Sky Plaza shopping center delayed again
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

NORTH BRUNSWICK - The application to build a new strip mall on Finnegans Lane was postponed for the third time on Monday.

Sky Plaza is proposed as 23,000 square feet of retail space, 10,000 square feet for restaurant venues and 7,900 square feet for an office area. The property is located in a C-3 residential neighborhood commercial zone. The applicant is requesting a use variance to allow a shopping center to be built in a commercial zone, a use variance to allow food preparation and consumption on premises and a bulk variance for a short distance to provide a buffer from the neighboring residential area.

The hearing was delayed because Charles Carley, who is the North Brunswick Township engineer, is also a councilman in South Brunswick and had voted on the zone change for that parcel in South Brunswick. Because of this conflict, Carley must recuse himself, in which case the meeting had to be adjourned.

Hitesh Patel, one of the owners of Finnegans Plaza, which exists on the adjacent property, had originally appeared before the Zoning Board of Adjustment on Sept. 20 seeking approval to build the new center. However, both the September and October meetings were cancelled after opening statements because of noticing errors to the residents who live within 200 feet of both properties, according to township protocol.

Patel had originally said his intention is to avoid a big-box retail store but instead make the area appear like the existing center, which has 21,000 square feet of mixed space occupied by 11 tenants, including a dance studio, an Indian restaurant, a Little Caesar's and a drycleaning service.

A new meeting date is set for Monday, Jan. 7, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. in the municipal courtroom. The application should be heard around 7 p.m., after the board's reorganization matters are completed.