The Long Branch Planning Board will not hear testimony tonight on a proposal to build 11 townhouses on a beachfront property.
The application was the subject of a court hearing in state Superior Court in Freehold earlier on Oct. 15.
The hearing before Judge Lawrence Lawson was on a motion to stop the Planning Board from hearing the application by developer TDB Associates.
Attorney Anthony Monzo, representing TDB, asked the court to allow the hearing to continue, arguing that the project’s opponents could file a legal action at a later date if the board approves the application.
Thomas Hirsch, the attorney representing a group of residents of the neighboring Seaview Park Condominium complex who oppose the project, argued that the application should not proceed because the City Council improperly approved a developer’s agreement with TDB.
Before Lawson issued a ruling on the motion to stay the hearing, TDB requested the board postpone the hearing until a later date.
City Attorney James Aaron said in an interview following the Oct. 15 court hearing that Lawson’s decision may be delayed because the application was carried.
“The applicant, TDB, asked for an extension, and the Planning Board gave it to them,” Aaron said.
“We notified the judge of that development, and the judge will render his decision,” he added. “It’s in his hands.”
The proposed townhomes would be constructed on two lots on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Marine Terrace. The proposal has been a topic of controversy in recent months as neighbors voiced opposition to the project.
— Kenny Walter