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The board voted unanimous approval after each application following the remainder of testimony on the independent but related applications - both continued from previous hearings.
Previous testimony from the applicant indicated that the restaurant, called "elements," proposed for the site of the former Steffanelli's garage at Route 206 and Leigh Avenue, would rely on parking spaces at the proposed headquarters for the nearby bank.
The restaurant wouldn't have been able to create the 26 parking spaces required for the 78-seat restaurant because of space taken up by a duplex that was to be moved from the bank site to the restaurant lot.
But the applicant issued a different plan for the restaurant Wednesday.
Although board member Jerome Rose cited concerns about the "interrelationship" between the two applications - and the duplex move - he said the bank application "is in the public interest."
The board agreed and quickly approved the application for the bank, planned for the intersection of Birch Avenue and Route 206.
But the concerns about the two sites' relationship were addressed later by the revision of the restaurant plan.
Project Attorney Bob Ridolfi said his client, restaurant co-owner and the bank's chairman Stephen Distler, had decided to pursue suggestions from board members and the public suggesting that the duplex be removed from the restaurant site plan to allow for ample parking at the site.
As a result, "a series of variances, both on the use side and the bulk side, could be eliminated from this application, thus simplifying the application," Mr. Ridolfi said.
"If we can accommodate the 26 spots on our site, and still have the 35 available at the bank ... it seems like a win-win," Mr. Distler said.
All of the board members expressed favor for the revision after neighbors made positive comments about the new plan.
Maria Evans, who lives next door to the proposed restaurant site - and whose property would have abutted the duplex - said she favored the revised plan without the building.
Although he had still sought 10 additional spaces at the bank that could be used for restaurant overflow parking, Mr. Distler said he would have no problem allowing residents who had difficulty finding parking to use the bank lot when the bank is closed.
But some of the neighbors had different concerns.
Resident Janet Martin said she had "strong objections to any proposal that would remove the house at 235 Birch (Avenue)."
"Housing is very tight in the Birch-Leigh neighborhood ... and relatively affordable housing is at a premium in the township," she said. "Yes, the neighbors are concerned about parking, but we are concerned also about preserving our housing and the residential character of the neighborhood."
After the meeting, Mr. Distler said he is "continuing to look for another location to move this house," but doesn't know what the outcome will be.
"I share the feelings of the board and the neighbors," he said. "It would be a shame if that house were to be lost."
He said he was pleased the revision garnered favor with the board and the neighbors.
"I thought that my original proposal was the compromise that people wanted, but I was proved wrong," Mr. Distler said. "Fortunately, we were able to ... come up with an alternative. The discussion and the vote seemed to go very smoothly, but the reality is it's the result of many months - if not several years - of negotiation and work with the good people in the township."
Mr. Distler said he hopes to "move forward as quickly as possible," noting his goal of opening the restaurant in the first quarter of 2008 and completing the bank by the end of the second quarter of 2008
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