FREEHOLD – By the margin of one vote, a proposed project to construct a mixed use commercial/residential building on South Street has been denied by the Borough Council.
An application from Market Yard Properties, LLC (Jacob Lipschitz) to construct a three-story, 2,800-square-foot building at 23 South St. was denied by a majority of council members on Dec. 3.
Council President Sharon Shutzer and councilmen Jaye Sims and Ron Griffiths voted against approving the application; councilmen George Schnurr and Kevin Kane voted in favor. Councilman Michael DiBenedetto, who owns Joe’s Barber Shop on South Street, recused himself from voting.
Had the project received approval, the building would have been developed on a vacant lot and expanded a neighboring two-story, 3,612-square-foot building owned by Lipschitz that has an office on the first floor and three apartments on the second floor. Combined, the building would have totaled 5,910 square feet with three two-bedroom apartments and six one-bedroom apartments.
Because the proposed building was in the Freehold Center Core Redevelopment Zone, representatives of Lipschitz appeared before the council on Nov. 5 and Dec. 3 to request that the project be found to be compliant with the borough’s Core Redevelopment Plan. Attorney Vincent Halleran presented the application.
Under local law, applications for projects in that zone must be brought before the council so members of the governing body may determine if the application is compliant with the Core Redevelopment Plan. Because the council found Lipschitz’s application not to be compliant, the proposed building will not be able to progress further.
Representatives of the applicant testified that the proposed building met the goals and objectives of the Core Redevelopment Plan, including providing housing opportunities and restoring an underused property.
Concerns with the application centered on whether it met the parking requirements of the Core Redevelopment Plan and its potential impact on parking in the surrounding area, which is experiencing congestion and other difficulties.
Although business owners in the downtown district had praise for the proposed building itself, they said the area could not support the parking burden its approval would create.
In voicing opposition to the application, Shutzer and Griffiths concurred with the concerns and found the proposed building would further burden the nearby Market Yard parking lot with vehicles.
“As a resident who uses the the Market Yard, I know what the issues there are,” Shutzer said. “How many times can we use the same lot?”
Conversely, Schnurr and Kane reasoned the proposed building would be beneficial for development and could be used to lower the tax burden.
“We want development,” Schnurr said. “If we don’t have this building, we’re going to have an empty lot.”
At the conclusion of testimony, a motion was made to approve the application. The motion failed, 3-2, with Schnurr and Kane voting “yes” and Shutzer, Sims and Griffiths voting “no.”
