A Franklin Township gas station owner won't be able to 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, which is not currently open for business, is 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.Following a lengthy executive session Thursday night, attorney Jenny Cheng, speaking for the board, noted that it feels that the variance request was denied because it did not meet the needs of the zoning ordinance.She said that a written statement would be available in 45 days and that the applicant had 30 days after receiving the report to appeal the decision to the court of common pleas.Following a Franklin Township Zoning Hearing in September, Sandhu was asked to provide a traffic study, plus provide a study of where parking spaces would be located. He was also asked to show where there would be available space for emergency vehicles to access the property, and on how storm water would impact the adjacent properties.Thursday's reconvening was held with board chairman Kim DePue, and alternates Kevin Strunk and Ken Cahill.Sandhu was not at the meeting, but testifying in his absence was Brian Gasda of Lehigh Engineering and Kathy Hendrix, an employee of Rockland Energy, Inc.Gasda testified that the gas station would only have four extra vehicles every 10 minutes on Route 209, which has a traffic volume of 1,553 cars during peak traffic periods. Although the property was small, he said it could support several parking spaces, was large enough for fuel deliveries, and and to have stations to fuel four vehicles at one time.Sandhu had testified in September 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.The station, when operating, can currently serve two full-service gas customers. If the station was upgraded, four gas customers could be accommodated at one time. Sandhu had noted that he wanted to sell cigarettes and sodas to his customers.The proposed site is only .092 acres, but Sandhu had said that he felt his lot could accommodate room to park at least seven cars.Sandhu said in September that he wanted to upgrade the pumps because they do not accept credit cards and cannot be refitted to accept credit cards. Sandhu had offered to enhance the area with shrubbery to accommodate local residents 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.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 purchased the business from Liberty Oil in June 1994 but found it unprofitable because it was too small to accommodate his customers. He had hoped 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.Neighbors to the property were allowed to question Gasda but it became apparent that since he was unfamiliar with the specific issues that occurred in the past at the intersection with Court Street and Interchange Road.Gasda said that since the station was not open, it was also hard for him to measure the traffic flow at the business. He noted that since the lot was so small it would have little impact on storm water in the area.A letter was read from Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company Fire Chief Bruce Wolfe that the fire company was able to access the site.