Red Bank preservation panel forms subcommittee to pursue Certified Local Government status

The Red Bank Historic Preservation Commission on March 18 voted to form a three-member subcommittee to prepare an application for Certified Local Government status and to draft amendments to demolition and relocation review procedures.

Liam Collins, who led the presentation to the commission, said becoming a certified local government would make Red Bank eligible for state preservation grants and training. “If Red Bank becomes a certified local government, we’re then eligible for grants ranging from 15,000 to 50,000 per year,” Collins said, and the designation would not require a local match. He added the designation would give the town a formal seat on National Register nomination processes and training requirements for commission members.

Commission members discussed legal and procedural changes needed to strengthen protections for contributing historic structures. Collins proposed amending the borough demolition/relocation review to require a certificate of appropriateness before a demolition permit is issued for contributing buildings and to link any demolition permit to an approved replacement plan or a performance bond. He said a suggested timeline would include a two-year “use-or-lose-it” requirement: if the new building is not substantially completed within 24 months, the bond could be forfeited and fines applied. Collins described several enforcement options, including a performance bond (for example, 5% of the estimated new-construction cost), daily noncompliance fines and a requirement to maintain a temporary “pocket park” on a vacant lot until construction begins.

Commission members agreed the proposed approach follows commonly used best practices and asked borough counsel and staff to review draft language. One member urged the group to avoid repeating past gaps between zoning/planning approvals and historic-review input: “We need to get advice from Michelle; we need to get advice from the borough attorney,” the member said.

The commission formalized a subcommittee of three volunteers — Matthew Cummings, Liam Collins and Shauna (staff) — to prepare the CLG application, draft the necessary ordinance amendments, and assemble required materials such as member resumes and documentation of the design-guidelines adoption. The commission set a target of preparing materials for submission by March 2027 and noted that CLG requirements include annual training (approximately five hours per member) and maintaining an inventory system for historic properties.

The subcommittee will consult the State Historic Preservation Office and the borough attorney before presenting any ordinance text to council. The commission directed the subcommittee to report progress at future HPC meetings.