By Sunayana Prabhu
HOLMDEL – The planning board unanimously approved a plan Tuesday, Sept. 2, for a synagogue and rabbi’s residence at 816 Holmdel Road, following months of debate and pushback from area residents concerned about traffic and neighborhood impact.
The applicant, Chabad Jewish Center of BCC, Inc., which owns the 9.37-acre property, first came before the board in December 2024 to seek site plan approval for a single-story religious center with a 300-seat sanctuary, a multipurpose room for celebrations and holiday events, a youth lounge, a Hebrew school, a library and space for community outreach programs. A separate single-family home would serve as the rabbi’s residence. The proposal lists 117 paved parking spaces, with an overflow parking area with an additional 36 spaces.
The Chabad Jewish Center of Holmdel currently operates at 2 Spring Valley Road. During the December hearing, which lasted nearly three hours, Rabbi Shmaya Galperin, director of the center, said the congregation has served as a spiritual hub for people of diverse Jewish backgrounds in Holmdel since 2008.
“We currently serve approximately 255 families, 150 of which are residents of Holmdel,” Galperin told board members at the meeting last year. The rest of the members, he said, are from neighboring towns, including Colts Neck, Middletown, Hazlet and Aberdeen. “By consolidating all our existing programs currently spread across venues like the Holmdel Senior Center and Bell Works into a single location, this synagogue will project a sense of permanence and stability that reflects our long-term commitment to the Holmdel community,” he said.
Some of the residents at the meeting said they didn’t approve of the religious center in the neighborhood because of potential traffic hazards and the proposed scale of the project, which many said could create congestion and disrupt the character of the neighborhood. Public comments were closed for the Tuesday meeting when the planning board approved the plan.
“There were a lot of comments about changing the residential character or changing the complexion of the neighborhood,” said Jennifer Krimko, the attorney representing the center, in her closing statement at Tuesday’s meeting. She was responding to the pushback from residents heard at previous meetings.
In terms of the footprint of the center in the neighborhood, Krimko argued that the application is fully compliant with Holmdel’s zoning ordinance. “By every metric that your ordinance imposes on this use, we not only comply, but we’re actually much smaller than what would be permitted on this property. And what this means, in simplest terms, is that the size and scope of the project is indisputably appropriate for this property in this location by every applicable standard that the ordinance provides,” she said.
According to Krimko, while the township requires a minimum lot size of approximately 4 acres, the religious center is more than double that, at over 9 acres. The minimum lot depth required is 300 feet; the center is at 683 feet. The center has almost four times the required minimum lot frontage and width, Krimko said. The front yard setback requirement is 50 feet; the house of worship is four times that, and the parsonage is more than 10 times that requirement.
Residents had also expressed concerns about wastewater management systems and suggested the addition of buffers to mitigate noise.
While Krimko said the applicant “couldn’t start revising plans based on each neighbor’s request one by one,” with regard to adding trees or additional landscaping for a buffer, she assured the board that the synagogue would cooperate with neighboring homeowners if additional landscaping or fencing was needed. She also promised to add the street number to the site’s signage to aid emergency responders.
“We’ll put in all the required landscaping and fencing that we agreed to,” Krimko said, and in case of “anyissues,” she asked residents to reach out to the rabbi or her. “Come to us and we’re going to work it out with you. We want to be a good neighbor to you. We believe that what we’re proposing is going to be more than adequate. It’s going to shield all of the lights. It’s going to be a substantial buffer.”
In terms of stormwater management, the site’s project engineer, Andrew Comi, previously testified that two dry infiltration basins have been proposed to provide quality treatment and groundwater recharge.
A small pump station is proposed for the sanitary sewer system, as no gravity sewer is available in the area. If the sewer extension is not approved, an alternative septic system may be required. For water service, a backflow preventer enclosure would be needed, likely an 18-by-7-foot structure.
Lighting for the driveways and parking areas would face downward and use shields to limit light disturbance.
Additionally, the applicant is proposing a 40-foot right-of-way dedication on Holmdel Road. Since the roadway falls under county jurisdiction, the Monmouth County Planning Board has the authority to review it. Krimko said the county may have several suggestions later, such as road widening, adding a left turn lane or the need to add a traffic light, which the applicant may have to comply with.
The site plan approval is contingent upon obtaining multiple permits from external agencies related to water and sewer facilities, including clearance from the Monmouth County Planning Board, wetlands approval from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), and permission from the Monmouth County Department of Health.
Krimko told the planning board that the septic system requires a slow sewer flow determination from the NJDEP and final approval from the Monmouth County Department of Health. If any of the agencies mandate changes beyond the township board’s original review, the applicant would be required to return and seek an amended site plan approval.
The applicant agreed to several conditions, including reducing overnight lighting to security levels, contributing to Holmdel’s sidewalk fund, prohibiting outdoor music at events and recording a conservation easement for the property’s wetlands.
“Any house of worship is considered by statute and by case law inherently beneficial, which means that there is a public benefit just by its existence,” Krimko said.
The board voted unanimously in favor of the application. The project still requires final approvals from county and state agencies before construction can begin.
The article originally appeared in the September 11 – September 17, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
