The property at 126 Stevens Road, Toms River, proposed for conversion to a house of worship. (Credit: Google Maps)
The Toms River zoning board will consider a hearing that would allow a house of worship to be run out of a residential home within a residential zone, alongside a parking lot proposed to be constructed at the same location.
The board, also known as the Board of Adjustment, will consider an application first floated in May by Dov Roth, the owner of the property at 62 Stevens Road, between Whitesville Road and Route 9, to operate a synagogue, or shul, from the 2,873 square foot single-family home, which stands 1.5 stories tall. In order to operate the shul out of the home, the owner is seeking to construct a 43-stall parking area and associated site improvements such as curbed islands, concrete wheel stops, trash enclosure, lighting, landscaping, and stormwater management basins.
In a previous iteration of an application to operate the shul at the property, which is located within the Rural Residential zone, the parking lot was proposed at a size of approximately 23,000 square feet in area. The site access to the property is proposed as being by way of a one-way access drive along Stevens Road. The owner is proposing to extend the existing asphalt driveway creating a one-way exit drive onto Stevens Road.
The home is currently allowed to be used as a single-family dwelling. According to real estate records, the property was last sold in 2021 for $700,000. The home had been listed as a three bedroom, four bathroom home.
The owner, in order to operate the home as a shul, must obtain a conditional use variance – among several other, more routine “bulk” variances – for the proposed work on the property. A conditional use variance is required when a certain use of a property – such as a house of worship – is allowed in a zone only if certain conditions are met. In this case, according to a legal notice filed by local attorney Robert C. Shea, the application deviates from the conditions under the township’s zoning ordinance. Cases which call for conditional use variances require a supermajority of board members voting in favor of an application in order for it to pass.
The property at 126 Stevens Road, Toms River, proposed for conversion to a house of worship. (Credit: Google Maps)
In addition to the use variance, bulk variances being sought include the provision of a 20-foot buffer where a 50-foot wide buffer is normally required along all side and rear property lines abutting residentially zoned properties; deviation from the standards of a conditional use; and a 24-foot area beside for a two lane, 40 m.p.h. roadway abutting residential uses where a maximum of 20-feet is normally required.
Numerous design waivers are also being sought, including a request to set aside rules requiring curbing within the parking lot and along the property, as well as curb aprons; permission to avoid planting required shrubs and trees; permission to avoid installing sidewalks; and permission to avoid placing curbing around a proposed refuse collection area.
The application will be heard Sept. 26, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. at the township municipal complex, 33 Washington Street.
