The top floor of the buildings along Monmouth Street depicted above would be set back 25 feet under proposed changes to the plan. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
The Red Bank Planning Board hit the pause button on the massive train station redevelopment plan after a debate among board members that began when its chairman and at least one other board member said they were about to vote against approving it.
“I don’t like much of anything about this application besides the affordable housing, which I agree is very important,” Planning Board Chairman Dan Mancuso said. “I’m not going to be mad at people who vote for it, but I’m not going to.”
The plan is a key step in what could create the largest development that the town has seen in decades, or perhaps ever.
The Red Bank Planning Board at Wednesday’s meeting (photo by Brian Donohue)
Echoing concerns voiced by speakers during three separate board hearings, as well as phone calls to public officials and on lawn signs across town, Mancuso cited the likely unaffordability of units besides the 20 percent set aside for income-eligible applicants; the size and design of the buildings; and other concerns.
“I have never in all my years been so influenced by members of the public,” Mancuso said. Board member Barbara Boas said she agreed with Mancuso and would likely vote against the plan.
With the fate of the plan uncertain, Board Attorney Marc Leckstein advised members that a “no’ vote would not conclude the task before them. The borough has formally declared the zone an area in need of redevelopment, so the Planning Board needs to come up with some plan to establish the zoning parameters for the area.
The board decided to form a four-member subcommittee to draw up recommended changes and resume the hearing at an unspecified date.
The draft plan, written by borough planning firm BFJ Planning, would essentially rezone the area to allow up to 400 apartments in five and six story buildings. It calls for 725 street-level and garage parking spaces, two new streets, green space and commercial space. The plan closely reflects a concept plan unveiled in December by property owner and NJ Transit’s designated developer Denholtz.
Approval by the Planning Board would send the plan to the council for adoption as an ordinance creating new zoning rules for the tract. The plan can be found here:
Boas cited the numerous other large apartment projects under construction across town, saying the borough needs to assess the effects of so much development before adding the largest project the town has ever seen.
“We need to take a step back and think about these things before we add another 400 some odd apartments in this town,” she said.
Board Member Itzel Perez-Hernandez made the initial motion to vote on passage and indicated she would vote to approve it.
But she acknowledged “hard choices” the town needs to make to fulfill the state’s 157-unit affordable housing mandate.
“It’s not an ideal setting and it’s not an ideal thing to have to do,” she said of the plan. But she added, “The one thing we can do is provide 80 affordable units, and failing to do that to me feels irresponsible.”
Mayor Billy Portman said he was in favor of pausing the process to consider more significant changes.
“This is the biggest project Red Bank has ever seen,” said Mayor Billy Portman, who sits on the Planning Board. ” I don’t mind us taking our time to make sure it works.”
One topic the subcommittee seemed poised to consider: reducing the maximum height to more closely match Denholtz’s other project in the area, the four-story Rail apartment building.
“Why don’t we have a conversation about bringing it down a story or so,” board member Wilson Beebe said. “We haven’t had that conversation, and I’m curious why we don’t.”
The move to carry the plan to a future meeting came after a two-hour hearing during which the board had already agreed to several smaller tweaks, some of them in response to comments from speakers over the three days of hearings.
Those changes include:
- Reducing the amount of ground-level commercial space from 50,000 to about 37,000 square feet, reflecting concerns raised by businesses that more shops and stores would create competition for existing merchants and restaurants.
- A 25-foot top-floor setback along Monmouth Street to offset the visual impact of the allowed six-story building height
- A requirement for the builder to create individual entrances to the building along West Street to make it appear more like walk-up apartments with stoops, stairs, porticos, etc.
- Changes in the language of a section calling for the creation of a new “shared street” on the south parcel between Monmouth and Chestnut Streets from “shall” to “should” to allow wiggle room in case it proves impossible to build.
- A walkway along the NJ Transit rail line to create a pedestrian and bike path running along the tracks between Drs. James Parker Boulevard and Chestnut Street, if the agency’s safety standards allow it.
There was no change to the plan calling for the relocation of the NJ Transit bus stop to West Street, which several members of the public had said would be problematic.
BFJ Planning principal Susan Favate said NJ Transit wants to move the stop to that street, but that the specifics of that plan are yet to be worked out.
“That obviously needs a lot more analysis and study,” Favate said.
Emily Frascella of Oakland Street asked for the same top-floor setbacks on Oakland Street as were being required on Monmouth Street.
“It will just be like a huge wall looking over that part of the neighborhood,’’ she said of the Oakland Street side of the project.
Irving Place resident Dan Riordan echoed a common criticism: that the maximum building height should be lower and buildings set back farther from streets and sidewalks.
“It should be four stories and the setback in that zone is 30 feet,’’ Riordan said, referring to the existing rules.
Mary Ellen Mess, a vocal critic of the plan, questioned why the plan, ostensibly prepared by and for the borough, so closely reflected what Denholtz had unveiled in December.
“I don’t feel like it’s your plan, I don’t feel like it’s Red Bank’s plan,” she said. “I feel like it’s Denholtz’s plan.”
“This is the time to put the brakes on,” she added.
In the end, at least for now, he and the board agreed with her.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
