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.

SHREWSBURY: SEABROOK ZONE ISSUE CITED

seabrook-sign-051117-500x375-1175398The opening of the Seabrook House facility drew protesters last Thursday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Shrewsbury officials have notified representatives of a new addiction-counseling center that a key aspect of the operation appears to conflict with local zoning law, redbankgreen has learned.

Five days after Governor Chris Christie got into a shouting match with protesters at the opening of the Seabrook House outpatient facility on White Street, borough Attorney Martin Barger confirmed the nonprofit has been told by letter that its plan for group counseling sessions is not permitted in the zone.

christie-seabrook-051117-500x375-1116046Governor Chris Christie and protesters facing off outside the Seabrook House last week. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

The letter from borough hall to the Bridgeton-based Seabrook had been widely rumored, but was not confirmed by town officials until Tuesday.

According to Barger, Seabrook’s application to conduct individual and family counseling services at the address was approved by the zoning office without the need for any variances in December.

But borough officials learned last week from signage and other materials published by Seabrook that group counseling would also be provided at the site, Barger told redbankgreen.

“Apparently, and this is all hearsay… these are lengthy sessions with lots of people, and that’s not something that has been permitted there,” he said. “That’s not a professional office. That’s something else. And the opinion of the zoning officer is that that requires a variance, and I agree with him.”

“It’s an overuse of the building, we believe,” he said.

Barger said he wrote to Seabrook’s attorney saying it would have to comply with the ordinance or seek a variance. No response had yet been received, he said.

Zoning officer David Cranmer did not respond to requests for information.

In a Facebook post, Councilman Erik Anderson wrote that the provision of group services “is a particular concern due to the size of the building and the limited parking available at the site.”

The two-story building, which has been vacant for some time, was previously used for individual counseling services. Located in the B1 business zone just off Broad Street, the structure is said in Monmouth County tax records to be 4,000 square feet in size. It has its own parking lot out back.

Seabrook president Ed Diehl could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon. But he said last week that if there were any outstanding issues with the borough, the company would address them.

He also told reporters he was confident that every aspect of the operation, including the group sessions, was made known to the zoning office when Seabrook filed its application to operate late last year.

Group sessions involve about eight patients at a time, with no more than two groups conducted at the same time, Diehl said, adding that the building has sufficient parking on-site for clients.

At the grand-opening ceremony last week, Christie clashed with protesters, deriding them as “ignorant” NIMBYs whose children would someday need the facility, given current trends in opiate abuse.

Neighbors contend the Shrewsbury facility is too close to the borough schools, located about 200 yards away. Bill Dodge, a former council president and police commissioner, was among the protesters.

“Several hundred kids walk by here every day, twice a day,” he told redbankgreen. “Are we supposed to treat this as an educational opportunity, to tell our children that it’s OK if you get addicted, you’ll be taken care of?”

Dodge said he was “proud” of Christie for making the opioid crisis a high priority, but astonished that his staff would permit him to attend the opening of a counseling center so close to a school.

 

Other objectors said they would not mind if the facility was elsewhere in town, but just not close to homes and the schools.

According to Diehl, a similar Seabrook outpatient facility in Northfield, in Atlantic County, is located across the street from an elementary school, and hasn’t had any adverse incidents in five years of operation.

Mayor Don Burden referred a reporter’s questions to Barger.

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
Partyline
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 ...
WHAT? NO redbankgreen NEWSLETTER?
Apologies to redbankgreen newsletter subscribers: the daily email hasn’t gone out for two days because of technical issues.
RED BANK: TIRED OF SKEETERS?
RED BANK: Tired of mosquito bites every summer? Monmouth County has a free program to help eliminate skeeter breeding grounds.