Mount Arlington mayor says borough will not rezone Knolls Beach property

Mayor Stanzilis told the Borough Council on Oct. 7 that the borough is not pursuing rezoning of the privately owned property commonly known as Knolls Beach, countering what she described as misinformation circulating in the community.

She said the governing body has no interest in changing the current single‑family zoning, and therefore a private development project could not be built under the borough’s current plan. The mayor added that continued public access to the land is a matter of private agreement with the current or any future owner, not a borough zoning action.

Stanzilis also described a practical constraint if the borough were to purchase the parcel using New Jersey Open Space acquisition funds: the property would need to be listed on the state Recreational Open Space Inventory and made available to all state residents. That designation, she said, would require the borough to hire additional attendants and lifeguards, assume ongoing maintenance and meet ADA compliance for another beach near the municipal beach, all of which would increase operating costs.

Stanzilis said the municipal beach is currently underused and that the borough’s planners and professionals have concluded it would not be in residents’ best interest to buy the land under those conditions. She positioned Mount Arlington’s planning work as a defense against unconstrained development, saying the borough’s professionals have been proactive in addressing statewide development pressures.

The mayor’s remarks were framed as a clarification for residents; no formal council action about Knolls Beach was taken at the meeting.