Zoning board approves modular library for Hope Academy, requires underground power and other conditions

The City of Asbury Park Zoning Board of Adjustment on April 22, 2025 approved Hope Academy Charter School’s application to place a modular library trailer on the school property at 601 Grand Avenue, granting the required D2 (expansion of a preexisting nonconforming use) variance, an accessory‑structure variance and minor site plan approval with conditions.

Principal Davisha Pratt told the board the school lacks an on‑site library and that the modular unit — to be funded with $200,000 of a $1.5 million charter‑school grant — will provide a dedicated media center for kindergarten through eighth grade students. Pratt said the portable space would be used within the school day and staffed by existing teachers: “It would just become another location, another room, educational use room,” she said.

Engineer Christopher Nusser and planner Mark Lieber testified that the unit will be placed on existing paved play/parking area near the school building, removing four striped but infrequently used parking spaces. Nusser said the site currently has 55 parking spaces; the trailer would reduce that to 51, short of the ordinance’s 65‑space guideline, and the board granted a design waiver for that deficit based on testimony that staff parking is accommodated in the main lot and the four spaces are not actively used.

The board and the applicant agreed several conditions to address safety and neighborhood impacts. The board required that the electrical service to the modular unit be installed underground (the applicant had proposed an aerial run), that the applicant submit a circulation plan and pavement striping for the rear lot identifying entrance/exit flow and painted arrows, and that the basketball court be reconfigured so recreation is not obstructed by the unit. The board also required coordination with the Shade Tree Commission on the selection/placement of street trees and added conditions prohibiting an exterior generator and requiring removal of the modular unit if the school ceases operation at that campus.

Planner Mark Lieber described the proposed use as an enhancement to an inherently beneficial community use and said the application showed minimal adverse impacts. “We’re not increasing traffic. We’re not creating any new nuisances,” Lieber said, recommending approval subject to the board’s conditions.

The board’s approval was made by roll call: Daniel Harris (yes); Russell Lewis (yes); Jill Potter (yes); Natalie Passerini (yes); JJ Hall (yes); Chairman Paul Abeloni (yes). Vice Chair John Scully and member Wendy Glassman were recused/absent for this matter.