During its monthly meeting last Thursday, the Gloucester County Planning Commission voted to recommend the proposed rezoning of a parcel of land on Hickory Fork Road in Harcum where the building that formerly operated as Rick’s Country Store stands.

Applicant James R. Gray Jr. (who is also a planning commission member) and property owner Patrick M. Northstein are seeking to rezone approximately 3.98 acres of the 4.81-acre parcel from Rural Business (B-4) to Suburban Countryside (SC-1) so the zoning of the property matches both its current and intended uses.

The proposed rezoning area includes the owner’s dwelling. The remainder of the property (which would remain B-4) includes the store building which has a paved parking area and two entrances (on Hickory Fork and Ark roads).

The application includes two waivers (the first to the zoning ordinance requirements and the second to the subdivision requirements). The first waiver would be to remove the requirement that a buffer mus...