Council to renew talk of larger SID
Partnership report
lists areas for
business zones
Freehold Borough Council members are examining the possibility of expanding the boundaries of the town’s Special Improvement District (SID).
Requests were made within the past year by members of the Freehold Center Partnership, which operates the SID, and the subject was brought to the council’s Feb. 11 meeting by the partnership’s executive director, Jayne Carr, and attorney Ron Reich.
A request was made by Carr to remove one proposed SID expansion area from the table. The area on Main Street, the north and south sides, west from Manalapan Avenue to the intersection of Park Avenue was removed from the proposal after a discussion between council members and representatives of the partnership.
Carr said the partnership felt that it no longer made sense to expand the SID west of Man-alapan Avenue since borough officials have indicated that they want to keep that stretch of West Main Street residential.
Reich’s presentation ex-plained the committee’s recommendations for possible expansion of the SID. Some of the areas, including commercial and professional businesses, would be Court, Throckmorton, West Main and Center streets.
One proposed area of the SID’s expansion is South Street (east and west sides), south to the intersection with Institute Street and Lincoln Place. The area encompassing the St. Rose of Lima School would be excluded.
The plan calls for the SID to include Court Street, west to Haley Street, and Monument Street, west to Schanck Street.
The SID on Throckmorton Street, which currently ends at Freehold Furniture (Monmouth Avenue), would be expanded to stretch west to the Freehold Township border at the Route 9 overpass.
Also on the proposed SID expansion plan would be to include Hudson Street to Mechanic Street and east to Jackson Street. This would include a new retail strip mall being built across from the Rug Mill Towers.
Reich explained why the partnership is asking for the SID to be expanded. According to a report presented by Reich, the governing body must look at four criteria to determine the boundaries of a SID.
"First, the area as described by lot and building and street address must benefit from being designated as a SID; that a district management corporation would provide administrative and other services to benefit the businesses, employees, residents and consumers in the special improvement district; that a special assessment shall be imposed and collected by the municipality with the regular property tax or payment in lieu of taxes or otherwise, and that all or a portion of these payments shall be transferred to the district management corporation to effectuate the purpose of this amendatory and supplementary act and to exercise the powers given to it by municipal ordinances and that it is in the best interests of the municipality and the public to create a special improvement district and to designate a district management corporation."
Reich’s report said the partnership needs to increase the availability of inventory for commercial development.
"There has been a long-standing resistance to change the character of residential streets into commercial operations. This objection has been overcome on a piecemeal basis," the report stated. "For example, Court Street to Haley Street is now, almost without exception, commercial/office. Alternately, there is increased pressure on the downtown, ‘retail’ area to house first floor non-retail businesses. This results directly from the success of the partnership in creating interest and viability of Freehold Center as a marketing area."
The report continued, "If the governing body approves an expansion of the district, the partnership could and should exercise its leadership role to induce non-retail businesses to locate in the new areas and thereby expand the area commonly referred to as Freehold Center. The benefit to all concerned is evident in that those buildings that now house service businesses might be encouraged to locate in the new areas and create space for retail businesses near the major parking areas. Service businesses would benefit greatly from the on-site parking available in the new areas and we could encourage the retail area to flourish. One of the major areas in which the partnership must improve its performance is the attraction of retail to our downtown."
Carr told council members the character of the town itself has changed in a positive manner since the partnership was formed 11 years ago.
"The partnership has brought great benefits to the businesses who have been involved in the SID. We’d like to expand our boundaries to the outer reaches of the town," Carr said.
Carr also commented that some owners of properties on Throckmorton Street had asked why the partnership efforts appeared to stop at Freehold Furniture’s Monmouth Avenue location. She said they wanted to know why the partnership banners and flower pots didn’t stretch to the end of the borough boundary.
Council members indicated that they will discuss the issue of the SID expansion and notify the partnership of their decision.