By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – After initially resisting the borough’s requirement for a 25-foot public waterfront access easement, Riverview Medical Center has agreed to include it as part of the zoning board’s approval for the hospital to continue using the property at 103 E. Front St. as a parking lot.
Riverview applied for a variance from the zoning board to improve and upgrade its existing employee parking lot, but the application also requested a waiver from providing the easement along the Navesink River. Borough ordinance requires public access to the river.
The board denied the application at its Jan. 2 meeting. However, representatives of the hospital returned to the zoning board Jan. 16 and agreed to the easement, winning unanimous approval.
The application was approved for a standalone parking lot ancillary to the hospital with no plans for any principal building on the site.
During the initial meeting, Riverview’s representatives argued that providing the easement would be challenging due to the site’s steep slope along the waterfront and the need to protect the privacy of patients receiving treatment in an adjacent chemotherapy unit.
“We do have an interest in preserving the privacy of our patients, and that’s another reason why we’re looking for that waiver or variance for the 25-foot width,” said Riverview’s planner, Paul Grygiel.
“That is probably not negotiable,” zoning board chairman Raymond Mass told Grygiel. Shawna Ebanks, director of community development, planning and zoning, clarified that the easement is not necessarily about the borough immediately constructing a public walkway, but rather giving the borough the ability to develop public access in the future.
While several zoning board members acknowledged the concerns brought up by Grygiel, they explained that the borough’s master plan had long-term goals of creating a connected riverwalk.
Since there was no consensus between the parties, the application was tabled at that meeting.
Red Bank has approximately four miles of riverfront along the Navesink and Swimming rivers, which provide beautiful views and serve as an important environmental resource. However, development along the waterfront over the past few decades and the borough’s several active marinas have steadily reduced public access to the riverfront.
In accordance with the master plan adopted in 2023, the borough has obtained access easements at many waterfront properties, envisioning a future connected waterfront walkway or riverwalk.
According to the master plan, the borough is “essentially built-out, (but) additional opportunities for enhancing access to the waterfront do exist.”
“Achieving meaningful and continuous waterfront access in Red Bank has been a goal for much of the last 50 years.”
If the borough advances the riverwalk project in the future, it will need to continually address easement issues with waterfront property owners.
“We continue to have internal discussions about the riverwalk concept,” said borough administrator Jim Gant. “However, we have not worked with a professional services (company) to move this forward due to a number of easement/property line challenges.”
At the Jan. 16 meeting, the hospital’s attorney, Tyler Zeberl, returned to inform the board that Riverview would agree to grant the 25-foot easement, as required by the borough’s ordinance for waterfront proper ties.
The board ultimately approved Riverview’s application, subject to several conditions in addition to the easement, including certain design elements and implementing stormwater and lighting improvements.
The 33,130-square-foot property had previously been occupied by a commercial building that was demolished in 2023 due to safety concerns. Riverview has utilized the site for employee parking for nearly 20 years.
According to Gant, Red Bank will have easement access once the filings and memorialization of the agreement with the hospital are complete.
The article originally appeared in the February 6 – 12, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
