You may have heard the rumors about the application for a Zoning Variance to to build a 14,600-square foot 24/7 CVS convenience store/pharmacy with a drive-thru in our residentially zoned neighborhood. Location: Al’s Sunoco at the corner of Ingleside and Route 31. The proposed footprint will cover 60% of the lot which more than doubles the existing coverage of Al's Sunoco, now at 25%. The current service station is 3491-square foot neighborhood car repair facility is surrounded by a evergreen tree buffer and wooded lot which would be eliminated by CVS. Al's Sunoco is grandfathered and can continue its current use (without any expansion or increase in intensity of use.) Otherwise, unless a variance is granted, ONLY residential uses can occur there. We are holding an informational meeting on Wednesday the 23d at 7:00, at the Hopewell Twp. branch of the Mercer County Library by the High School. We encourage you to attend. Here is a link to a report that includes maps of the proposed development. http://mercerme.com/cvs-and-traffic-light-on-rt-31-pennington-residents-object/ The Zoning Board has scheduled a special meeting on March 30th to hear the CVS application. The meeting will be held in the Hopewell Township Municipal Building, 201 Washington Crossing - Pennington Road. Notices have not yet gone out, and only people who live within a 200' radius of the property will be noticed. We have hired an attorney to represent neighbors most affected. Having an attorney represent us at the Zoning Board hearing is crucial, because the hearing is run much like a court proceeding with rules about what kind of evidence and testimony is relevant, and what is inadmissible. Rest assured CVS has one of the top applicant’s attorneys in the state who is prepared to prosecute this application aggressively. We need equally expert representation. Because we had advance notice about this application, we were able to retain one of NJ’s best land use attorneys to represent the neighborhoods who would potentially be most affected. Here is Jeff Baron’s profile: http://www.baronbrennan.com/attorneys.html Please join us in this important effort to preserve the residential quality of our neighborhood. We look forward to seeing you at the information meeting on Wed. March 23rd. Email address: noCVS31@gmail.com