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Planning Board denies proposal for six housing units at 308-310 Sampson Ave.
Summary
Seaside Heights Planning Board on May 26 denied an application to retain six units on a 5,052 sq ft merged lot at 308-310 Sampson Ave., rejecting D-1 and D-5 variances for use and density after concerns about lot size, parking and flood compliance.
Seaside Heights Planning Board voted to deny an application by 308 Sampson Ave., LLC for multiple D variances that would have permitted six residential units across three structures at 308-310 Sampson Ave. The application sought use and density relief to continue and reconfigure existing units on a merged 5,052-square-foot lot.
Attorney Anthony Pagano and architect Oliver Young presented plans that would demolish two single-story front homes and construct two elevated two-story single-family dwellings with parking beneath, while leaving a four-unit rear building in place. The project aimed to introduce two new houses (each with one interior garage space and one exterior space), keeping the total unit count at six. Planner Thomas Ricci testified the project achieved positive criteria by raising new houses for flood compliance, adding on-site parking where none existed before and modernizing long-standing units.
Board Planner Jennifer Gorini and several board members pushed back on relying on historic nonconforming use as the primary justification and questioned whether the proposal would truly move the property toward conformity. The board highlighted that the zone permits only single- and two-family dwellings, and the property would need roughly 12,000 square feet to meet minimum lot-size-per-unit standards for six units. Board members also noted the new on-site parking would remove two on-street spaces and expressed concern that the existing rear building would remain at lower elevation, leaving flood compliance inconsistent across the site.
During deliberations member Sal Irizarry questioned the logic of the variance request, saying he just couldn’t “wrap his head around this.” After discussion a motion to deny the application was made by Tom Faragalli and seconded by Chris Vaz; the minutes record a unanimous denial among the seven voting board members (Faragalli, Vaz, Gorman, Sanzone, Irizarry, Firetto, Witherspoon). The board noted applicants may reapply but would need to re-notice and return through the process.
