Little Silver Looking into Issuing Liquor License

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By John Burton
LITTLE SILVER – The idea being floated by the borough council is: Let the people speak before you let them drink.
Letting borough voters decide whether Little Silver should issue its first-ever retail alcohol consumption license with a referendum was a prevailing sentiment – seemingly equal to support for allowing a bar to open – this week as Mayor Robert Neff Jr. and the borough council opened the discussion on the prospect.
Westwood Road resident Matt Kelly, who has lived in the borough for 10 years, said he was the one who broached the subject with the governing body about issuing its first license of this type.
Active on the borough parks and recreation committee, Kelly said, committee members and borough families seemed to want to have a place in town where they can continue discussions and socializing while getting a bite to eat and – for adults – a beer or a glass of wine.
“My family and others always wondered why there wasn’t a place,” like that in the borough, he told the council during its meeting Monday evening.
Kelly, who is a construction contractor, envisions building a casual restaurant/bar “like a Molly Maguire’s in Rumson.”
Kelly would like to see such an establishment located in the area west of the borough NJ Transit commuter train station where it would be a benefit to the commercial area, which has a number of vacant locations.
After the meeting, Kelly said he wouldn’t be interested in operating a restaurant. He hopes to get approval, including, hopefully, a liquor license, build it “and possibly lease it” to someone else to operate the business.
“I figured it would be something nice for the town,” he said.
Kelly said he has been circulating a petition and has collected about 500 names in support of issuing a license.
“There are multiple reasons to do this,” said Alex Popovich of Silverside Avenue, expressing the view of a number of people at the council meeting who offered their support for the idea.
“It’ll bring revenue to our town, jobs to our town,” and provide a place for families involved in local sports teams and other events to gather, Popovich said.
Also lending support is state Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, a borough resident.
O’Scanlon issued a press release last week, noting, “The issuance of liquor licenses in Fair Haven, Oceanport, Rumson and Red Bank has certainly not had a negative impact on those communities. On the contrary, having a local spot where people can grab a drink, have a bite and watch a game would only add to the quality of life in Little Silver.”
While the borough has never had a consumption license, this isn’t the first time this idea was raised.
According to borough attorney Meghan Bennett Clark, during the late 1970s the former Farmhouse restaurant asked for a liquor license. The then-borough council left it to a voter referendum. Voters rejected the idea, Clark said.
But, the idea of allowing it to go again to referendum appealed to many in attendance, saying it would be an effective way of measuring the public’s support.
Should it go to referendum, it would be nonbinding, with the final decision resting with the borough council, Clark said.
Council members would be required to approve an ordinance outlining the regulations, conditions and whatever development zones, such a business, would be allowed. They would have to ensure that the measure is in keeping with state laws, Clark said.
The borough attorney also noted, if the council wound up issuing a consumption license, the license would be put out for public bid, going to highest bidder who met background checks. That money would go into the borough’s general fund, she said.
A referendum could be done at any time of the year with the borough responsible for the cost, the attorney said. If done in concert with June’s primary vote, there wouldn’t be any additional cost, Clark said.
“We have to do a little bit more due diligence,” which includes getting the police department’s input and reviewing other communities’ ordinances to see how they handle this, before rendering any decision, Neff said.
“Seems like a lot of people want a referendum and I don’t think that’s a bad idea,” said Councilman Dane S. Mihlon. “We’re listening, we’re listening very closely.”
Under current state Division of Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) standards, a municipality is permitted to issue one consumption license for every 3,000 residents, ABC spokesman Zack Hosseini said.
The borough, which has a population of a little less than 6,000, would be able to issue only one, Neff said.
The borough currently has two retail licenses, one for Little Silver Bottle Shop, a liquor store at 497 Prospect Ave.; the other the A&P supermarket at 507 Prospect Ave., which is permitted to sell warm beer, according to borough administrator Kimberly Jungfer.