The council's vote, an ordinance to adopt the lot as a rehabilitation area, brings Wawa coffee and an accompanying eight-pump gas station closer to reality for the developer, Delco Development.
HAMILTON -- The Hamilton council voted Tuesday night to approve the redevelopment plan that is slated to construct a Wawa gas station at the site of an old vacant car dealership on Rt. 33.
The council's vote, an ordinance to adopt the lot as a rehabilitation area, brings Wawa coffee and an accompanying eight-pump gas station closer to reality for the developer, Delco Development.
The project has taken a circuitous journey from the council to the planning and zoning boards, to the court system, and now back to council.
The 4 to 1 vote came after contentious final discussions, which included resident asking council members about the contributions that developer Delco made to their campaigns.
Councilman Kevin Meara voted against the ordinance, saying at the meeting and on Wednesday that the plan had "too many red flags," he did not like the way township officials pushed it through and in the end is not good government.
"The way this was done, this is just really bad and it's not the government the residents of Hamilton deserve," Meara said.
Meara said the entire project, going back to 2013, is worthy of a criminal investigation by state authorities.
The project dates to early 2013.
In April 2013, the council voted to eliminate an ordinance on the books that prohibited new gas stations from opening within 1,500 feet of existing stations.
That prompted Walter Steele, owner of a BP station on Route 33, to sue Hamilton, alleging the ordinance favored new Wawas, and "intended to advance and comply with the wishes of developers of convenience stores with sales of gasoline on two properties."
RELATED: Judge OKs 'super' Wawa at vacant car dealership in Hamilton
The other Wawa was on Rt. 130, at the site of the former Harry's Army and Navy store.
The township's attorney said at the time the 1,500-foot ordinance was not legally defensible
In May 2014, the Hamilton zoning board approved Delco's plans for the site, the former Patterson Chevrolet and adjacent Hamilton Chrysler, which has been vacant since the mid-2000s.
Three months later, Steele filed a complaint against the zoning board, in which his attorney William Potter argued that the board's decision was contrary to the municipal land use law and failed to consider the negative impacts on traffic and safety.
Steele was ultimately unsuccessful, and in May of this year, a judge ruled in favor of the Hamilton zoning board.
In March of this year, the council voted to designate the car dealership sites an "area in need of rehabilitation," allowing the council to review and approve one redevelopment plan that includes every development on that site.
During Tuesday's council meeting, all council members spoke positively about the project, after final details from planners and Delco officials.
Council President Dennis Pone called it one of the better plans he'd seen, Councilman Ed Gore said it would eliminate a vacant lot, Councilman David Kenny said it was a huge improvement and Councilwoman Illeana Schirmer called it a "wonderful addition."
Meara, though, remained the lone dissenter.
During public comment, resident Daniel Keelan, a critic of the plan dating to 2013, walked to the microphone and asked each council member if they'd received campaign contributions from Delco.
Gore and Kenny answered yes, and Keelan asked if they should be recusing themselves from the vote.
"No," an angry Gore erupted. "They did not buy my influence."
Gore said he also received a donation The Hamilton Manor, "And they certainly have not gotten their money's worth from me."
Gore called the comment a cheap shot, saying "I will always do my best for the taxpayers of Hamilton Township."
Pone also defended Gore and Kenny's reputations, saying the donations are legal and were not solicited.
Election Law Enforcement Commission reports show Delco Development LLC made a $500 donation to Gore in August 2013, and $2,000 to Kenny in November 2013.
(The company also made a $1,000 contribution to Mayor Kelly Yaede in October 2013.)
RELATED: Hamilton officials take control of vacant car dealership site
Gore later apologized for getting heated and said he's not happy with the "political shenanigans" in town and without naming Keelan, said, "It's about time for some people in the township to grow up."
Meara, who said he voted against the project for two years, said Wednesday that township officials have streamlined the process for Delco at every turn.
Meara said the initial repeal of the 1,500 foot ordinance allowed Delco to seek regular zoning approval, not a variance, and the project was against the master plan of the township, which calls for a "town village," with residences above businesses.
The designation of the lot a rehabilitation area was another pushy step by council, allowing more encompassing power and which only looked at this project, not other areas of the township, Meara believes.
Initially planned as a "super" Wawa with 12 or 16 gas pumps, the current plan calls for basically a regular Wawa with eight pumps. Not so super, Meara said.
"We have police who can't accept a slice pizza, and they (council members) turn around and take money from a developer," Meara charged, referring to township ethics regulations that bar Hamilton police from accepting DeLorenzo's offer of free pizza for police in September.
"I though I saw everything when our mayor went to jail," Meara said Wednesday. "I am flabbergasted that this is our government."
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.
