By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK— The borough’s transit village designation process, stalled since January 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is back on the agenda.
Bringing it up to speed at the Nov. 9 council meeting was Shawna Ebanks, the borough’s director of community affairs, who made a presentation requesting the council authorize two measures: replace the current zoning around the train station and direct the planning board to conduct a preliminary redevelopment study of the area.
The redevelopment study would enable the council to designate certain parcels – Ebanks identified 19 – around the railroad tracks as areas in need of redevelopment.
Demonstrating areas in need of development within a half-mile radius of a transit station is one of the criteria required by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), the state agency that grants transit village designation and also sets eligibility requirements to ensure there are enough redevelopment opportunities around a public transit station for a community to thrive.
Intended to revitalize the borough’s historically significant train station area, a transit village could potentially transform the West Side landscape, but not without a rigorous application process and public input.
But what is a transit village and how does an easily walkable, small town like Red Bank benefit from one?
Transit Village Designation
Once a municipality has met all its eligibility criteria, the NJDOT grants a transit village designation. A municipality is eligible for several benefits from the state, including technical assistance, priority funding from some state agencies, and eligibility for grants from the NJDOT.
Simply defined, a transit village is a mixed-use neighborhood within a half-mile radius of the town’s busiest transit system with a strong residential component. As detailed by NJDOT’s website, a mixed-use neighborhood is one with more than one use: for instance, a five-story building with shops and stores on the first floor, offices on the second floor, and apartments on the fourth and fifth floors. Another example is a residential block with a deli on one corner and a doctor’s office on the other corner. A transit village is a cohesive mix of residential, arts, business and commercial entities around the train station. The borough stated its vision for a transit village at the onset of the application process through an ordinance in 2019 which states that a transit village would help increase affordable housing opportunities and convenience for commuters, residents, shoppers and businesses. This could increase jobs and reduce auto traffic by increasing the number of pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users. The intention is to preserve residential neighborhoods adjacent to the train station and enhance overall economic vitality.
The governing body will partner with the NJDOT, NJ Transit and designated developers to implement a transit village redevelopment plan once the application process is complete.
The Application Process
In January 2019, the borough submitted its transit village designation application to NJDOT for consideration. In May 2019, the agency replied with a letter requesting the borough revise its zoning ordinance for the train station district and also present redevelopment plans to be adopted for the proposed transit village.
“To date, none of the comments have been addressed or resubmitted to the NJDOT,” Ebanks said, noting that the borough’s application status is still “under review.”
The proposed redevelopment plan “is pretty much like a mini–Master Plan/zoning ordinance,” Ebanks said, recommending the council “remove the train station overlay” zone and replace it with the new “Transit Oriented Development (TOD) district” as outlined by the NJDOT.
The parcels Ebanks presented as areas in need of redevelopment are mostly owned by either NJ Transit or NJDOT and are located on both sides of the railroad tracks. The majority of these parcels are used by NJ Transit for commuter parking. Some of the properties highlighted on the tax map in the study area are not necessarily areas designated for redevelopment. Those properties include St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, parish office and center; Mayo Auto Service; the borough’s Department of Public Works building; Juanito’s restaurant; and two properties owned by Count Basie Center for Arts — Monmouth Conservatory of Music and Phoenix Productions. Ebanks noted that the final list of properties in the redevelopment study will be available only after the council reviews and approves them in a resolution.
According to Ebanks, NJ Transit chose a developer for its sites about two years ago. The NJ Transit website lists Denholtz Properties as the designated developer for The Center at Red Bank, a proposed mixed-use building project with a 20% affordable housing element. The project will replace four parking sites adjoining the train station.
However, “it is at the borough’s discretion if they want to still authorize them to be the redeveloper because this is the governing body’s option,” said Ebanks. Denholtz also owns the recently built multiuse apartment building The Rail at Red Bank.
Ebanks said the first step is for the council to authorize the planning board to identify possible areas in need of redevelopment and prepare a preliminary investigation. Step 2 would be for the council to designate the areas in need of redevelopment. Then the planning board would prepare, and the council adopt, a redevelopment plan for a designated redeveloper. The last step would be the implementation of the plan.
Public Comments
Whether Red Bank even needs a transit village is a debate that triggered some public comments during the council meeting.
Several residents had traffic and congestion concerns. Dan Riordan vehemently opposed the redevelopment idea. “I’m not in favor of an area in need of redevelopment anytime, anywhere in Red Bank,” he said. Riordan told the council that “there are people eager to develop these lots. If you open them for development, and you give it a reasonable zoning ordinance, people will build.”
Amy Goldsmith, a resident of Red Bank for 27 years, told the council to “be mindful” and exercise equity in making redevelopment decisions. Referring to The Rail, she said, “It doesn’t look anything like my neighborhood.”
Goldsmith is concerned new development could turn the area into a concrete jungle. “While we might… bring new and wonderful people to the neighborhood, I’m also concerned that it’s a lot of cement, it’s a lot of bricks, it creates a wall, not a connection.” But she was also encouraged by the plan. “This is an opportunity to do something right,” she said, and ensure “affordable,” not just “luxury,” housing.
Greg Fitzgerald, who lives a few blocks from the train station, said he regularly takes the train to the city and expressed an “unequivocal yes” to exploring a transit village that he said could be a “connective tissue” between Broad Street and the West Side.
Cindy Burnham asked if “Red Bank could lose its historic train station” during the process.
The train station “is designated on the state registry, so you can’t lose that,” Ebanks said, noting a transit village designation might help get funding to maintain it.
The article originally appeared in the November 23 – November 30, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
