Community Corner

Guest Column: White Castle a Good Fit?

Residents question the viability of a White Castle on Route 36 in Middletown and its neighborhood appeal, or lack thereof.

They can’t fit 10 pounds of in a 2-pound bag.

That is what the Columbus, Ohio-based fast-food chain is trying to do in . As some of the residents of are becoming aware with fourth attempt to gain approval from the township planning board scheduled for March 7, 2012.

With each planning board meeting, the laundry list of problems grows and grows. I and many other homeowners in the immediate area have attended the meetings in opposition of this type of over development in our community.

Find out what's happening in Middletownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The property White Castle plans to build a 2000-square-foot restaurant is located on a vacant lot between Main Street and Wilson Avenue on Route 36. It’s right next to Iron Horse Motors.

The zone is a B3 (business zone), requiring a minimum of 3 acres for any commercial development. But a conditional use exception allows a fast food restaurant to only require 1.5 acres.

Find out what's happening in Middletownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The purposed building and parking area is squeezed into an area that’s only 0.7 of an acre. Less than half the land required. The rest of the property they acquired to meet the 1.5 acre requirement is well over 100 feet away.

White Castle cannot build anything related to the restaurant or operations on that part because of the peculiar size and shape of the lot they created.

A nail salon, dentist’s office or dry cleaner, for instance, would require twice the amount of land on which to build than that of a fast food restaurant. It doesn’t make sense, considering the intensity of use that a fast food restaurant will generate. This is the only situation where a conditional use exception actually reduces the minimum acreage requirement for commercial development in Middletown Township.

The zone is the zone, however. All we are asking is that White Castle respectfully conformd to all building requirements regarding buffers, landscaping, traffic and pedestrian safety according to the Township of Middletown so we can all live together as neighbors. White Castle has no intention of conforming or addressing the community’s issues with their plan, as I will explain.

But first, a little about who we are and why we, and other neighbors, are opposed to the White Castle …

My wife and I first got into this and, hate to admit it, but became NIMBYs (Not in My Back Yard) because we live directly behind the site on Chestnut Street.

We received notice of the application in late October, via certified mail, as we were in the process of trying to finish a major addition to our home that we have owned since 1998. Obviously, we are concerned about our quality of life with a 24-hour fast food restaurant literally in our back yard.

The smell, the lights, the cars ordering from the menu board … just feet away from where our children are sleeping at all hours of the night … the possibility of infestation of vermin because of food-related waste in the dumpster.  Faced with this, most people would quickly become a NIMBY like us.  

Even though these are all valid concerns they are not enough for the Planning Board to deny White Castle the right to build their restaurant if all the code requirements are met — and, right now, they are not.

Through the process, this has become more of a community issue regarding overdevelopment than just our NIMBY concern. Again, we believe White Castle has no intention of conforming or addressing the community’s issues with their plan.

There are some major concerns;

  • The entrance is located past the building that forces cars to do a 180 back to the restaurant.
  • There is no shoulder or means to decelerate on that section of the highway because of the on-ramp to Route 36 from Main Street, across from Port Monmouth Elementary School. Cars are expected to decrease from 50 to 15 miles per hour on the highway to enter the restaurant while other cars are accelerating from 25 to 50 miles per hour to enter the highway in the same lane.
  • The use of a storm water basin (basically a 3- to 4-foot ditch) as the entire front yard instead of the 35 feet of landscaping required by the zoning code. 
  • On-site circulation for emergency vehicles, such as fire trucks and ambulances are restrained due to the width and design of the site. If there were a fire, the truck could barely make the turn into the site and might not be able to get back out due to the storm water basin.
  • Buffer requirements for landscaping separating commercial and residential properties have either been eliminated entirely or reduced by as much as 55 percent to accommodate the building, parking area and the trash dumpster.
  • The only handicapped parking spot is located in the most dangerous area of the roadway leading to the restaurant.
  • Drastically increasing traffic leading to and away from the restaurant on surrounding neighborhoods and local streets, due to the location on Route 36 and 24-hour operation.

The neighbors’ history with the White Castle application …

 At the first board meeting on the application in November of 2011, when presented with a formal objection by an attorney obtained by an objector, White Castle’s attorney asked for a private meeting. The objector declined that meeting offer; but, when asked what the purpose for the meeting was, the White Castle attorney’s reply was to see if any “concessions” could be offered to withdraw the objection.

After the second meeting in January, White Castle’s attorney sent a letter to the township accusing the planning board of being arbitrarily swayed for requiring them to conform to minimum code requirements. The attorney also stated in the letter that all the buffer requirements do not apply to the White Castle’s plan because the neighboring homes are in a business zone.

At the third meeting, on Feb. 1, the planning board members didn’t seem too concerned and pushed even harder for White Castle to conform. We are grateful that board members have the interest of the people of Middletown first.

Some final thoughts and requests …

Just because our homes are located in a business zone does not negate the fact that we are members of the community, taxpayers and homeowners in Middletown Township. We clearly have the same right of protection and continued use as a matter of law.

No one in the community, including us, has any objection to White Castle’s menu. Many of us would actually like a local White Castle locally to add to the variety of fast food options in our area. Our objections are about where White Castle wants to locate its restaurant in Middletown.

There are so many locations better suited that would not have such a negative impact on the community around it. These spots would actually benefit from this type of responsible development.

We all know other towns in the state where overdevelopment of highways, like routes18, 9, 17, 1, 22 and even sections of our own Route 35, has created a less than desirable place to live due to overcrowding of commercial development.  

Please don’t let this happen in our town. You’re opinion matters! If you are against this, have your voice heard at the March 7 Middletown Planning Board meeting in town hall at 6:30 p.m.. If you can’t make the meeting, send a message to the Township Committee via www.middletownnj.org click on the “Departments” tab then Township Committee and email all five members at once.

Check the most recent Patch story on the issue at

Tell us what you think, and what your issues with the pending White Castle are, in the comments section below.

 

Shannon and Nicole Ecklof

Chestnut Street, Port Monmouth


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here