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RED BANK: STATION PROJECT GOES TO BOARD

hot topic red bank njAfter months of postponements, the Red Bank zoning board hearing on a plan for a four-story apartment building opposite the train station is scheduled to begin Thursday night.

UPDATE: Yet again, this hearing has been postponed. The borough website says the zoning board meeting has been cancelled and “all applications scheduled for this date will re-notice for a new hearing date.”

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RED BANK: THRIVE PLAN GETS BOARD OK

A rendering of the proposed Thrive Red Bank project, as seen from Shrewsbury Avenue. (Rendering by CPA Architecture. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicA proposed apartment building for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities won approval from the Red Bank zoning board Thursday night.

Advocates called the approval historic, and said it would allow them to create a model for desperately needed housing for neuro-diverse adults.

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RED BANK: THRIVE PARKING PLAN QUESTIONED

Seen on a monitor, an architect discusses the design of the proposed Shrewsbury Avenue project. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicA proposed apartment project for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities would be the first of its kind in New Jersey, which has a critical need for it, sponsors told the Red Bank zoning board Thursday night.

Board members had questions about parking and unit size, but showed no immediate sign of opposition.

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RED BANK: SPECIAL-NEEDS HOUSING PLANNED

Rendering shows the Shrewsbury Avenue side of the proposed building. Access to an interior garage would be at the far left. (Rendering by CPA Architecture.Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicWhen Karen Fluharty moved her special-needs adult son to a neuro-diverse housing complex in Phoenix two years ago, she was both relieved and devastated. There simply was nothing anywhere near her Rumson home that would allow young Ryan to live an independent life with an overlay of needed support, she said.

“I had to make the choice as a parent, to leave my 19-year-old son, my only child, in Arizona,” she said. “I had to make the choice between the right program and being near family. And no parent should have to make that choice.”

On Thursday night, a nonprofit entity Fluharty created will go before the Red Bank zoning board with an alternative.

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RED BANK: MORE STATION UNITS PROPOSED

The project would replace three commercial buildings on Bridge Avenue and two houses on Oakland Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

UPDATE: The May 18 zoning board meeting has been cancelled, according to a notice on the borough website.

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njA proposal for 32 new apartments across the street from the Red Bank train station is scheduled to go before the borough zoning board next week.

If approved, the project would add to a development boom around the station.

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RED BANK: POT, BUDGET & MORE ON AGENDA

Responding to public pressure, the council plans to create a four-way stop at the intersection of Leighton Avenue and Drs. James Parker Boulevard. (Google Maps image. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njOn the Red Bank mayor and council’s agenda for Wednesday night: new hurdles for licensing of cannabis businesses; the 2023 budget; a new four-way traffic intersection and more.

 

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RED BANK: SMOKE, BUT NO FIRE ‘COMPANY’

The cannabis shop is slated to replace the China Moon restaurant on North Bridge Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

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A proposed cannabis store with the “terrible” name of “Red Bank Fire Company” will change its moniker before it opens in coming months, a representative said Monday night.

The business won planning board approval to open a marijuana dispensary in a North Bridge Avenue strip mall after promising to quickly end any confusion with the borough’s volunteer fire department.

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RED BANK: SPARKS FLY BEFORE OVERRIDE VOTE

Area NAACP president William Poku addressing Councilmembers John Jackson, Michael Ballard and Ed Zippich during the special session. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicControversy over an ordinance restricting short-term residential rentals such as Airbnbs in Red Bank continued at a special hearing Friday morning on whether to override Mayor Billy Portman‘s veto of the law.

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RED BANK: ITALIAN ICE, LOBSTER ROLLS COMING

The future location of Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard on West Front Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

retail churn smallRed Bank’s booming food scene is in for some new additions soon: a Rita’s Italian Ice shop and a Mystic Lobster Roll.

Also: a hair stylist has found a single answer to the questions of where to operate his salon and where to live.

Read all about them in this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn.

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RED BANK: HOUSING, POT DOMINATE SESSION

Evergreen Terrace is one of two apartment complexes slated for possible rehabilitation or redevelopment. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

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The Red Bank Housing Authority asked the borough council for money to explore possible redevelopment of two subsidized apartment complexes Wednesday night.

At its second three-plus-hour meeting in three days, the governing body also heard more testimony for and against a possible overhaul of the zoning law governing cannabis businesses.

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RED BANK: PORTMAN VETOES RENTAL LAW

Mayor Billy Portman called the ordinance “an effort to appease a few people” who oppose short-term rentals. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicRed Bank Mayor Billy Portman vetoed a controversial law restricting short-term, Airbnb-style residential rentals Wednesday night.

Portman, just seven weeks into his term, announced the rarely used action after the conclusion of a council meeting that ran for three and a half hours without any hint of his intention.

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RED BANK: SHORT-RENTAL LAW PASSES

The owner of an Airbnb-listed house on Oakland Street continued his opposition to the ordinance. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

redbankgreen hot topicRed Bank’s council adopted controversial law restricting short-term, Airbnb-style residential rentals Wednesday night.

The action followed complaints by residents and Mayor Billy Portman that, months into the issue, the council still was not “listening” to the public.

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RED BANK: PIPES, RENTALS, VOTING ON DECK

Branch Avenue resident Alberto Larotonda with a lead pipe he brought to a council meeting in 2015. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

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By JOHN T. WARD

redbankgreen hot topicThe Red Bank council may authorize spending up to $2.4 million to replace water service lines made of lead when it meets Wednesday night.

Also on the heavy agenda: possible adoption of a controversial law restricting short-term residential rentals; a study of water rates; a change in the zoning law governing cannabis sales; and authorizing early, in-person voting for an historic May election.

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RED BANK: MASTER PLAN’S USE DEBATED

An illustration from the Master Plan section on affordable housing. (Image by BFJ Planning. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njConcluding a 14-month process, the Red Bank planning board adopted the borough’s first new Master Plan in 28 years Monday night.

The unanimous vote followed spirited debate about whether the many recommendations in the 166-page document should be prioritized for council action.

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RED BANK: SHORT-RENTAL LAW ADVANCES

Scott Lavelle showing the audience a photo of a bounce house at an Airbnb that abuts his Worthley Street home. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njRed Bank’s council formally introduced a proposed law to regulate short-term home rentals such as Airbnbs Wednesday night.

The action followed heated debate on both the substance of the ordinance and the process that brought it to this point.

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RED BANK: SHORT-RENTAL LAW RETURNS

An Airbnb-listed house on Mechanic Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njRed Bank officials will resume their efforts to enact a law regulating short-term home rentals such as Airbnbs this week.

A new version of an ordinance that failed to gain traction late in 2022 is up for introduction at Wednesday night’s semimonthly council meeting.

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RED BANK: MASTER PLAN GETS WALK-THROUGH

Master Plan consultant Susan Favate addressing attendees Monday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njA proposed new Master Plan for Red Bank drew little criticism in its public debut Monday night.

If adopted, as expected, the next challenge will be in prioritizing the many recommendations in the 166-page document, planning board members said.

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RED BANK: SIDES STAKED OUT ON RENTAL LAW

The owner of the house at 70-72 Wallace Street defended short-term rentals. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njRed Bank officials postponed a brewing battle over short-term home rentals such as Airbnbs last week.

Still, a number of residents made impassioned arguments pro and con at the borough council’s final meeting of 2022 Wednesday night, previewing what’s likely to come in 2023.

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