Board examines expansion of Drum Point Road building

Board examines expansion
of Drum Point Road building
By karl vilacoba
Staff Writer

BRICK — The Zoning Board of Adjustment is examining an application to expand the existing B&B department store distribution center on 254 Drum Point Road.

Plans call for a 10,000-square-foot addition to be made on the rear of the building for warehouse space. A use variance is being sought because storage is not a permitted use in the building’s B-2 business zone.

Appearing before the board at the Nov. 6 meeting, B&B owner Philip Bertole said the addition would be used to cut down on traffic needs between satellite stores. Bertole said there would be no additional traffic in the area because no new employees will be added. B&B is a clothing-store chain with several stores in the Shore area, he said.

The board and applicants examined a parking arrangement for the site that would accommodate 50 people. While most of the spaces were behind the building, some wrapped around its sides, leaving only 5 feet of buffer space between the pavement and the property line in some areas. B&B’s neighbors include a single-family home and the Drum Point Village.

Board member Thomas Leahy, concerned about the thin buffer, suggested that the applicants explore alternative parking schemes like making the wrap-around spaces parallel or moving them to the rear. But shifting the spaces to the back would create the need for a new variance dealing with the rear buffer, according to board Assistant Planner Tara Paxton.

Bertole said most of the parking spaces would be in use only part of the year because several employees are added during the summer season. While usually only seven to 14 employees work there for the majority of the year, the number increases to about 50 at peak times, he said.

To eliminate some impervious coverage, Paxton suggested the applicants leave some of the parking spaces as grass with dividing curbs. While some on the board were receptive to the idea, others remained skeptical.

"If you park cars there for 10 to 12 weeks, then there’s not going to be grass there. It’s going to be mud," Leahy said.

No decision was made on the application during the meeting. A continuation date will be decided following the board’s January reorganization meeting.