Belmar council adopts Seaport redevelopment amendment as residents and businesses press parking, permitting concerns

The Borough of Belmar on April 25 adopted ordinance 20258, a second-reading amendment to the Seaport redevelopment plan, after an extended public hearing in which residents, business owners and planning-board members raised questions about affordable-housing procedures, environmental permitting and a projected shortfall of public parking.

The hearing drew several speakers who flagged what they said were practical risks from the redevelopment concepts now incorporated in the plan. "None of them did anything to improve the overall parking situation in Belmar. And that's my biggest objection," said Ali Klein, owner of Klein's Fish Market, who said the proposed projects would add roughly 300–400 housing units while providing about 1.0–1.3 parking spaces per unit. The council adopted the ordinance by roll-call vote after closing the public hearing.

Why it matters: speakers told the council that concentrated new housing without corresponding public parking would shift thousands of vehicle trips into the downtown business district, potentially harming merchants and creating congestion. Klein and his counsel asked the borough to require that newly created on-street spaces be available to the public, to confirm whether municipal land parcels were being contributed to developers, and to dedicate developer payments (PILOTs) or a portion of tax-exemption service charges to a parking-deck fund.

Residents and planning-board members also pressed the borough on its process for meeting state affordable-housing obligations. Mike Delasio, a resident and planning-board participant, said he was concerned that the town had not earlier produced an affordable-housing plan and questioned why the borough had filed a declaratory judgment action instead of negotiating directly with developers. Borough officials and counsel explained that the declaratory-judgment route is the state-approved mechanism to secure an enforceable affordable housing plan and to resolve builder-remedy exposure in the third-round process; Fair Share Housing and court procedures limit informal, developer-only bargaining.

Council and staff responses noted the trade-offs the borough faced. Mayor Becca Pesco said she "sympathize[d] with the parking issue 100%" and asked engineering to evaluate available municipal lots and funding options. She cited an engineer's estimate that constructing a structured parking spot could cost about $35,000 per space, underscoring the borough's fiscal and land constraints.

Legal and permitting issues also surfaced. Citizens asked whether projects should wait for federal and state coastal permits (CAFRA/DEP) before adoption. Planning counsel and staff stated that redevelopment approvals do not remove federal or state permitting requirements; developers remain responsible for securing CAFRA and other permits before final construction.

What the ordinance does: The adopted amendment incorporates concept plans tied to negotiated redevelopment projects and establishes the zoning and standards those projects will follow through subsequent site-plan review. The council's action advances the settlement pathway discussed in the hearing and preserves procedural requirements for final permits and environmental reviews.

Actions and votes: The council closed the public hearing on ordinance 20258 and voted to adopt the amendment on second reading; the recorded roll-call in the meeting transcript indicates unanimous 'yes' votes among the council members recorded on the ordinance vote. (Motion and second were made on the floor; the mover/second were not captured by name in the available transcript.)

Next steps: Council members and staff said they will pursue follow-up analysis of parking supply and demand, check the status of any existing municipal parking fund, and request the borough CFO and engineers to report options for dedicating or leveraging funds toward parking solutions. They also noted the redevelopment amendment does not bypass DEP or CAFRA review and that developers must secure necessary environmental permits before construction.

Voices from the meeting: "None of them did anything to improve the overall parking situation in Belmar. And that's my biggest objection," — Ali Klein, owner, Klein's Fish Market. "I sympathize with the parking issue 100%," — Mayor Becca Pesco.

Ending: With public concerns entered into the record, the council adopted the redevelopment amendment and moved to administrative follow up; staff and council members said they would return with parking-supply analyses and budgetary options to address the public's requests.