Hillsborough Going Sonic?

The Hillsborough Township Planning Board will be reviewing Thomas Mascia's application to build a SONIC drive-in fast-food restaurant on Route 206 at the corner of Oxford Place.

The 1.5-acre site currently contains a karate school, but is probably best remembered by long-time residents as the old location of Briken's Dairy Farms, a burger and ice-cream joint with a barn shape and a black-and-white cow hide patterned roof.

The applicant proposes razing the existing building and constructing a 1,818-square-foot building with a drive-through lane, outdoor seating, and 46 parking spaces with 23 of them under a canopy where car-hop service would be provided.

As designed, the restaurant would need variances for lot size, lot width, front yard and side yard setbacks, and impervious coverage. Waivers would also be needed for parking, no loading spaces, parking buffer along Oxford Place, the size of the rear-lot parking stalls, and the width of the rear 2-way aisle.

SONIC should be prepared to reconsider the size of their proposed freestanding sign. According to the file, Hillsborough allows one sign, not to exceed 40-square-feet per sign face and not to exceed 15-feet high. SONIC proposes a 24-foot-high sign with 112.3-square-feet per sign face.

Other board considerations include landscaping and buffering, lighting and wall signs.

The September 2, 2010, Planning Board meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. at the municipal building at 379 South Branch Road.
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The canopy over the car-hop spaces looks like the perfect place for a solar array.
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The Planning Board's September 2nd agenda may be viewed here.
From the agenda:

"Thomas Mascia / SONIC – File #10-PB-07-SRV – Block 177, Lot 22B (New: Block 177, Lot 22.02) – 838 Route 206.
Applicant seeking preliminary and final major site plan with ‘c’ bulk variances from minimum lot area; minimum lot width; minimum front yard setback; minimum side yard setback; and maximum impervious coverage and waivers from minimum parking spaces; minimum loading; minimum parking buffer; and parking aisle width to demolish the existing building and construct an 1,818 sq. ft. Sonic fast-food restaurant with drive-through lane, an outdoor seating area and covered area for service at vehicles on property in the C-1 District."

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For more information on SONIC Corp., go here.
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In March, 2009, the Lebanon Borough Board of Adjustment heard a Thomas Mascia/SONIC application.

The Route 22, proposed Green Brook SONIC appeared before their BOA in January, 2009.

Mr. Mascia's Franklin Township (Somerset)Sonic was set to "open soon" on Route 27 when this September, 2009, article appeared.