Image courtesy of Google StreetView
The matter goes before the Zoning Hearing Board on Nov. 12
Developers presented before the Horsham Township Council at its last public meeting to discuss the options of adding a satellite business located near 314 Horsham Road, at the Horsham Point Shopping Center.
Better known locally as the “Giant Shopping Center,” the township council discussed the matter which is slated to go to the Zoning Hearing Board in November.
Township Manager William T. Gildea-Walker explained that the builders were seeking two variances in the process.
“In order to do that, they would have to have two variances,” said Gildea-Walker. “The first one is to allow a drive-through facility as a retail service shop and then a parking variance. Currently, they’re required to have 364 spots. They currently have 375. They would go down to 357. So, those are the two variances.”
Attorney Rob Lewis, of Kaplin Stewart Attorneys at Law, is representing the project and attended the Oct. 28 meeting to discuss options with the Council. Lewis represents Kimco Realty (Kimco Horsham, L.P.), the owner of the center, which is located between the corners of Horsham, Norristown, and Dresher roads.
The Center falls in the “C-1” commercial zoning district of the township, with just over 72,000 square feet of “floor area” between its inline retail shops and anchor, Giant food store. The shops now represent a mix of service and retail locations, including a nail salon, Navy Federal credit union, SaladWorks, and Horsham Pizza.
Lewis explained that Kimco has entered into a lease with a new drive-thru coffee vendor called “7 Brew.”
“7 Brew, which people probably aren’t familiar with yet, in Montgomery County … I’ve had the pleasure of working with 7 Brew; one is in Collegeville. It’s not open yet, but it’s under construction, and another out in Berks County in Sinking Spring,” said Lewis. “But they are slowly moving their way into Montgomery County. They’re also expanding rapidly throughout New Jersey.”
Lewis explained that the business model may differ from other coffee vendors, as the entire service is drive thru. There are no interior seating areas for their facilities. They also do not make food, but only drinks.
“It is a very hands-on, personalized service,” Lewis said, despite the drive-thru model of the business. “They are not your typical drive thru. They don’t rely on menu boards and a drive-up window where you sit and wait for somebody to hand you your drink. Rather, all of the ordering and all of the delivery of drinks is actually handled by employees of 7 Brew.”
Lewis said that staff members with iPads come to cars, even during busy rush peak times, and take orders.
“You don’t have to wait until you get to the front of the line to place an order,” he said. “As your drinks are prepared, they bring them to your vehicle.”
Lewis likened the style to a Chick-fil-A at peak times, which also manages orders with wandering staff and telecommunication devices, but without the process of a drive-up window. Lewis added this model also cuts down on typical service times.
“The turn-around times are dramatically shorter,” said the legal counsel.
Lewis said a proposal was submitted to the zoning hearing board for the township, as they believe the use is permitted. However, he said, the township’s ZHB sent them a denial, stating a retail service shop is acceptable, but a drive-thru service is not automatically permitted in C-1.
“I don’t agree with that conclusion under the language of the ordinance,” said Lewis. “I don’t think that the ordinance particularly precludes drive-thru service for a retail service shop. I contrast, there are specific other enumerated uses that say, and I think it’s ‘retail store,’ says you cannot have a drive thru. Where this use classification, which is a permitted use in this district, does not.”
Lewis said following an appeal of that decision, the alternative the ZHB presented was to seek a variance to permit that drive thru provision. That variance will be before the ZHB in its next public session, on Nov. 12.
“I do think that creates an ambiguity in the ordinance,” said Lewis. “Under the municipality’s planning code, that code provides that wherever there is an ambiguity, it’s supposed to be read in the broadest terms to allow a landowner the greatest use of their property.”
In addition to the requested variance for the drive thru, Lewis said the second issue comes down to parking.
“The shopping center as it sits today is slightly over-parked,” said Lewis. Per the total square footage addition of this unit (around 510 square feet), the center would require 364 spaces. However, the new shop (which is designated to be at the “last corner of the shopping center” if you are traveling west on Horsham Road, according to Lewis), would reduce the amount of parking to 357 spaces.
“A discrepancy of seven total parking spaces,” said Lewis. “It is a 1.9 percent deviation.”
Lewis said an alternative called “de minimus relief” has no specific definition under Pennsylvania Law, but the allowance may be permitted.
“As I put in our application, there are many cases that lend themselves to the conclusion that you can get up to 10 percent of a deviation,” he said. However, the “de minimus” relief is discretionary to the governing board.
Early sketches of the proposed business show a comfortable stacking of 12 cars at any one time, and no interference to traffic flow is anticipated.
Council Vice President Sean Wade asked if Lewis was aware of turn restrictions, which are set to specific times, in that area, to which Lewis said that they were. From 4 to 6 p.m. there can be no left turn onto Horsham Road due to heavy traffic.
Wade also asked if Lewis was aware of the Navy Federal Credit Union, located on the corner of the shopping strip, to which again Lewis said that they were aware.
“That has a typically higher representation of disabled persons,” said Wade. “That would be drastically reducing their parking in proximity to their banking location.”
Lewis said that parking nearest to the bank’s front door is on the opposite side of where the plans propose eliminating spaces.
“It’s important to note that our peak period is usually from about 7 to 9 a.m.,” said Lewis, “prior to the Navy Federal Credit Union being open, let alone at its peak periods of time. Again, we don’t foresee significant conflicts or that we’re depriving them of any significant amount of parking.”
The Township’s president also had concerns. W. William Whiteside, the council’s president, said he would love to have such a coffee shop in this town but that he was “opposed to a drive thru in this location.”
“Contrary to the comments you made, that part of the parking lot, in particular, does get very congested at times,” said Whiteside. “I disagree with your statement about congestion and conflict. I’m opposed to the drive thru.”
Gildea-Walker asked the developers if they’d considered alternative spaces in the same shopping center, given the concerns over traffic and safety. Lewis, who said he was local and frequents the shopping center often, said that the team felt this was the safest location.
“We felt as though we were off to the side of the main challenge,” he said. “Which is really people coming out of the gas pumps and people trying to head back to the Giant.”
The design of the planned traffic flow, the legal counselor said, was made such to address traffic concerns.
“Our movement, while they do have to make a left to get over to the proposed 7 Brew, our exiting movements are now at least right-hand turns,” said Lewis. He said 7 Brew has a working model that has been successful in other areas like Horsham’s space. He also noted that the business is not similar to food-related drive-thru experiences many are accustomed to, with an average service time of 2.5 minutes per vehicle.
Kimco reps also said they’d be coordinating with Giant delivery times, to ensure large trucks do not need to use the space at the same peak times of the business. Gildea-Walker said that, while the use, beauty of the design, and type of business are nothing that the staff nor council opposed, a 7 Brew, however, in that precise location of it is a concern.
A rendering of the proposed 7 Brew was circulated among council members. A hearing on the matter is slated for Nov. 12. The ZHB decision would be expected in December, as it is all part of one application.
Council has asked that a representative from the board’s legal counsel attend the meeting to share the disapproval of council with the ZHB. The present solicitor said, given there was an appeal, she would be in attendance.
The ZHB for Horsham Township meets the second Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Horsham Township Municipal Building, 1025 Horsham Road. The public is welcome to attend.
