In a decision that drew critique from some, the Lakewood, NJ Township Planning Board recently determined that they can approve wedding halls in schools even if neighbors have not been notified that the halls were in the plans, Yated Ne’eman reports.
“If it’s not a self-standing hall, we’ve voted on it,” one Planning Board member said.
The Planning Board’s lawyer affirmed his concerns that this may be a deficiency in notice, mentioning that neighbors would not be aware that there might be cars frequenting the building until late at night. Planning Board members rebutted his recommendation to send a new notice, however.
“Historically, every school in Lakewood has a hall,” a board member said, according to the Yated report.
The conversation was raised after the board clerk mentioned that a number of emails were received questioning if proper notice was given.
Two board members voiced objection to hearing the application without “re-noticing” neighbors properly, and another raised objections to avoiding notice by calling the hall an accessory to the school.
“I don’t think a school needs a chupah room and a yichud room,” he said.
The board eventually decided to go ahead with the application, which led a number of Lakewood residents to express concern.
“Is it fair that a wedding hall can be approved in your backyard, with cars driving in and out until late at night, and you never had a real chance to raise objections, because the developer withheld revealing that there was a large hall in the plans?” one Lakewood resident shared.
Others noted that this lack of transparency negates basic decency.
“I understand when the Planning Board approves construction, even when many think the area is already over-congested,” another resident noted. “But how can you deny neighbors from knowing about it before? Why shouldn’t neighbors be able to come to the meeting and raise any objections? Should they not be able to give input if they think there is insufficient parking, or if the entrance placements impact the flow of traffic in their neighborhood?”
The law mandates that nearby residents must be notified before applications are heard by township boards. Failure to notify residents can lead to an approval being overturned in court, something that can eventually impact taxpayers.
During the meeting, the board clerk also mentioned that some have questioned the Planning Board’s jurisdiction on the application, as building a hall in a zone in which halls are not allowed would seem to first need approval from the township’s Zoning Board. In the past, Planning Board members have expressed that as long as the hall was being built in a school, it had zoning clearance – a notion that has been challenged in court.
Applications for schools with wedding halls that are not predicated with explicit notice seem to be more common. Another application set to be heard this week notifies neighbors about a “school and a multi-purpose hall which may be used for ancillary purposes,” a seemingly veiled reference to a wedding hall.
{Matzav.com}
This sounds crazy!
This IS crazy.