Residents continue fight against proposed Wawa

Residents of Clinton Avenue and Conifer Crest Way in Eatontown held a community yard sale on Aug. 16 to raise funds for a legal fight protesting the construction of a Wawa convenience store and gas station proposed for the site of the former Eatontown Roller Rink. EATONTOWN — After nearly three hours of testimony, the borough Planning Board has carried to November an application to construct a Wawa convenience store at the former site of the Eatontown Roller Rink.

Scheduled for Nov. 24, the meeting will mark the 12th for the application, which area residents say, if approved, will damage their neighborhood.

The marathon Aug. 25 meeting was the third at which residents opposed to the application presented testimony supporting their case.

Prior to the Aug. 25 meeting, residents held a community yard sale in an effort to raise funds to support their cause.

Organized by residents of Clinton Avenue and Conifer Crest Way, the Aug. 16 yard sale, brought in approximately $1,200, which will be used to fund a legal fight against the proposed convenience store and gas station.

Eatontown resident Vince Marone attends the yard sale event protesting the Wawa application. "[The yard sale] was excellent," said Clinton Avenue resident Vince Marone. "We had a steady flow of people until we shut down."

Marone, one of the leading opponents of the application, said that all of the proceeds from the yard sale will be used to cover fees for attorneys and expert witnesses who will provide testimony against what has become a controversial application.

Five residents from the Clinton Avenue neighborhood applied for permits needed to hold the yard sale, while other residents donated the items to be sold.

"There were a lot of donations, as far as goods that came from other residents of the neighborhood," Marone said.

"This is America," Jim Pagano of ClintonAvenue said. "And as Americans, sometimes we have to be willing to forsake our possessions to fight for what is right."

At the sale, residents signed petitions opposing the Wawa and posted signs protesting the application that read, "Wawa Gotta Go!"

Applicant Wawa Inc. is seeking to build a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week convenience store and 12-pump gas station at the site of the former Eatontown Roller Rink on Route 35.

Included in Wawa Inc.'s application is a request for a waiver to a borough ordinance that restricts the construction of a gas station within 200 feet of a residential property line or within 2,000 feet of another gas station.

Residents opposed to the application say that should the Planning Board approve the waiver for the gas station, every Eatontown resident would be compromised forever.

At previous meetings for the application, residents claimed that the gas station would pose a health risk and fire hazard to their neighborhood due to ground-water contamination from gasoline spills and gasoline fumes spreading throughout the area.

James Gibbons of the Pompton Plainsbased Azrak and Associates, who is representing the group of residents opposing the application, called on Planning Board members Mayor Gerald Tarantolo and Councilman Carl Sohl to recuse themselves from further proceedings on the application, citing a possible conflict of interest.

According to Gibbons, Tarantolo and Sohl received political contributions from the law firm Ansell Zaro Grimm and Aaron, Ocean Township. Peter Falvo, an attorney with the firm, is representing Wawa Inc.

Tarantolo said that no conflict existed and that he was insulted by the claims.

If the Planning Board chooses to approve Wawa Inc.'s application, the residents say they will file an appeal.

"All the vibes that we get are that [the Planning Board] wants the Wawa," Marone said. "If we have to go to the appeals status, then that's where we have to go.

"We feel we are right," Marone said, adding, "Personally, from the appeals standpoint, I think we are in good shape. I would hate to see it go to an appeal."