in South Jersey are near or on major highways. In Cherry Hill, Mavis is on Route 70, in West Berlin, on Route 73; in Delran, on Route 130; in Mount Holly, on Route 38; in Mount Ephraim, on the Black Horse Pike and in Magnolia, on the White Horse Pike.
Residents feared the noise made by air guns and other tools would travel into their neighborhoods. The closest home would be 228 feet away from the proposed Mavis building.
A big worry was that Mavis Tire mechanics did their work with the bay doors open.
Initially, there was confusion during the Mavis Tire presentation over whether doors are kept shut. But board member Alan Kramer spoke up and said he visited Mavis stores in Cherry Hill and Maple Shade and the bay doors were open.
Mavis regional training manger Ellis Harris was called up to clear up questions about open doors and said that when the outside temperature is above 50 degrees, the doors are open. Below that, they are closed.
One woman testifying during the public session pulled out her phone and played a recording of noise she made at the eight-bay Mavis store near her second home in Somers Point.
When asked, Mavis representatives said they had not done a noise study and would prepare one for the January meeting.
Denise Lee, a 45-year Mount Laurel resident who now lives in Holiday Village East, said residents would have a difficult time tolerating noise from 8 a.m. into the early evening hours.Â
"This business will be an eyesore to the adjoining neighborhood," she told the board.
Added neighbor Harriet Insler: "Do not allow a business like this onto this property."
Other coverage of the Mavis Tire development by 70and73.com:
- Mavis Tire seeking Mount Laurel approval to build service center on Union Mill Road in shopping center.
- Mavis Tire to appear before Mount Laurel zoning board Wednesday for store in Towne Square Shopping Center.
The yellow circle shows the bank property near Union Mill Road and Morning Glory Drive in Mount Laurel where Mavis Discount Tire wants to build a store. The Holiday Village East development is to the right.
