By Matthew Sockol
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD – Plans to move the Amazing Escape Room from its present location in a multi-story home at 77 W. Main St. to a new location in Freehold Borough are in the works.
Howard Klotzkin, the owner of the business, said he is planning to move the operation to a vacant commercial building at 2 Monmouth Ave.
On Aug. 24, Klotzkin appeared before the Planning Board to request preliminary and final site plan approval for the new location, a use variance for the business and a sign variance. Attorney Vincent Halleran presented the application.
Following the conclusion of testimony, board members directed their attorney to prepare a resolution granting preliminary and final site plan approval, the use variance and the sign variance. The resolution may be memorialized at the board’s Sept. 14 meeting.
The Amazing Escape Room has been in operation at 77 W. Main St. since the summer of 2015. It is in a B-1 zone, which permits offices of members of recognized professions, banks, funeral homes, photography studios, music, dance and art studios, and public institutions of higher education.
The zoning application for the business described the Amazing Escape Room as a team-building business where people from companies and organizations, or a group of individuals, work together for the purpose of team building. The business’s proposed use was called into question during an investigation by borough officials.
The investigation was prompted by complaints from neighbors regarding noise, large groups of people congregating in and around the property, traffic and other issues. In November, borough officials determined the description of the business’s proposed use in its initial application was not reflective of the activity being conducted at the site and deemed the business an entertainment center.
In response, Klotzkin applied for a zoning interpretation from the Planning Board which he hoped would state that the business’s use in the B-1 zone was permitted. The board upheld the municipality’s determination that the Amazing Escape Room is not a permitted use in the B-1 zone.
A letter submitted by Halleran stated that Klotzkin would appeal the board’s decision in Superior Court. About a month later, Klotzkin received a cease and desist notice from the borough, which directed him to stop operating the business in June.
At the Aug. 24 meeting, Halleran said Klotzkin is no longer seeking the zoning interpretation. Klotzkin said he is seeking municipal approval to move his business to a building on Monmouth Avenue.
As of the meeting, the Amazing Escape Room was operational at its West Main Street location.
The vacant building on Monmouth Avenue that is proposed as the location for the Amazing Escape Room is in a B-2 zone, which permits service establishments that are permitted in a B-1 zone, as well as retail goods sellers, parking areas and hotels.
Planner James Higgins, testifying on behalf of Klotzkin, said the Amazing Escape Room’s use is comparable to the use of art studios and dance studios, which are permitted in the B-2 zone on Monmouth Avenue.
Higgins said the Amazing Escape Room has educational and entertainment value because it can be used for team training. Guests are placed in a locked room and have to solve a series of clues to escape from the room.
Higgins said people who come to the Amazing Escape Room may patronize other businesses in town such as restaurants and he said that would be a benefit to the borough. He said he did not believe the Amazing Escape Room would have an adverse impact on the surrounding area.
Board members were in favor of granting the business a use variance, but were split on granting preliminary and final site plan approval.
Board Chairman Adam Reich and members William Barricelli and Danielle Sims indicated they were opposed to granting preliminary and final site plan approval because the plan that was submitted did not contain all of the proposed changes to the site.
Reich said it was necessary for board members to review the full site plan to ensure it has no issues and to not leave the task of reviewing the full site plan entirely on the board’s engineer, William Wentzien.
Board members subsequently agreed to have the panel’s attorney, Ron Cucchiaro, prepare a positive resolution for the Amazing Escape Room application.
A site plan containing all of the proposed changes at the Monmouth Avenue site is expected to be presented prior to the board’s final vote on the application.
Klotzkin asked the board to memorialize the resolution that evening, but Reich said its members will need to review the resolution Cucchiaro prepares prior to holding a final vote on the business’s move from West Main Street to Monmouth Avenue.
No member of the public commented on the Amazing Escape Room application.
