Residents of Allendale Apartments and Irving Street turned out in full force for the Hanover Township Zoning Hearing Board Aug. 23 to protest a proposal by the Airport Center mall to add a pylon sign on the corner of Airport Center Road and Irving Street.

Attorney Lisa Pereira represented the mall owners. Charles Unangst of Hanover Engineering Associates presented engineering details associated with the sign indicating that the sign for the Irving Street intersection was the same sign now located on Airport Road.

Glen Koch asked about the number of panels that would advertise stores in the mall, but Unangst was not prepared to commit to a certain number of panels.

The opposition peppered Unangst with questions, causing board attorney Mark Malkames to ask for order.

Pereira's next witness fared better. Richard Albertson is a partner in the mall and suggested, after hearing some of the earlier comments, that maybe the mall did not need an 11-foot wide and 20-foot tall sign. Albertson also conceded the sign would not need to be illuminated when the mall was closed.

Residents presented their arguments to the board. Joseph Hook disputed the claim by Unangst that the sign would not affect the value of his house.

"It is only common sense that something like that is going to make my house worth less," he said.

Koch, a retired Daytona, Fla., police officer who specialized in motor vehicle accident investigations, relayed his concerns.

"The sign will be a distraction and that distraction will be the cause of more accidents," he said.

Koch believes that accident victims could hold the township liable for the distraction if it was determined that the township granted a variance for the sign.

Malkames disputed his contention, but the discussion was outside the scope of the hearing.

Koch is an avid mall customer.

"I am over there two or three times a day and I enjoy the mall," he said, complimenting Albertson on the effectiveness of the management team that runs the day-to-day operations.

Koch did challenge Albertson's assertion that because there is not a sign at the intersection, mall customers have complained that they missed the entrance off Irving Street and had to turn around.

"I'm out there every day," he said. "During the first six months the mall was open, I had a lot of people ask me where the mall was. I haven't had to give directions to anyone for over a year."

Koch presented pictures to the board and Albertson on the sign that identifies Allendale Apartments.

"It's a smaller, more environmentally friendly sign," he said. "And it will give your customers the information they need to get to the mall."

Joseph Feskanin, who has followed the planning of the mall from the beginning of the project, questioned Albertson on why the signage issue at Irving Street was not addressed in the early planning stages. According to Feskanin, the decision to not address signage was one of several design flaws.

After presentation by the residents, Pereira caucused with Albertson and Unangst and asked the board for a continuance to allow time to revamp their proposal. The board rescheduled the hearing for Sept. 27. Albertson promised to meet with residents before the next board session.

Feskanin also identified a problem with odor from a pumping station directly across from his house. After the meeting, Feskanin offered to meet with Albertson to work out a compromise that would resolve the pump station odor issue and have an acceptable sign put in place.