A Franklin Township gas station owner won't find out for several months whether he can expand his business.

Paul Sandhu, owner of Rockland Energy, Inc. had appealed a decision by Franklin Township Zoning Officer Matt Neeb, who denied his application on Aug. 8 to increase the size of the building at 80 Interchange Road. The small vacant building, located on the corner of Interchange Road, Route 209 and Court Street, carries the name U.S. Fuels and includes a canopy and one pump.The appeal was heard Thursday night by members of the Franklin Township Zoning Hearing Board. Several neighbors who opposed the proposed changes were also in attendance.Board Chairman Kim DePue, and alternates Kevin Strunk and Ken Cahill, listened as Sandhu testified that his business, Rockland Energy, should be updated because he needs to increase the size of the building to include a snack area and the number of gas pumps and underground tanks, as well as provide heating oil and kerosene to make his business profitable.Presently, the station can serve two full-service gas customers. Once the station is upgraded, four gas customers could be accommodated at one time. He said that he also wants to sell cigarettes and sodas to his customers.The proposed site is only .092 acres, but Sandhu said that through careful design, his lot could accommodate room to park at least seven cars. He said that he intends to spend nearly $100,000 on the added services and renovations.Sandhu said after he purchased the business from Liberty Oil in June 1994 but a few months, found it unprofitable because it was too small to accommodate his customers.He said that the present pumps must be upgraded because they do not accept credit cards and cannot be refitted to accept credit cards.Sandhu offered to enhance the area with shrubbery to accommodate his residence which is located on the east side.The proposed building would be two feet from the eastern boundary line and two feet from the southern property line. The current building, however, does not meet current zoning standards.Sandhu said he also wants to upgrade the monitoring and alarm system to meet Department of Environmental Protection codes.Sandhu said the station would be open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, except for Sunday, when the station would close at 9 p.m.Sandhu said that he was planning on using a new style of recessed lighting that would have a cone to direct the light over the canopy.His hope is to accommodate approximately 200 customers a day and that would involve two deliveries of fuel a week, a snack delivery once a week and soda delivery two to four times a month, depending on sales.Doug and Paula Sellix, who have their driveway on Court Street, said the gas station was "a pain" to them in the past because customers would block Court Street while waiting to enter the gas station.Sandhu said that being able to accommodate four customers at a time instead of two should alleviate the problem.Mrs. Sellix explained that a funeral home is located in on Union Hill and when a funeral line forms, there could be 20 cars, causing congestion in that area.Sellix also noted that the area could further be blocked if a tractor trailer attempted to fuel up at the site.Sandhu said that he would have signs telling tractor trailer drivers that they would not be serviced."I don't want to be serving one truck when I could be missing out on the sales from several cars," said Sandhu.Sandhu said that area was an eyesore now, but that with the proposed upgrades, it would be a service to the community.Mrs. Sellix also stated that several robberies have occurred at the gas station and that police in one instance warned them to stay in their homes because the robbers had fled through their yard.After the testimony, the board went into a lengthy executive session. Afterward attorney Jennie Cheg, solicitor for the zoning hearing board, said that before a decision can be reached a traffic study should be performed at the site, plus a drawing of where parking spaces would be located.She also noted that information must be supplied on the space available for emergency vehicles to access the property, and on how storm water would impact the adjacent properties.The board and Sandhu agreed to a continuance of the hearing until 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15.