Reflecting a continued need to store car inventories near dealer showrooms, Tesla Inc. has proposed to the Cherry Hill Planning board to add more than 100 parking spaces to its existing storage site on Old Cuthbert Road in Cherry Hill.

In the last year, the Land Rover and Jaguar dealership operating in Cherry Hill got zoning board permission to store vehicles on a lot on Haddonfield Road, and Cherry Hill Dodge received Planning Board approval to add to its lot at Route 70 and Chambers Avenue. Both plans came under fire by those who live in the Locustwood neighborhood next to the dealerships.

But the latest request — from Tesla for the dealership at 1605 Route 70 — is for property that doesn’t abut a large residential area. The 1840-50 Old Cuthbert Road site is bordered by Route 295 to the west and several commercial buildings, including the Cherry Hill Health & Racquet Club.

The Planning Board will consider Tesla’s application at its meeting on Monday at 7 p.m. The agenda and how to attend virtually are here. A detailed description of the plan is available here on the township site.

Tesla seeks site-plan and variance approvals for 106 parking spaces on the property to temporarily park and stage its vehicles. Between 25 and 50 cars a week would be delivered on car-carrier trucks, according to Tesla’s plan. At the end of every quarter, the number delivered weekly would rise to 50 to 100 vehicles.

The carmaker now stores about 150 vehicles in a 625,346-square-foot building on the 15-acre property, which is owned by 1660 Suckle Highway LLC of Hillside, Union County, according to the proposal. 

“This proposed location will significantly reduce the number of inventory and trade-in vehicles stored at the Route 70 location, which will improve the current operations at the retail and service facility,” Tesla states in its plan.

A review of the plan by the township Department of Community Development acknowledges an annoying practice of car dealerships documented by neighbors in the Land Rover and Cherry Hill Dodge proposals.

“The applicant shall provide testimony regarding the process for locating vehicles on the property to ensure that car alarms are not being used as a means to locate vehicles,” the township review letter stipulates.

No trees would be removed from the wooded lot, the township review notes. In Cherry Hill, the removal of any more than three live trees requires Planning Board approval for any property owner, according to the township.