By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – As repairs and renovations continue at the Red Bank Senior Center, which has been vacant since a burst pipe in 2019 revealed numerous issues, the borough council unanimously approved a resolution asking to subdivide the center’s property for a new passive park.
The resolution, proposed to protect the open space behind the Senior Center building, was approved at the regular council meeting Sept. 28 and authorized borough attorney Dan Antonelli to file an application with the planning board.
The proposal to pursue the subdivision is made in order “to preserve the public use, intrinsic community value, and the public trust doctrine with respect to management of riverfront properties within the Borough,” according to the resolution.
Kate Triggiano, council president, asked Antonelli to clarify for the public why the borough requested a subdivision of the property as opposed to a deed restriction.
“I know it is going to be used as a passive park, but there’s really no space there for a park. I think there’s a little confusion from the public right now about what this step is and what it must do,” she said.
The Red Bank Borough website describes the Senior Center at 80 Shrewsbury Ave. as “one of the most scenic centers in New Jersey, located on a high bluff overlooking the historic Navesink River.” Once renovations are complete, the center will have new flooring, seating, fixtures, windows, siding, partial new roofing and many other amenities, at a cost of around $1.8 million.
Antonelli said subdividing the site would “protect the property that borders the river as open space.” He explained that there are several ways to achieve that goal. Subdivision of the property for a passive park is one way. The benefit of subdividing the Senior Center property is that “once you preserve the back portion of the property, all that open space goes on your ROSI (Recreation and Open Space Inventory) under Green Acres,” Antonelli said.
Under the state’s Green Acres rules and regulations, it is difficult to remove a property from a municipality’s ROSI inventory once placed there, requiring a 2-1 replacement ratio. Basically, “if the governing body in the future wanted to remove it, they would have to find two acres somewhere else in town to essentially do that swap,” Antonelli explained.
While a deed restriction is another way to protect a property, Antonelli said it can be lifted by a subsequent governing body in the future.
Council member Michael Ballard agreed with Antonelli that subdividing the property is the best way to protect it because a “deed restriction doesn’t preserve the open space.”
Antonelli said he will be communicating with the borough engineer about the approval of the resolution. The council will evaluate the options and concepts provided by the engineer and then proceed to file a subdivision application to protect the riverfront land for future generations.
The article originally appeared in the October 6 – 12, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
