Point Boro Delays Waterfront Development Measure

As expected, Point Borough Council voted unanimously on Tuesday night to hold off on a proposal to make waterfront development a little easier.

The vote, taken during the meeting at also included calling for next year's council to do a master plan review of the waterfront commercial zones in the Borough, which includes ; the marina areas on Beaver Dam Road; Bay Point Harbour at the end of Bay Avenue and Point Pleasant Yacht and Fishery Club, 1010 Hollywood Blvd.

It would have eliminated one step in the approval process for marinas to make improvements, including for Clark's Landing on Arnold Avenue to build a second banquet hall.

However, that banquet hall project, as well as any other significant improvements, still would have needed Borough Planning Board approval and state environmental approval.

The motion to take the ordinance off the agenda and do a master plan review of marina districts was made by Councilman Chris Leitner, who quickly added that Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head help pay for the master plan review, since many of their offiicials and residents have expressed opposition to the Borough's proposed ordinance.

When Leitner mentioned the other towns ponying up cash, Councilman John McHugh Jr. said, grinning ear to ear, "I'll second that!"

"If there was a third, I would third it," said Councilman Robert Sabosik, laughing.

After the meeting, Point Borough residents congratulated Leitner on his multi-municipal, cost sharing plan.

"That was brilliant!" one man told him.

During the meeting, Joanne Pehlivanian, a resident living on Western Avenue in Bay Head, read into the record

The resolution was to "urge" the Borough to not rush into passing the ordinance that would have removed one of several layers of approvals necessary for waterfront development.

After Pehlivanian was done, Leitner said, "I wonder how Point Beach and Bay Head officials would feel if we started sending them resolutions about some of their ordinances."

When a Bay Head resident asked him to repeat that louder so everyone in the room could hear, Leitner said, "I was only joking. It wasn't anything of substance."

Council made their decisions after hearing a report from Jennifer Beahm, planning director for CME Associates, who recommended that the council not pass the ordinance last night, but instead take it up again next year through a process of master plan review of the marina areas.

Beahm recommended that "restaurants" be more specifically defined so that any and all restaurants can't move in, that "restaurants" remain as conditional uses, but perhaps with different conditions, and that other revisions be made to the ordinance, as part of a master plan review, before it is adopted.

A number of residents and attorneys on both sides expressed their opinions at the microphone and will have a chance to voice concerns next year as well.

A large number of residents living in the marina areas have expressed concerns that restaurants and other additional development will bring with it excessive noise and traffic.

Mayor William Schroeder, a resident in the residential development near Clark's Landing banquet hall, recused himself from the discussion and vote at the request of Daniel Popovitch, an attorney representing Clark's Landing, which wants to build a second banquet hall.

In other business, the council announced their reorganization meeting will be held at noon Jan. 2.