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Board grants use variance for behavioral health counseling center at 352 Monmouth Road
Summary
After testimony from the applicant and planner and hours of public comment focused on traffic and safety, the Millstone Land Use Board granted a D(1) use variance to allow an outpatient behavioral health counseling center at 352 Monmouth Road, subject to site-plan review and operational conditions. The vote was 5-2.
The Millstone Township Land Use Board voted 5-2 to grant a D(1) use variance allowing a behavioral health counseling center to operate at 352 Monmouth Road, after hearing testimony from the applicant's operations director and a professional planner and taking public comment on traffic and safety concerns.
Attorney Peter Locata introduced the application and the board received sworn testimony from Sean Farrell, the applicant's director of operations, who described the proposed clinic as outpatient-only and said it would not store or administer medication. "It's essentially a a a clinical space to have an outpatient service for therapy for people who have struggled with substance abuse," Farrell said during his testimony. The applicant proposed two daily block-scheduled group sessions, limited weekday hours and a small staff complement.
Planner Allison Coffin told the board the property — a 2.22-acre site with a single-story office building and 25 parking spaces — previously received a 2013 approval recognizing an office use and that the township ordinance's professional-office language could cover licensed counselors. "The 2013 resolution authorized office use in broad, unqualified terms and does not restrict the approval to any particular professional discipline or clientele," Coffin said in her testimony, arguing the proposed counseling use could be considered a professional office under municipal code and that the site is particularly suited to the scale of the operation.
Board members raised questions about the line between a professional office and a licensed treatment facility and whether state licensing definitions should control the local zoning determination. Town professionals advised the board to base its decision on the municipal ordinance and the record before it and flagged that traffic, lighting and other site details would be addressed through site-plan review if the variance was granted.
Residents who live near the site urged caution, citing sight-line and roadway-safety concerns on County Route 537. James Neukum, a neighbor, told the board that drivers often struggle with the driveway location and that accidents have occurred nearby. The board voted first to affirm the zoning officer's determination (that the proposed use was not automatically the same as the prior nonconforming office) and then, after weighing the testimony and proposed conditions, voted to grant the use variance.
The approval is conditioned on requirements the board discussed in public: no on-site medical services, no medication storage or distribution, no overnight stays, and submission of a site plan for review of parking, access and screening. The board instructed staff to draft the resolution memorializing the decision; the applicant must return for site-plan approval before operations commence.
