Developer's plan to raze the Cherry Hill Diner, build car wash, approved by Planning Board.

The days are numbered for the iconic diner that for 58 years has stood on the Church Road Circle at Route 38 in Cherry Hill.

Cherry Hill Diner, once known as the Windsor Diner, will be torn down and a car wash will replace it, according to a developer's proposal that was approved at a Tuesday night meeting of the Township Planning Board.

A car wash is a permitted use under local zoning law for the property at 840 Cooper Landing Road, so the choice of a car wash was not subject to debate by board members.

However, when 70and73.com on January 4 first disclosed plans to demolish the diner, a wave of negative opinion swept over local Facebook pages and other social media, with posters wondering why another historic New Jersey diner had to be lost and others asking if Cherry Hill needs another car wash.

Some nostalgically recalled the times they had eaten at the diner over the years 

"Cherry Hill needs another car wash like it needs a hole in the head!!? Come on people, we are the diner state!!!!," one woman said in the 70and73.com comments space.

The board does not have jurisdiction to tell a developer the use when it is a permitted use, explained board Chair John Osorio.

"I, for one, will miss the diner," Osorio told the board. "I was a customer of the diner for over 20 years."

After hearing lengthy testimony, board members voted 5-2 in favor of the application after midnight.

Sheila Griffith and Anne Madden Tufano were the two "no" votes.

Voting in favor, with some members saying they did so reluctantly but also acknowledging that a car wash is a permitted use, were Osorio, Tina Truitt-O’Neal, Samuel Kates, Marlyn Kalitan and Richard Rivera.

Longtime diner operator Dimitrios Manetas of Greek Trio LLC of Mansfield, New Jersey, is the current owner of the property, which is about a mile from the Cherry Hill Mall.

Michael McGrath, vice president of development for PJ Land Development, based in Farmingdale, Long Island, told board members his firm is working with Georgia-based Tidal Wave Auto Spa and its New Jersey expansion plans.

Tidal Wave operates more than 100 car washes and is one of the largest express car wash operators in the nation, McGrath said. In 1999, Scott Blackstock and Hope Blackstock added a car wash to their Thomaston, Georgia, auto service center and Tidal Wave has grown from there, according to the company's website.

In December, PJ Land Development got board permission to build a Tidal Wave car wash at 2301-2311 Route 70 in Cherry Hill. Several former homes now holding small offices will be demolished for that car wash on the eastbound lane of Route 70.

The Cooper Landing Road Tidal Wave car wash will be about 120 feet across the street from the older-style Auto Shine Express car wash at 833 Cooper Landing Road.

Both the entrance and exit driveways for Tidal Wave will be on Cooper Landing Road. Cherry Hill Diner now fronts on Route 38 — with a driveway, parking and a standalone sign at the front.

However, the developer's representatives said that frontage is on a small lot owned by the state Department of Transportation and does not belong to the diner's owner. Plans show the small DOT-owned lot will be covered by grass.

The car wash will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, according to the developer's representatives.

Several residents and others testified, objecting to the Tidal Wave plans.

Daniel Flamini of Haddon Heights, testifying he represented the owners of the Colonials Apartment Homes on Cooper Landing Road, said he was concerned about noise from the car wash.

Residents in the six-story apartment building, about 200 feet from the car wash site, will be disturbed by the noise of vacuums, car dryers and customers playing music as they vacuum their vehicles, he said.

Flamini said many residents are seniors who keep their windows open in the summer.

The developer said it would provide a noise study to the board.

"My biggest concern is the traffic," said resident Anne Einhorn, of Edgemoor Road. "That is a disaster in the making."

Resident Martha Wright, who lives on Munn Lane, said she was concerned about the request for a minimum parking setback of five feet, when 20 feet are required.

She said she also has lighting and landscaping concerns about the car wash property.