The planned warehouse is orange in the developer's plans. Most of the trees on the now-vacant and wooded land will be retained. The parking lot, upper left, has a driveway on Briggs Road. The intersection with Route 38 is in the upper left corner.
A large warehouse with 38 loading docks on vacant land off Briggs Road near the Route 38 intersection was approved by the Mount Laurel Planning Board on Thursday night, with only one resident objecting.
The 190,470-square-foot warehouse, which does not yet have a tenant, is a permitted use in the Township's industrial zone.
Board members voted to approve the application from developer Grey Park Briggs LLC of Watchung, New Jersey. The 31.8-acre property is owned by Medford Village East Associates LLC of Voorhees.
Mayor Stephen Steglik, a member of the board, voted in favor, based on the recommendations of the board's engineers and planners, he said, adding that he understands the frustrations of residents with the project, which came under fire on local Facebook pages. Adrienne Lewis was the sole vote against the project.
When a type of project — such as a warehouse — is specifically permitted under a town's zoning law, rejecting the application should reflect a board's concerns over evidence that the development would have significant negative impacts on the public. Rejected applications often end up in court.
One local resident, Sherry Ambrosini, who lives on Verona Lane in a townhome and apartment community off Briggs Road about half a mile from the project, told board members she was worried about the impact of trailer-truck traffic on the Briggs Road and Route 38 intersection.
Ambrosini, who said she recently moved into her home, said she also was concerned about the potential of noise from the warehouse's loading docks. She was the only member of the public testifying.
The developer's traffic engineer, Corey Chase of Dynamic Traffic LLC, told Ambrosini that he estimated that during a weekday's peak hours the warehouse will generate one trip from a truck every 10 minutes, or a total of six or seven trips during those hours.
A condition to the approval requires the warehouse owner to conduct a traffic count after it is built to determine if any changes, such as intersection improvements, are required.
"That addresses my concerns, but I'm not happy about it," Ambrosini told the board.
One of the key variances in the approval was the reduction of required parking spaces. The development required more than 600 spaces under the zoning law, but the board's professionals said the number seemed excessive.
They said the proposed 142 spaces with 47 more "banked" in a grassy area should be enough. If the 635 spaces were required, the impervious cover from a paved parking lot would need to increase substantially.
Plans also call for 189 trailer parking spaces on the property. The developer's representatives said the spaces for trailers — not the trucks — would be for short-term parking of between overnight or a couple of weeks.
READ MORE: Large warehouse proposed in Mount Laurel.
Part of the vacant land for the warehouse and its main driveway is on the left. This is Briggs Road looking north toward the Route 38 intersection.
The proposed 190,470-square-foot warehouse would go on Briggs Road on the property with the yellow borders. Another warehouse project, off Union Mill Road and Walton Avenue (yellow arrow) was initially denied and then ended up in court. As part of the settlement, the warehouse was approved by the Planning Board last August. However, that warehouse, at 66,000 square feet, is far smaller than the latest one proposed.
