Times
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
THE TOMS RIVER
Vol. 11 - No. 43
Inside This Week’s Edition
Business Directory............................ 22 Classifieds......................................... 23 Community News.......................... 9-13 Dear Joel........................................... 19 Dear Pharmacist ............................... 17 Dr. Izzy’s Sound News ..................... 16 Fun Page .......................................... 21 Inside The Law.................................. 25 Letters to the Editor............................. 7 WWW.MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM
Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper | Serving All of Toms River Township
February 20, 2016
TOMS RIVER GROWS ITS AFFORDABLE HOUSING NUMBERS LATEST TAX ABATEMENT OFFERED TO PROJECT OFF COX CRO ROAD
–Photos by Catherine Galioto and Toms River Times archives At right, the latest affordable housing project approved for Toms River is off Cox Cro Road, near where the Riverwood Chase townhomes are being built. Elsewhere, affordable housing exists in Freedom Village, which saw its ribbon-cutting on the third anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, above. By Catherine Galioto TOMS RIVER – Fifty more affordable housing units will be built in Toms River, this time approved for construction off Route 9 and Cox Cro Road, near the Riverwood Chase development. Originally called Nobility Crest, the two buildings
of apartments will be set off near the townhomes already under construction off Cox Cro. The zoning board recently approved amended plans to rearrange where the affordable housing parking and street would go, and its connection to Cox Cro.
The township council then approved the tax abatement the developer would receive, under a program that encourages developers to set aside a portion of each project for affordable housing. Affordability is defined as either 50 or 60 percent of county median income
adjusted for family size. COAH Obligations Township Planner Jay Lynch said it is his position
Chabad Hearing To Be Rescheduled Again
By Catherine Galioto TOMS RIVER – A controversial application to have a Chabad Jewish Center on a residential lot on Church Road will again be rescheduled. A use variance application was scheduled for a special meeting February 18 at the Toms River High School North auditorium. However, the applicant’s attorneys requested a postponement, citing personal reasons. The zoning board will meet February 25 and decide when to reschedule the hearing. The controversial application recently packed the
high school auditorium with more than a thousand residents, hearing testimony before the zoning board. The board is requesting the Chabad application be heard in special meetings in order to accommodate the large crowds, and must coordinate with the school district for availability, board officials said. Previously, the Chabad founder and his attorney argued the Chabad was a permitted use, and did not need a use variance to continue to operate out of the home at 2001 Church Road. The board disagreed and
will now decide whether to grant a use variance. The meeting will have testimony from the applicant and their experts as to why a use variance should be granted, as well as public questions and comment once testimony concludes. Rabbi Moshe Gourarie of the Chabad and his attorney Christopher Costa said the Chabad had been operating for several years since Gourarie bought the property in 2011 where he lives with his family. The operations came to the zoning board’s attention after several residents called to complain
that a church, or school, was operating on a residential site. Costa said his client received eight zoning violations in October 2014 for operating the Chabad in a residential zone. Though Gourarie said the events at his home are attended by only a few families, folks in opposition said the application has the potential to add traffic and to diminish quality of life. Others took issue with the tax-exempt status of a building that is a house, operating as something else, in a residential zone. (Chabad - See Page 4)
that the township has satisfied its affordable housing obligation, at 1,735 units. The Council on Affordable
(Housing - See Page 4)
County Names Roads Slated For Paving Soon
OCEAN COUNTY – Portions of several major roads in Ocean County are expected to get improvements under the county’s first road overlay contract of 2016. They include portions of Bennetts Mills Road, Burnt Tavern Road, Cedar Bridge, and Bay Avenue (Route 571). “As part of our annual road overlay program, we will be starting work shortly on safety improvements including stormwater drain-
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Housing rules are before the courts though, as COAH attempts to revise its rules
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age work, new paving and reconstruction on several roads throughout Ocean County,” said Ocean County Freeholder Director John P. Kelly, director of Law and Public Safety. “All totaled we will be repairing more than five miles of roadway under this first contract.” The roadways to be improved under the contract will be in Jackson, Brick and Toms River. In Jackson: 1.15 miles of (Roads - See Page 18)
RESULTS AFTER 4-6 VISITS!