Whether or not a White Castle will slide its way onto Route 36, in the Port Monmouth section of Middletown, could be a decision made at tonight’s Planning Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall.

The board will conduct its continuation of the public hearing on the White Castle Management Co. application, with a decision due by March 7 (tonight), according to the meeting agenda. White Castle is seeking a “conditional use permit and preliminary and final major site plan approval.”

A contingent of residents has opposed the plan, which calls for a 1,952-square-foot drive-through fast food restaurant with a 36-stall parking lot on the 1.5-acre site at the intersection of Main Street and Route 36.

They are concerned about what they say is a quality of life infringement, with an insufficient buffer to the 24/7 fast food chain, and noise, traffic and light pollution that they say will come with the business.

A primary concern of the neighbors is that the applicant has, so far, not conceded to providing at least a 50-foot buffer to abutting residential properties. 

White Castle has asked for an exception to the design standard rule with as much as a 24-foot buffer with landscaping in some spots and as little as 10.8 feet, saying the standard 50-foot buffer would disrupt traffic flow and push the structure too close to the highway. The opposing neighbors’ contention is that what is proposed is just too close and traffic-generating for comfort.

They are hoping the board will not allow the concessions White Castle has asked for in buffers or a denial.