Beach Haven board allows borough pickup for 100 Northwest Avenue trash; boat-slip amendment withdrawn

The Beach Haven Joint Land Use Board voted Jan. 5 to allow borough collection of residential trash at 100 Northwest Avenue, saying the condominium will be required to follow the boroughs solid-waste ordinance, and the applicant withdrew a separate request to remove a transient-only restriction on the propertys 22 boat slips.

James Raven, attorney for the applicant Black Whale Condominium Association, told the board the 2015 resolution that governs the site required residential trash to be hauled by a private carrier but that borough rules now permit pickup so long as container limits are met. Raven said public-works staff confirmed the existing number and arrangement of cans meet borough standards for pickup.

The boards action applies only to building/residential trash; Raven and condominium president Barb Kona said trash generated by commercial vessels operating at the site (including the vessel identified in the record as "Miss Beach Haven") will continue to be handled offsite by commercial operators unless those operators exceed the boroughs container limits.

"We would want the borough pickup to be consistent with the borough ordinance," Raven said, adding the applicant is willing to accept compliance with chapter 173 of the borough code as a condition of approval.

Kona, who identified herself as president of the Black Whale Condominium Association, testified the building stores its cans inside an enclosed trash room and that the residential units generate modest waste, describing the private-hauler arrangement as a three-year practice that began after staff learned the 2015 resolution required a private carrier. She authenticated photographs introduced as Exhibit A1 showing the enclosed trash room and said residents typically wheel cans to the curb the night before collection.

Board questions focused on seasonality and the amount of trash produced in summer months; Kona said recycling and occasional small volumes of garbage are handled without exceeding the boroughs container allowances. Resident Margaret Damiani of 112 West Avenue spoke in favor of returning to borough pickup, saying the condominium does not generate sufficient waste to require a private hauler.

The motion to grant relief from condition 14 of the 2015 resolutionso the borough will pick up the condominiums trash consistent with the borough ordinancepassed on a roll call with the members present voting yes.

The board then turned to the applicants second request: amending condition 17 of the 2015 approval to remove a restriction that the sites 22 floating slips be limited to transient use and to prohibit overnight dockage. The applicant introduced site plan Exhibit A2 and presented testimony about the docks history and current use.

James Bzoski, a licensed engineer and planner who worked on the prior approval, testified the dock lacks haul-out facilities and therefore does not strictly meet the zoning definition of a commercial "marina." Frank Little, the boroughs engineer/planner, cautioned that borough parking provisions have been interpreted to require one off-street parking space for every three boat slips if a use "smells like a marina," which would translate to eight spaces for 22 slips. Little and counsel warned that removing the overnight restriction could trigger a parking requirement and thus require variance reliefrelief the present application did not seek.

After discussing those legal and practical consequences and conferring briefly off the record, applicant representative William Burrus and Raven told the board they would withdraw the request to amend the boat-slip condition without prejudice; Raven said the applicant may return later with a separate application addressing parking and any variance criteria.

Because the slip amendment was withdrawn, the board did not take a public vote on that part of the request and moved on to the remainder of the agenda.

The boards action affects residents of the Black Whale Condominium Association and clarifies that any future change to overnight docking at the floating dock would likely require demonstration of how parking needs would be met or a separate variance application.