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Highlands council pauses SeaStreak liquor-license transfer after police warn of traffic, safety risks
Summary
Council heard hours of testimony on SeaStreak’s application to expand its liquor license to an outdoor beach bar. Police flagged nearly 490 calls for service and worries about Shore Drive congestion; SeaStreak said it will deliver a traffic study and the council agreed to revisit the application on June 17.
The Royal Highlands mayor and council on June 3 paused consideration of a liquor-license place-to-place transfer filed by SeaStreak (C Street) after police testimony raised traffic and public-safety concerns and residents pressed for more time to review application materials.
Police Chief Burton, sworn in to testify, told the council the department has recorded about "490 total calls for service for the police department" connected to the SeaStreak property over three years, including motor-vehicle crashes, fights, first-aid calls and noise complaints. He said Shore Drive and SeaStreak’s lots were “at its max” on recent busy days and warned the borough cannot safely accommodate the additional vehicle volume an outdoor beach bar could bring. "I don't think we can," he said, summarizing his concern about increased traffic and public-safety risk without mitigation.
Jack Evans, testifying for C Street/SeaStreak, said the business has consulted attorneys and engineers and disputed that it is operating illegally. "We do not feel that we're operating under the license illegally," Evans said, and he told council that SeaStreak will provide an updated traffic study requested by borough staff; the applicant said the study will be available for the land-use hearing scheduled for June 25.
Borough counsel and staff told the council that liquor licensing (the ABC application) and land-use/zoning are separate processes, and that the council may attach conditions to a license (hours, crowd caps, security or camera requirements) if it deems them necessary. Staff also noted SeaStreak has a pending land-use application that could affect parking and ingress/egress; that hearing is on the land-use board calendar for June 25 at 7 p.m. at Henry Hudson High School.
Several residents said they had difficulty locating the full application on the meeting packet and urged more public notice and time to review documents. In response to the public testimony and the volume of material, the council agreed to bring the matter back for further discussion on June 17; council members also noted the land-use hearing on June 25 may be relevant to resolving traffic concerns.
Next steps: SeaStreak is expected to submit the updated traffic study; the council will re-address the licensing application on June 17 and may consider license conditions if it proceeds.
