RED BANK – Municipal officials have adopted an ordinance detailing a redevelopment plan that proposes the construction of apartments at 176 Riverside Ave., Red Bank, to satisfy a portion of the borough’s obligation to provide opportunities for the development of affordable housing.
During a meeting of the Borough Council on Dec. 12, members of the governing body voted to move forward with the revised redevelopment plan after the original plan for redevelopment was shot down by council members at a previous meeting.
In an interview after the meeting, Councilman Michael Ballard said the revised redevelopment plan “is a new ordinance that stripped away all of the Planning Board’s recommendations.”
Ballard said a private developer wants to demolish the vacant Visiting Nurse Association building at 176 Riverside Ave. and construct apartments. He said the construction of apartments with a set-aside for affordable housing units would help satisfy pending affordable housing litigation.
During the meeting, officials and members of the public weighed the pros and cons of adopting the revised redevelopment plan.
Resident Dan Reardon, who took issue with the proposed plan, said, “This area was declared to be an area in need of rehabilitation. This (proposed apartment) project is not rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is defined as the repair or reconstruction of existing buildings with or without the addition of new structures. There are no structures being rehabilitated.”
“You are putting a huge residential development across from a very, very busy and dangerous road,” resident Allen Hill said, noting that individuals who live in the proposed apartment building would be “cut off” from the rest of town.
Hill said residents of the apartment building would not be able to walk or ride bicycles on Route 35 to get into the heart of Red Bank.
Prior to a vote on the revised redevelopment plan, Mayor Pasquale Menna asked attorney Joe Baumann, who represents Red Bank on affordable housing issues, how he would recommend the governing body should proceed.
Baumann said it was in the council’s best interest to consider the ordinance.
“The plan requires that affordable housing be in the redevelopment agreement. We are absolutely committed to making sure this project has a substantial amount of affordable housing,” the attorney said.
He said the next step would be to negotiate a redevelopment agreement.
“That document is going to be a contract between us and the property owner,” Baumann said. “The contract will drill down deeper into a number of the issues concerning the development.”
Ballard asked Baumann what the risk to Red Bank would be if the council members failed to adopt the ordinance.
Baumann said because there are a limited number of opportunities to build affordable housing and noting there is a limited amount of available land in the borough, “this piece of property is probably the most significant opportunity we have to create a substantial amount of affordable housing.”
Ballard, who also sits on the Planning Board, said he is concerned the council is ignoring the original redevelopment plan proposed by the board. He said he is concerned with the size and density of the proposed apartment building.
“It seems like we are not driving this (affordable housing) process. The courts are,” Ballard said.
Baumann said Red Bank must deal with the affordable housing issue.
On a roll call vote to adopt the ordinance, council members Erik Yngstrom, Edward Zipprich, Mark Taylor, Michael Whelan, Kathy Horgan and Ballard voted “yes.”