Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

DISBAND ZONING BOARD, COUNCILMAN SAYS

b-lucarelliBy DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Fair Haven Councilman Ben Lucarelli (right) has been in the construction and real estate business more than 20 years, and in that time has appeared before countless zoning board all over the state.

None has treated applicants as badly as Fair Haven’s, he said.

So after attending last week’s zoning meeting, and being completely appalled by its members’ actions, Lucarelli has made a bold proposal: disband the board and fold its duties into the planning board’s authority.

“I was appalled at the arrogant, condescending, mean-spirited nature of the zoning board,” he said. “This was just a very bad example of how the residents of Fair Haven are being treated.”

And nobody on the council, which at least once before tried to disband the nine-member board, disagreed.

Because pending applications before the zoning board may be appealed to the council, Lucarelli said he would not get into specifics of what happened at the meeting. Among the agenda items were a request to build a swimming pool at a home on Forrest Avenue and another for an addition to a residence on Katherine Street.

In general, though, Lucarelli called the board’s behavior “unacceptable.”

“What I witnessed Thursday night was, really, the death of common sense,” said Lucarelli, who is president of a Red Bank-based construction company.

The board focused in on details and numbers without applying common sense, he said. The way members treated applicants was disrespectful and arrogant, he said.

That’s not unusual, Mayor Mike Halfacre said.

About three or four years ago, he said the council considered disbanding the zoning board for similar reasons, but after pleas from members, the idea was tabled.

“I do get a lot of complaints about the zoning board, and just the process,” he said. “It’s just a Byzantine process, and no matter how much I speak to people about it, it just doesn’t get any better.”

But rather than “pull the trigger” and do away with the board, Halfacre proposed a “mini summit” with members from all three bodies to hash out the concerns from the council and residents.

A  problem with the zoning board is its members’ understanding of its duties, Halfacre said. The role of the board is to allow or deny variances, and not much else, he said.

“The name is the zoning board of adjustment. It’s there to adjust things. It’s not the zoning board of denials,” he said. “And unfortunately, it becomes the zoning board of denials in Fair Haven.”

Susan O’Brien, who is a zoning board member, took umbrage at the council’s depiction of the board and its actions. She said Thursday’s meeting was not an ordinary meeting, and the board is constrained by laws that the council has drafted and been unwilling to change — an assertion Halfacre disagrees with.

But O’Brien acknowledged, “often, yes, we push back because they’re asking for the moon and the stars.”

“I think you got the wrong impression, to be perfectly honest,” she said.

If there are problems with the board or any of its members, O’Brien said it needs to be brought to them before it hits a boiling point, which it appeared to after Thursday’s meeting. That’s the purpose of the summit, Halfacre said.

“Something has to be done,” Councilman Jerome Koch said. “And it’s not going to be easy.”

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
Partyline
RED TRUCKS AT RED ROCK
A small dishwasher fire at Red Rock Tap and Grill was put out quickly by firefighters overnight, causing minimal damage. Red Bank Fire Depar ...
CREATIVE COVER UP
The windows of Pearl Street Consignment on Monmouth Street were smashed when a driver crashed their car through them injuring an employee la ...
THEY’RE BACK!
Ospreys returned to the skies over Red Bank this week for the first time since they migrated to warmer climes in late fall. With temperature ...
SPRING IS SPRUNG
RED BANK: Spring 2024 arrives on the Greater Red Bank Green with the vernal equinox at 11:06 p.m. Tuesday.
RED BANK’S FINEST – AND NEWEST
Red Bank Police Officer Eliot Ramos was sworn in as the force’s newest patrolman Thursday, and if you’re doing a double take thinkin ...
EASTER EGG MAYHEM AT THE PARK
An errant whistle spurred an unexpectedly early start to the Spring Egg Hunt on Sunday, which had been scheduled to begin at eggsactly 11am ...
PRESEASON DOCKWORK
RED BANK: With winter winding down, marina gets ready for boating season with some dockwork on our beautiful Navesink River.
CORNED BEEF AND DISCO FRIES?
It’s Friday, and smart Lent-observing Leprechauns know the pot of gold at the end of Red Bank’s rainbow is actually the deliciou ...
SURFBOARD DITCHED
It’s a violation of etiquette in surfing to ditch your board.  (it could hit another surfer and hurt them). But someone appears to ha ...
ELSIE, TAKE ME WITH YOU!
Soaked by pouring rain with the temperature hovering in the low 40’s, this sign in the window of Elsie’s Subs on Monmouth Street ...
WALK THIS WAY
PARTYLINE: Before-and-afters of a sidewalk cleanup on West Street.
SOGGY NOTION
RED BANK: Breezeway sculpture captured the mood downtown as heavy rains fell Saturday morning.
HOME DELIVERY
RED BANK: After a subdivision, an instant house rises on a new Catherine Street lot.
COMMUNITY PROFILES
For Black History Month, Red Bank's Community Engagement and Equity Advisory Committee has been running a series of local profiles on Facebo ...
HEARTY FAREWELL FOR HARDY
RED BANK: Council to honor DPU supervisor Rich Hardy, who retired recently after almost 39 years of keeping things running.
HOMEBOUND? READ ON…
RED BANK: Can't get to the public library? It's now offering free delivery and pickups for homebound borough residents.
TAMING A BEAST OF A WEEK
RED BANK: After the second snowfall of the week, a borough family finds the perfect use for it – a Godzilla snow sculpture.
RED BANK: LIBRARY CLOSED, BUT THE HILL’S OPEN
RED BANK: Though the library was closed by a snowstorm, kids got to enjoy the riverfront property's steep slope Tuesday.
LIGHT(HOUSE) MAKEOVER
This year, getting ready for spring means a midwinter makeover for Strollo's Lighthouse in Red Bank.
TODAY: LOCAL PUPPY COMPETES ON ANIMAL PLANET’S “PUPPY BOWL”
Red Bank’s very own rescue puppy, Biscuit, is set to compete in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl this Sunday, February 11, at 2 PM. Th ...