GRJH misses appearance before Planning Board

NORTH EAST — Applicant GRJH, Inc., was on the town Planning Board’s agenda for its Wednesday, May 11, meeting to seek amended site plan approval. GRJH owns the Sunoco gas station and convenience store located on Route 44 in the Boulevard District, technically part of the town’s BD-2 zoning district. As has become habit for the applicant and its attorney, no one made an appearance at the scheduled meeting. Typically GRJH’s attorney, Keith Nolan, appears on behalf of his client. According to Planning Board Chairman Dale Culver, on May 11 he received a letter from Nolan stating that, “his client does not want him to come” to the meeting, presumably to save on costs.The Sunoco station has been operating illegally since it opened for business a number of years ago. For one, its LED (light emitting diodes) illuminated sign is not allowed by the town’s sign ordinance. Another issue is that the business never attained a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) from the town’s building inspector, which is a standard requirement. That issue dates back to the Sunoco’s original application in 2005. The town has filed a lawsuit against GRJH and the owners of the property, Robert and Joseph Trotta, to seek an injunction “prohibiting the defendants from maintaining, keeping and operating the convenience store with gasoline sale component at the subject property,” which is still pending, according to a town resolution.In the meantime, the Planning Board has been entertaining a request from Nolan for amended site plan approval. On Dec. 8, 2010, it granted conditional approval predicated on a number of requirements. Most of those requirements have been met, albeit slowly. Those conditions include some of the following:• That GRJH submit an amended site plan including landscaping;• That the site plan shall not have illuminated or nonconforming signs;• That the site’s window coverage, by signs, meet certain specifications;• That the exhaust fan be painted, the illuminated and non-conforming signs removed and the balaster lights shrouded;• That the LED sign remain temporarily, only if specific requirements listed by the board are met;• That the amended site plan, with notations and changes, be submitted to the Planning Board chair for his review within 30 days of the Dec. 8, 2010, resolution (this deadline was missed);• That in the event that GRJH fails to make the required site plan improvements as required by the town, and within the time period specified by the town, the Planning Board shall have the power and authority to revoke site plan approval.As of March, Nolan said a number of those requirements had been met. As of May, more had been completed, including the shrouding of the lamps and the painting of the exhaust fan.