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Residents Protest Proposed ‘Neighborhood Business’ Zoning in South Seaside Park; Council Sends Map to Planning Board
Summary
Residents at a lengthy public-comment period urged the Borough Council to remove a proposed neighborhood-business designation that would extend along parts of 20th Avenue, arguing it would place commercial uses next to long-established single-family homes; the council said the draft zoning map will go to the planning board and encouraged written comments.
Seaside Park residents pressed the Borough Council on Thursday over a draft zoning map that would add a “neighborhood business” designation to blocks in South Seaside Park.
Multiple speakers, including Don White and Jim Fulcomer, objected to a proposed extension of neighborhood-business zoning down 20th Avenue, saying the affected block is overwhelmingly residential and that the change would allow small retail and service uses to appear across from single-family homes. Don White urged the council to amend the draft map to exclude the block by his home and to give local users priority access for activities such as winter pickleball sessions.
The council reiterated that the draft map reflects existing records and engineering work, noting the borough compiled zoning into a code-ready map and that the planning board will consider the matter at an upcoming meeting. Municipal counsel and staff said the map is not final: it codifies current zoning and will be changed if the master-plan reexamination and subsequent ordinance amendments call for it. Residents were told to submit written comments to the planner and to attend the planning-board hearing.
Council members and staff described the permitted uses in the proposed neighborhood-business zone as neighborhood-sized retail and personal-service establishments—examples listed by staff included convenience stores, luncheonettes, coffee shops, deli and confectionery stores, barbershops and small salons, and other neighborhood-scale services. Several residents disputed whether the map reflected local history and urged that the neighborhood-business label not extend down midblocks that have been single-family for decades.
Speakers also raised questions tied to the borough’s recent annexation and related disputes with Berkeley Township: residents asked whether tax bills for annexed areas would be handled by Berkeley or Seaside Park, whether the Attorney General’s directive had binding effect, and whether the borough would pursue additional litigation. Council leaders said legal actions are underway on separate tracks and encouraged residents to monitor notices and to participate in the planning process.
The council did not adopt the zoning map at Thursday’s meeting. Instead, it left the draft on the table for planning-board review and for the master-plan reexamination process to proceed. The planning-board hearing and the borough’s formal notice will provide the next opportunity for public comment.
