AAA Receives OK for Tire Storage Site

The third time is the charm for AAA, as Toms River Planning Board members gave their approval for a tire storage site at the Route 37 location. 

Representatives for the automotive service center had been before the board twice before — once in January and again in February. Planners at first expressed health and aesthetic concerns with the plan, but agreed this week to allow the storage site as long as it is fenced in.

Last month, it appeared as though the construct a 6-foot high board-on-board fence around the tire storage area to block it from view would require a variance, which is why AAA representatives scheduled another appearance before the board. But applicant attorney Michael York said that, after speaking again with township engineers, that was not necessary. 

All of the board members present voted in favor of the plan Wednesday evening, except for Chairman Bill Suchodolski. 

"I'm voting no because I don't like the idea of having a temporary trailer, even though it is relatively permanent on the site plan, being used for this purpose," he said.

Board members last month expressed concerns that the steel container proposed to house tires is considered a temporary structure — allowing it to be used as a permanent storage area could set a precedent for future applications

The plan calls for a 20-by-8 foot section to temporarily house new tires, and a 16-by-10 foot area where used tires would be stored until removed.

The unit proposed for new tires is "a typical steel container like you'd see on a truck," the kind used for shipping purposes. It has been refurbished and adapted for storage, applicant engineer John Ernst has said.

Tires would be removed two to three times per month, the applicant said in prior testimony. 

"I think this applicant is making a very proactive approach to this site, putting the tires in an area that is closed and out of site," Ernst said last month. 

Board member Jack Reuther said in February that he appreciated the work AAA has done at the site since taking it, the former home of a Saturn dealership, over in 2011. The fence, he said, would serve as a remedy for allowing the permanent steel container.