Red Rock Tap + Grill as seen from from Union Street. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The owner of Red Rock Tap + Grill got a green light from the Red Bank planning board for building and site changes Monday night.
But first, he got an earful over “astonishing” noise and the use of porta-potties.
A rendering of the proposed changes includes the stair tower at center. (Image by Michael James Monroe Architects. Click to enlarge.)
Red Rock, at 14 Wharf Avenue, went before the board seeking approval of a plan to create a seasonally enclosed dining area on what’s now an open-air second floor, and to move the interior stairs to a new stair tower.
The dining enclosure would include non-opening windows along the west wall to dampen noise to neighbors, said the bar/restaurant’s attorney, former mayor Ed McKenna.
Harry Martin, who lives at 11 Wharf, was the only member of the public to comment, and teed up the business over loud music.
“The noise is incredible,” he said. “They flagrantly and frequently violate the noise ordinance,” continuing until 1:30 a.m., 90 minutes past the Friday and Saturday required cut-off, Martin said. “It’s astonishing.”
He cited seven specific dates since August, adding, “I could make a list of hundred of these.” The problem is both live music and canned, he said.
Martin said he had long ago given up on calling police after failing to get action.
Owner Paul Marcotte said the bar cuts off music at 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and on Saturdays, “we end it at 11, always.”
Board member and Fire Marshal Tommy Welsh said the police department does receive noise complaints about Red Rock, but suggested the din might sometimes be coming from the nearby Centrada nightclub, which “is as loud or louder at times,” as that at from Red Rock.
“There is no question, none whatsoever, that the Red Rock bar is the source of this noise,” Martin replied.
Chairman Dan Mancuso pressed for and obtained compliance with the noise ordinance as a condition of approval.
Marcotte also sought, after-the-fact, approval to remove an Americans with Disabilities Act parking space from within the property footprint.
In May, 2019, the same board allowed Red Rock to to eliminate three of four employee-only parking spots, but required it to maintain one as an ADA spot for customer use.
Because of the site configuration, that proved “technically unfeasible” and dangerous, said architect Michael James Monroe, whose testimony was bolstered by that of a traffic engineer.
Marcotte unilaterally eliminated the space, and was cited for it by the borough “as soon as it became apparent,” said Welsh.
The board agreed that maintaining any parking site on the lot was unsafe, though member Barbara Boas pressed, without success, for Red Rock to provide an ADA space somewhere else. There are already too few in town, she said.
Portable potties, used by the throngs who fill the bar’s courtyard in nice weather, also were an issue.
“Apparently, the bathroom facilities in the restaurant are inadequate to address the crowds that are present,” said Martin. “And so they need to be supplemented, in a food establishment.”
Welsh said the town calculates the number of toilets required based on indoor customer seating, not the outdoor crowds of the size drawn by Red Rock.
Marcotte agreed to relocate the latrines to the area of the discontinued parking spot.
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