The lot at 1 Berry Street, with Rose-Marie Jackson’s house at right. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A would-be builder dropped his plans to erect a house on a postage-stamp-sized Red Bank lot last week after selling it to a neighbor who had objected to the plan.
Jacob Morales, center, speaking with Rose-Marie Jackson about his plans at a zoning board hearing in October. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Jacob Morales, of South Bridge Avenue, had proposed building a two-story, 1,675-square-foot home on a vacant, undersized lot at 1 Berry Street.
The house was to be a “surprise” birthday gift for his mother, Morales told the zoning board in early October.
Morales acquired the 33-by-50 foot lot for $20,000 last March, and presented his plan to the board only after untangling numerous title and tax issues, said his attorney, Kevin Asadi.
But his planned house, with just 750 square feet on the ground floor, first had to win board approval for tight setbacks, including one that would put the house just 5.5 feet from the property line with the lot next door, owned by Rose-Marie Jackson.
By forcing Morales to comply with the setbacks, “you’re kind of eliminating his right to develop” the lot, architect Ed O’Neill told the board. He said the “modest, infill” house would make a tiny dent in the state’s “tremendous need” for housing.
But Jackson’s daughter, Jasmine Jackson, told the board that her mother had lived in her house for all 75 years of her life, and was worried that Morale’s structure would “tower over” hers, which is just one foot off the property line.
After extended discussion about legal doctrine concerning isolated, vacant property, and whether Morales had made efforts to either acquire adjoining property to enlarge his or to sell his lot to a neighbor, Jackson told the board she was interested in making an offer, and Morales agreed to negotiate.
Documents filed with Monmouth County on December 28 show Morales sold the property to Jackson for $132,000, with Morales holding a $30,000 mortgage. The deed states that Jackson “accepts a covenant to consolidate the property” with the one she already owned.
The zoning board formally dismissed the application at Morales’ request when it met last Thursday night.
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