The warehouse will occupy part of the acreage owned by the applicant (shown in yellow border). Trucks will be directed to enter and exit from only the site at the red marker and travel only north (up, on the photo) on Walton Avenue because a bridge to the south cannot handle the weight.Â
Abiding by an out-of-court settlement, the Mount Laurel Planning Board on Thursday night unanimously approved a scaled-back plan to build a warehouse off Union Mill Road.
A unanimous vote last November against the project was challenged in state Superior Court in Burlington County early this year by developer Union Mill Road LLC of Wilton, Connecticut. The project, a permitted use under Township zoning law, will be located next to the Brightview Senior Living complex on a heavily wooded property.
The board's traffic concerns following hours of testimony against the project by neighbors, sparked the original denial. However, both the Township and the developer agreed to settle the dispute.
Previously:Â Planning Board unanimously denies plan for warehouse.
Rendering of the warehouse.
Union Mill's lawyer, Robert S. Baranowski Jr., of the Hyland Levin Shapiro firm in Marlton, outlined the conditional settlement agreement for the board.
The size of the warehouse has been reduced to 66,000 square feet from the 76,000 proposed in last year's application, Baranowski explained. Of the total, 7,500 square feet will be office space.
The number of loading docks also was reduced sharply, to eight from the original 24.
The developer's representatives on Thursday night said that fewer loading docks should reduce truck traffic.
Truck traffic was the basis last year for most of the objections from residents who testified before the board. No one from the public commented on the plan at Thursday's meeting.
Trucks will be directed to use only a Walton Avenue exit and entrance. The drivers will be allowed to exit only to the north on Walton Avenue because a bridge to the south has low weight limits.Â
Baranowski told board members the street address of the project had been changed from Union Mill Road to Walton Avenue so GPS does not direct truckers to Union Mill Road.
A driveway that will be shared with Brightview will be used only for car traffic.
The only waiver approved was to reduce the immediate number of parking spaces to be built, with the majority of them "banked" and to be added only if needed.
The site plan for the Union Mill warehouse. The yellow arrow points to the truck entrance and exit driveways.
