RE: (rshsdepot) Bad News: North Pemberton NJ Railroad Station

["Leetta Taylor" <sing4him3_@_comcast.net>]

Well guys, we fought the good fight.  The meeting room was packed with
people who did not want the Wawa.  There were so many, in fact, that we were
all limited to speak only 5 minutes.  Only four people spoke in favor of the
Wawa.  Only one member of the Zoning Board was with us.  The meeting didn't
let out until 1:00 AM.  We couldn't afford the lawyers that Wawa had, not
that it would have done us any good because this was all dirty politics.
What the people of Pemberton Township wanted didn't matter. A lot of angry
residents left the Municipal Building after the vote.  We did our best.
Thank you all for your encouragement and support these many months.
Lee Taylor,
Secretary PTHT

- -----Original Message-----
From: rshsdepot-owner_@_lists.railfan.net
[mailto:rshsdepot-owner_@_lists.railfan.net] On Behalf Of jdent1@optonline.net
Sent: Friday, July 22, 2005 9:26 AM
To: rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net; rshsdepot@lists.railfan.net
Subject: (rshsdepot) Bad News: North Pemberton NJ Railroad Station

Wawa wins OK for store
Friday, July 22, 2005 

By DONNA McARDLE 

PEMBERTON TOWNSHIP - The battle has been fought and Wawa won. Wednesday
night the zoning board voted to grant the variances Wawa Corp. needed to
build a superstore and gas station on the old Trilco site, next to the North
Pemberton train station. 

The vote ended almost two years of bickering and controversy over the fate
of the 9-acre parcel, bitterly dividing the community into those who favored
a commercial ratable and those who favored historic preservation and
expansion of the train station into a museum complex, using an $800,000
Green Acres grant as seed money. 

Both sides continued their arguments Wednesday night as the public had its
say on Wawa's proposal. 

Historic Trust President Mike Tamn urged Wawa to consider an alternative,
renovating their current store already operating across the street and
building a new gas station at a former Citgo site. 

Sketches of that alternative appealed to resident Helene Russ, who said,
"This is a really good compromise. They stay on one side of the street and
we stay on the other. We can have an opportunity to save history and to have
growth." 

Resident Rick Brown also argued against Wawa. 

"Redevelopment is key all around the state," he said. "There is not a lot of
good developable land in town. We already have a Wawa and gas station. If
you approve this, you still will have a Wawa and gas station. It will have
net zero effect." 

Wawa supporters also had their say. 

Derrick Daniels, who lives next door to the proposed site, said he'd prefer
a super Wawa than a vacant building that serves as a magnet to vandals and
troublemakers. 

"No one would say build a Wawa next to me," he said, "but there are problems
with the buildings there now. Wawa has been fair with me, agreeing to put in
a double row of trees and a berm and directional lighting. They have done
things to help me as an owner. 

"The train station has been there for the last eight years I've been here
and no one has done anything there. If Wawa gets defeated, how long till the
train station can do something. There are four train cars there for many
years that have not been fixed. They are not moving forward, so Wawa would
be better for me." 

Resident Anthony DiGiralomo agreed. "Wawa said they'd build a better
building and bring in more ratables. Wawa is the first one to do it there.
We're debating a business that makes money or the historic trust. I've heard
this is a busy intersection. I say `What a good place to put a business.' " 

After the testimony, the board voted to give Wawa the variances it needed to
build across the street from an existing gas station and near the historic
trust's driveway. 

Board members cited ridding the area of a long-standing dilapidated eyesore
in the Trilco site, an economic boon for employment and an enhancement to
the community. 

Wawa will build a 5,700-square-foot store with 16 gas pumps on the site. It
will have to return to the zoning board for site plan approval. 

Councilman Rick Prickett, who spoke about the council's pursuit of the
property for historic redevelopment at the board meeting, was disappointed
in the vote. 

"We spent a lot of time to put this together," he said. "We really thought
this could work. We thought we had a good plan." 




? 2005  The Times of Trenton

? 2005 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.

=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

------------------------------