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SOMERSET – A used car dealership in Somerset Township has been granted a waiver to continue operating its business on North Center Avenue.
On the other hand, an auto parts chain that was looking to establish itself in the 1400 block of the same street had 30 days to download the mandatory approvals to move forward with its project.
The first hole appears to end a multi-year dispute over the progression of Terry’s Auto Sales.
The parking lot owner, Brad McCoy, built his construction on North Center Avenue more than 15 feet closer to an adjacent asset than Somerset County government had allowed during the initial blueprint process.
The $875,000 allocation ended 3 years ago, however, McCoy never received an occupancy permit because the concessionaire’s construction moved closer to the border with neighboring Sheetz than the county allows.
The Somerset County Zoning Board spent two months gathering information, first in May and again on June 15, before voting to grant several conditions to the variance.
First, Terry’s Auto assets will have to reimburse the county for all costs related to enforcing county regulations, adding the value of a land survey that zoning officials obtained to show the site was built within the setback area, zoning officer Chadd Sines said.
He said the fact that the property’s closest neighbor, Sheetz, didn’t have the dealership’s proximity to his property, played into McCoy’s favor.
“They were given a waiver from Sheetz that allowed them to move it,” he said, noting that the issue would not have been a factor if McCoy’s organization had also sought and obtained county approval to move the development.
Sines, who is also director of the county’s plan-making commission, noted that McCoy had presented evidence that his professional engineer’s mistakes had played a significant role in the challenge, and that McCoy simply followed the recommendation he gave as correct.
Looking ahead, McCoy agreed that there’s no way he can simply adjust the construction in the look of the design that was built in the recessed area, Sines said.
Its engineer will need to apply for a certificate of completion which, once reviewed, will allow the company to obtain a formal occupancy permit to operate, Sines added.
O’Reilly’s proposal on automobile portions accepted
Plans to open a 7,150-square-foot O’Reilly Auto Parts shop have been the subject of discussion in the county.
But the company’s engineers have 30 days to obtain approval from two neighboring houses to allow the task to go ahead.
“The board has granted corporate approval, but it wants to get exemptions from the (adjacent residential properties) within the next 30 days,” Sines said.
The county requires a 10-foot backtrack from a back lane that would border the progression.
It would be placed two meters from the street, as planned.
In their argument to the board in May, O’Reilly’s engineers said they would remove a pre-existing design even closer to the driveway.
Sines said that if the assets are destined for the auto parts store, a series of trees will need to be planted near the asset lines.
David Hurst is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @TDDavidHurst.