By Sunayana Prabhu
HOLMDEL – The Chabad Jewish Center’s proposal to build a new house of worship at 816 Holmdel Road went before the township’s planning board Tuesday, Dec. 3. However, the project’s benefit to the community sparked a debate from concerned residents.
The applicant, Chabad Jewish Center of Holmdel, BCC Inc., which also owns the approximately 9-acre property, is seeking major site plan approval to construct a 15,053-square-foot synagogue and a 5,129-square-foot parsonage on the site.
The single-story religious center building would include a synagogue 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. The separate single-family home would house the rabbi and his family.
During the lengthy hearing, which lasted over three hours, Rabbi Shmaya Galperin, director of the Chabad Jewish Center, said the organization 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 the board. The rest of the members are from neighboring towns like 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.
The applicant’s attorney, Jennifer Krimko, said the proposal is a permitted conditional use that meets all zoning requirements, requiring no variances. “This property is a residential zone where the house of worship is a conditional use,” Krimko said. However, the applicant is seeking a waiver from installing a sidewalk along Holmdel Road due to wetlands and lack of connectivity.
Board members questioned details such as the anticipated maximum attendance, frequency of activities and potential for outdoor uses. The rabbi estimated the largest events, like during Yom Kippur, could draw up to 250 people, though the sanctuary could accommodate 300.
In his testimony, project engineer Andrew Comi said the applicant aims to comply with all applicable zoning and engineering requirements, though some additional details would need to be worked out before final approval.
According to Comi, the religious center will be set back 194 feet from Holmdel Road. The building would be 21 feet, 10 inches high. Access to the site would be from a new 25-foot-wide driveway off Holmdel Road, which will widen to 28 feet at the front of the building. The proposal lists 117 paved parking spaces, with an additional 36-space overflow parking area.
In terms of stormwater management, Comi said two dry infiltration basins have been proposed to provide quality treatment and groundwater recharge. Lighting for the driveways and parking areas would face downward and use shields to limit light disturbance.
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.
Additionally, the single-family residence would have an 18-foot-wide circular driveway with a turnaround.
Several residents who live near the proposed site had concerns about increased traffic and pedestrian safety on the rural Holmdel Road. Since the applicant’s team indicated that the facility would not be rentable by the general public, resident Brian Walsh questioned the benefit for the town and was also concerned about the synagogue’s “potential growth.”
“Our state statute and our Supreme Court has already recognized that there is a public benefit to the synagogue use in and of itself, just by its own existence,” said Krimko. Since the application doesn’t need any variances, she said, they are “not required to even show a benefit.”
“The weighing of the benefit and the detriment is what this board would consider in the event of a variance. When there’s no variance, your governing body has already determined that this is a permitted use in this location.”
Krimko did note the center’s outreach programs, such as food and toy donations, are benefits to the community at large. However, she continued to emphasize that “even if there was no community outreach at all to anyone but the Jewish community, this is still recognized throughout the state as an inherently beneficial use.”
Another resident questioned the size of the proposed residence which has eight bedrooms. Galperin said the home is intended to host visiting rabbis and students in addition to his own large family.
Several other residents voiced concerns about the tax implications, noting that as a tax-exempt religious institution, the center would not contribute to the town’s tax base. Resident Patrick Trischitta inquired whether the single-family home would also be tax-exempt under what he called “the ludicrous parsonage law that we have in this country.”
“Our state statutes provide for tax exemption for a parsonage. It would be part of that,” Krimko confirmed.
Trischitta commended Holmdel’s volunteer-driven EMS, fire services, and education system for running “extremely well because of tax revenue” but wondered if the tax-exempt project would benefit from and burden those services while not providing any revenue.
Krimko pointed out that there was “no testimony that any of the first aid services will need to increase as a result of the synagogue,” while Galperin said he would “encourage… (the center’s) community members to become part of the EMS.”
Other residents objected to the overall scale and development of the property, concerned it might change the character of the surrounding residential neighborhood.
The board has yet to hear from the traffic expert and will look for more details on the proposed sewer and water connections, stormwater management and lighting plans before making a decision on the application.
The hearing was carried to the planning board’s reorganization meeting in January, where a future hearing date for this application will be scheduled.
The article originally appeared in the December 5 – 11, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
