The Howell Township Council has passed a resolution that will temporarily add extra controls regarding the manner in which GameChanger World conducts its business.
GameChanger World, an entertainment venue that hosts concerts and gaming events, opened on Dec. 19 at 798 Route 9 South, Howell, after receiving a temporary certificate of occupancy from the municipality, according to township officials.
During the council’s Jan. 7 reorganization meeting, Mayor Bill Gotto said that since its opening, the business has drawn “a handful of complaints, mainly regarding noise and traffic.”
No representatives of the business identified themselves publicly during the council meeting.
GameChanger World “was brought in through normal channels of a business that wants to open in town,” Gotto said.
He said the decision made by the zoning office that did not require the business operator to go before a municipal board makes the presence of the business allowable, but the council was not happy with it. “This is a normal process that occurs with businesses coming into the township. The business owner has been more than agreeable to provide measures to make things better,” he said.
Township officials identified John D’Esposito as the owner of GameChanger World. Messages left for him at GameChanger offices were not returned.
Gotto said the business, which operates in a small strip mall on Route 9 south just south of Strickland Road, was represented as a family-based venue before it was built and was being considered.
He said the business has turned out to be a concert and party venue focusing on a younger demographic.
The resolution passed by the council caps the establishment’s event attendance at 750 people, or 808 people if police provide additional parking; requires at least five security guards to be present at each event; requires security cameras inside and outside the establishment; requires notification by the business operator to the township manager, police department and director of community development 14 days in advance of any event that will exceed 300 attendees; requires additional security for events that exceed 300 attendees; and states that events for teenagers will require identification from attendees and be limited to individuals between 14 and 18 years of age.
The resolution will be in place for 30 days, after which the council will decide if the new rules are adequate or if further action must be taken. Violation of the resolution by the business will result in a summons.
“There is a certain feeling among the council that the occupancy is not something we view favorably,” Gotto said. “The parameters are essentially something for us to do as some level of control to see how this works out. If items are not adequate enough, then we will revisit it. If the owner says he does not have to do [what is being required], then we will have a conversation about further action.”
The council members discussed the matter in executive (closed) session for an hour before passing the resolution. Officials said the substance of the executive session discussion could not be divulged to the public.
Gotto, Deputy Mayor Robert Nicastro, Councilwoman Pauline Smith and Councilman Edward Guz voted to pass the resolution. They each expressed their displeasure with the current situation.
Councilman Robert Walsh voted “no” on the motion to pass the resolution. He later said, “I just don’t agree with that business being there. I think we should have rezoned it years ago.”
“None of us up here agree with this,” Nicastro said. “[The business] has a temporary certificate of occupancy that is going to enable them to have their next few events without approval. The resolution gives us extra layers of protection for these events, and with those extra layers, it makes something bad a little better.”
The council members said they would ask police to attend an event at the business that was scheduled to take place on Jan. 10.
“I want an assessment of what happened throughout the night, what parking was like, how many people were on line, how the traffic was [coming out of the venue onto] Route 9, and whether there was even the slightest hint of something wrong,” Gotto said. “I want police actively pursuing who comes to these events … and I want all of that brought to me in the next executive session at the next meeting.”
Nicastro briefly discussed with Township Attorney McKenna Kingdon the possibility of redefining the definition of an entertainment venue in Howell if the resolution is not enough to regulate the activities that are taking place at GameChanger World.