By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – The borough council took two significant actions to create housing and recreational opportunities for the community, including for children.
At its Jan. 23 meeting, the council adopted a resolution accepting its fourth-round fair share housing obligations as estimated by the state. At the same meeting, the council held a public hearing on the detailed plans for an inclusive playground at Marine Park that will be funded through the state’s Jake’s Law grant program.
Marine Park Inclusive Playground
Families will soon have an inclusive playground on the scenic Navesink River at Marine Park. The borough is applying for a Jake’s Law grant that provides funding to municipalities to create accessible playgrounds. The borough’s Marine Park ad-hoc committee has been planning the new space with architects from Kompan, a playground equipment manufacturing company, and the borough’s professional engineers, CME Associates.
John Marshall, a representative from Kompan, presented the council with an overview of the proposed design and features for the inclusive playground during the meeting.
According to Marshall, the Kompan equipment being considered for the project is made of 95% recycled materials and is engineered to withstand major storms, ensuring the playground’s longevity.
The equipment includes a 40-foot zip line, which Marshall said is a unique and exciting feature for the park. Additionally, the playground design incorporates features that make it accessible to children of all abilities. This includes a pirate ship structure with wheelchair-accessible entry points and screens at various heights.
“The idea of Jake’s Law is to make things way more inclusive than just ADA requirements,” Marshall explained. “The state of New Jersey really is leading the way in the country to try to make sure every community has a playground for people of all abilities.”
Creating an inclusive play space in the borough residents can walk to would be convenient for the community, council member David Cassidy said. “We’re going to have a Navesink River view, and we’re going to have a park similarly situated, where kids, no matter who you are, there would be a place for you to play in our town. And I just can’t be prouder of the vision that has gone into this because I don’t want to drive 25 minutes to Dorbrook” Park in Colts Neck which has an inclusive playground.
“I want to walk a half a mile down to the river of our beautiful town.”
The council is expected to formally approve the Jake’s Law grant application in the coming days before the Feb. 5 deadline, allowing the borough to move forward with the project.
In addition to the inclusive playground, the overall Marine Park improvements include the construction of new plaza areas, a pavilion, an event lawn, shade structures, rain gardens, a floating kayak launch, a floating watercraft dock, and an emergency vessel boat lift.
During the meeting, borough administrator Jim Gant also announced that the borough had met with Monmouth County Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone and county engineer Joe Ettore to discuss the pedestrian crossing on Monmouth Street at the Red Bank Senior Center. Gant said the county officials are committed to installing temporary solar-powered pedestrian beacons at the crossing, which will need to be removed when the larger Shrewsbury Avenue streetscape project begins in the spring. This project is being funded through the state Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant the borough was awarded.
Affordable Housing
Borough officials adopted a binding resolution at the Jan. 23 meeting to accept the state Department of Community Affairs’ (DCA) calculated affordable housing numbers for the town – a present need of 54 units for rehabilitation and a prospective need of 154 for new construction. These numbers were authorized statewide through the 2024 Affordable Housing Law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in March. That law directed the DCA to calculate the numbers in a streamlined framework to enforce municipalities’ affordable housing responsibilities under the State’s Fair Housing Act and the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Mount Laurel doctrine of 1975. The court decision set off rounds of affordable housing obligations lasting a decade each that municipalities must comply with or risk losing zoning powers.
The borough will be providing a certificate of compliance to the county within 48 hours of adopting the resolution or by Feb. 3, as required by law.
The article originally appeared in the January 30 – February 5, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
