By Kenny Walter
Staff Writer
OCEAN TOWNSHIP- For the second time in five months, the Ocean Township Zoning Board of Adjustment has rejected an application for a Jewish post-secondary school.
The board unanimously denied the variance request by the Yeshiva Gedola Na’os Yaakov to convert a former elementary school building into a Jewish college during a court-mandated April 25 meeting.
“This is and always has been a zoning matter before this board for a non-permitted use,” board chairman Warren Goode said. “This use would be more appropriate in other parts of the township.”
On March 17, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey ordered two additional hearings with several time and procedure stipulations after attorneys representing Yeshiva Gedola Na’os Yaakov filed suit against the Ocean Township Zoning Board of Adjustment and the Ocean Township Council on Jan. 8. That action by the attorneys came after the board rejected the application in December.
The board was given strict guidelines from the court over public testimony, the majority of which concluded during the April 5 meeting.
During last week’s meeting, residents were given 30 minutes to express views on the proposal. Many of the speakers expressed safety and use concerns regarding the proposal. Following public comment, each attorney was given 15 minutes for closing statements prior to the vote.
Goode said the application included several self-imposed restrictions, including prohibiting smoking, parking and limiting noise and outdoor activities that would become enforcement issues.
“Restrictions have been offered are at best difficult to enforce and place an undue burden on neighbors and the township,” he said.
The suit cites a civil rights violation and discrimination after the board rejected the application in December for a 96-student Jewish university on Logan Road when the applicant opted not to seek a time extension, which forced the board into a vote before testimony concluded.
The 11-count lawsuit cites a violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), a violation of First and 14th Amendment rights, a violation of the Fair Housing Act and discrimination.
The plan called for the renovation of a former elementary school building on 2.9 acres at 1515 Logan Road, between Park Boulevard and Grassmere Avenue, and its conversion into a two-story, live-in dormitory for 96 male students, ages 18-22.
Under township ordinances, post-secondary religious schools are prohibited throughout the entire town.
The applicant sought several variances, including a use variance and a parking variance.
The board unanimously ruled against the Yeshiva’s application on Dec. 1 after developers opted not to seek a time extension to extend the hearings further, which forced the board into a vote.
Residents have vehemently opposed the project since hearings began in 2014, with many citing noise, safety and traffic concerns associated with the proposed use.
In the past 25 years, the 2.927-acre site has been used as an elementary day Yeshiva and a boarding school for high school students.