Our View

Ryders Lane — why not?

With the existing conditions on Ryders Lane being what they are, it’s hard to believe that denying the construction of a Wendy’s restaurant will do the people of Milltown much good.

Take a look at the surroundings — strip malls and restaurants, and by the way, did anyone notice the Home Depot and the rest of the Ryders Crossing shopping center? The building, the smells, the traffic and everything else feared by the residents who are opposing the Wendy’s proposal at Blueberry Drive are already there. Wendy’s won’t make much of a difference.

And when it comes to traffic, it won’t make much more of an impact than the traffic from the mall next door.

Milltown’s Zoning Board of Adjustment might as well approve the plan which, by the way, has been scaled back considerably. The building is smaller, the landscaping is greater, and the rear section of the lot will be left untouched.

Rejecting the application may only result in a lawsuit from Wendy’s, which might find a sympathetic ear in the courts, given that so many of the surrounding properties were allowed to be developed for some intense uses.

Another issue is that the restaurant was a permitted use when the planning process for this application began. It was only when the Borough Council changed an ordinance in reaction to Wendy’s case before the Planning Board last fall that the restaurant became a prohibited use that now requires zoning board approval.

We can’t fault the council for listening to a vocal group of borough residents and acting on their wishes, but we’re also forced to wonder whether such an action will stand up in court.

Let Wendy’s have their restaurant. If anything, it will offer residents one more place to buy a hamburger and fries.