Belmar Council Inches Forward On Pavilion Plan

The Belmar Borough Council on Wednesday inched forward with a plan to build a pair of two-story pavilions on the town's boardwalk.

With a vote of 4-1 the council introduced an ordinance adopting the $7.1 million boardwalk area redevelopment plan. Councilman Jim Bean cast the sole vote against.

The move places the ordinance up for public inspection and perusal. A date for a public hearing was not immediately set Wednesday.

Bids for the pavilions have been let, and are due back Oct. 11, Mayor Matt Doherty said.

The plan was in large part given the blessing of the Planning Board last week, with minor changes. Municipal governing bodies do not generally comment publicly on ordinances at the introduction stage, but will schedule a public hearing on the measures before a final vote is taken.

The Planning Board at a special meeting last week found that the plan was in substantial compliance with the borough’s Master Plan, but that some language in the description should be altered.

The board was tasked by the Borough Council to review the plan and make its non-binding recommendations to the governing body, which could choose to adopt, in part or in whole, the panel’s suggestions before introducing the plan at a future meeting.

The hearing came as a local citizens group filed a pair of lawsuits targeting the redevelopment plan.

Let the Citizens Decide in one lawsuit wants to put the proposed $7.1 million plan up for a vote on the November ballot. In the second, the group wants the court to weigh in on the legality of the borough’s plan to pay for the construction with its Beach Utility fund and a hike in beach access fees.

Mayor Matt Doherty has called the lawsuits “frivolous.”

The board recommended changes to include Bicycle sales and rental as permitted uses in the zone, the inclusion of language to include bike pathways and bike racks and public parking -- all as points of clarification, rather than new additions to the plan.