Third 7-Eleven in Red Bank Proposed for Shell Station

Residents partial to 7-Eleven's Slurpees, packaged sandwiches and coffee varieties may one day have three options to choose from within Red Bank alone.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment will continue hearing a proposal Thursday night that seeks to replace the existing market at the Shell station at the corner of Newman Springs Road and Shrewsbury Avenue with a 7-Eleven. 

If ultimately successful, the 7-Eleven would join the existing outlet on Maple Avenue as well as the future store planned for the existing Welsh Farms on East Front Street. However, late-night munchies wouldn't be satisfied at all three stores. The Maple Avenue and proposed Shell station outlets would run 24/7 while the coming East Front market will be open only from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The applicant, 390 Red Bank LLC, proposes to convert the existing 515-square-foot market to a 362-square-foot kiosk for gas attendants and remove the current rollover car wash in favor of a 2,225-square-foot 7-Eleven at the northwest corner of the site.

Located in the borough's Highway Business zone, the proposed conversion and construction will require the board to agree to conditional use variances, bulk variances and site plan approval.

Several nearby residents attended the initial hearing of the matter in December, with concerns about its proximity to housing. The application requires a variance for its setback from residential dwellings, as borough ordinance calls for at least a 25-foot buffer while the proposed setback is only 16.1 feet, according to a Jan. 3 letter from board Engineer Christine Ballard.

The variances sought include:

• Lot coverage. Code calls for a maximum of 10 percent while the construction of a 7-Eleven would bring lot coverage up to 21.6 percent.
• Wall signs. Ordinance allows two wall signs when a building has frontage on two roads (Newman Springs and Shrewsbury in this case). Red Bank LLC proposes four signs.
• Ground sign. To conform, the applicant is allowed a 60-square-foot ground sign. Red Bank LLC proposes a 141.67-square-foot sign at the corner of Newman Springs and Shrewsbury.
• Driveways. The ordinance limit is one two-way driveway or two one-way driveways on any street. Red Bank LLC proposes one two-way driveway on Shrewsbury Avenue, one two-way driveway on Newman Springs Road and one ingress-only (entrance) driveway on Newman Springs Road.

The Shell station site was approved by the Planning Board as a gas station in 1966, and a food store was approved in 1984, Ballard's letter notes. While Red Bank currently has an ordinance limiting businesses from operating 24/7 when located within 100 feet of a residential neighborhood, Ballard notes that the restrictions do not apply to the site, which has operated overnight since 1985.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Council Chambers at Borough Hall, 90 Monmouth St.