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LAKEWOOD TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE WANTS TO PERMIT BANQUET HALLS IN MORE ZONES THAN RECOMMENDED BY THE PLANNING BOARD, AND WITH LESS PARKING


As previously discussed here on FAA News, Lakewood Township's zoning ordinances currently do not permit stand-alone banquet halls or banquet halls in schools. The Township's zoning ordinances only permit "catering facilities" to be included in shuls, but not in schools.


As the news was first broken here, the Township Committee has introduced an ordinance which would permit catering facilities and banquet halls as an accessory use in school buildings in all zones where schools are permitted, provided the following parking requirements are met:

Where the section of the school utilized for catering and banquet functions is 800 square feet to 1,999 square feet, 0.75 parking spaces shall be required for every 100 square feet of area utilized for catering and banquet uses, and if the section of the school utilized for catering and banquet functions is 2,000 square feet of greater, then 1.0 parking spaces shall be required for every 100 square feet.


As previously reported here on FAA News, the Planning Board last week voted to endorse the Ordinance but with following changes:

• Banquet halls will not be permitted in residential zones
• The Board wants all parking to be on-site only with no need for cars to park on-street. As such the Board concluded that 1 parking space per 45 sq feet of "the section of the school utilized for catering and banquet functions" will be sufficient. This floor space count will include the gross floor area of the section of the school utilized for catering and banquet functions, including the kitchen and all secondary simcha rooms (such as chuppah's etc).
• The Board discussed whether or not this requirement should include the existing school parking or if it will be in addition to the existing school parking.
The Board concluded that the "higher parking count" will rule, meaning that as long as the school is not used at night, and they do not park their buses in the parking lot overnight, they can count the existing school parking for the banquet hall parking requirement.
If the school parking lot is used at night then they would need to provide additional, separate parking for the banquet hall.


The Township Committee is scheduled to adopt this ordinance on final reading tomorrow afternoon. The published version of their draft ordinance is different than the Planning Board's recommendations:


The Committee's version of the ordinance includes the Oak Street Core Neighborhood Overlay Zone-1 (OSCN-1) where banquet halls will be permitted as an accessory use to a school.


The OSCN-1 zone consists of 7 blocks between Pine Street and Oak Street, west of Albert Avenue, as shown in the below map. The zone appears to currently be completely vacant land.

Additionally, the Committee's version of the ordinance reduces the parking requirement from 1 space per every 45 sq feet of the section of the school utilized for catering and banquet functions to 1 space per every 50 sq feet.


While the Planning Board recommended that the floor space count of "the section of the school utilized for catering and banquet functions" will include the gross floor area of the section of the school utilized for catering and banquet functions, including the kitchen and all secondary simcha rooms (such as chuppah's etc), the Committee's version of the ordinance reduces the gross floor area to "not include bathrooms, food prep rooms, and facilities not associated with the Banquet Hall function, such as guest preparation rooms, etc."


Finally, the Committee's version of the Ordinance says that in these zones and with this parking requirement, banquet halls "shall continue to be allowed as accessory uses in the school buildings..." This wording is quite odd as the Township ordinance does not currently permit banquet halls in schools. Perhaps the Township Committee may be attempting to "grandfather in" existing banquet halls in schools in these zoning districts. (Perhaps even with no public hearing at the Planning Board?🤔)


The Township Committee will hold a public hearing on the Ordinance prior to its adoption.


The meeting starts at 5:30pm and can be watched live via Livestream here.

Members of the public who wish to comment on the proposed ordinance may do so by submitting via email up until 11:30 am at premeetingcomments@lakewoodnj.gov or during the meeting via comments@lakewoodnj.gov. Please include your name and address for the record.


Members of the public may also comment live during the meeting on the phone by calling (408) 418-9388, Meeting ID# is 2634-502-0366. All participants will be muted upon entry but may participate by using the *3 key on the phone to raise your hand (this will alert the Township that you wish to speak during the meeting).


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