Achristavest/ICONA has applied to the Lower Township Zoning Board for, among other things, a use variance so that ICONA may use the grass area of Diamond Beach Park next to the playground for valet only parking. Click here for a copy of the notice and click here for a copy of the materials forwarded by the Municipal clerk.
As the application is unclear in a number of respects, it may or may not be objectionable:
What area? The application text describes only using the grassed area already designated with 45 parking spots next to the playground but the site drawings are hash-marked over the existing grass area and the playground area.
Valet-only and grassed-area only parking (excluding the playground and without paving) may be acceptable to many as past parking use by applicant involved valet and general patron parking. General patron parking caused a host of issues previously before the Zoning Board. Further, previously applicant stored moving truck(s) on the grassed area which would presumably not be permitted under this application. The landscape buffer issue is unfamiliar.
Who owns what? At various locations in the application materials, applicant indicates that it owns the the subject property, leases the property from the Township and/or holds an option to purchase certain land. My understanding is that applicant holds a lease with the Township for certain lots and was purportedly the successful $400,000 bidder for “Block 703, Lot 1 in the approximate size of 100 x 150 ft” but applicant apparently never closed on the public sale and inserted an inappropriate “parking lot approval contingency” (Sec. 8.3) in the August 2016 Agreement of Sale. The Agreement of Sale is invalid and lapsed however presumably the Township may extend its lease with the applicant, re-auction Lot 1 and/or auction the other Township-owned lots. I am not aware of any “options” to purchase.
What about the future? If the use variance is granted, will the property and use remain tied to the ICONA resort property? Should a restrictive covenant be required with respect to both properties addressing the required parking? Over the years, Achristavest/ICONA and others have proposed various uses for certain of the various lots including townhomes, parking lots and a Ward 3 Emergency Services Substation. If the variance is granted, must Achristavest/ICONA use the subject area as valet parking for the ICONA resort?