Washington House's Permanent Dining Tent Hearing To Continue

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — After three hours of testimony, the hearing on Washington House's application to make its more than 5,000 square-foot outdoor dining tent permanent will be pushed another month or even further.

At the Board of Adjustment's June 16 meeting traffic experts and the owners of the restaurant testified and answered questions from the board and public.

The applicant, Finley Real Estate, LLC, showed videos and time-lapse photography to show how parking works around the area since that is the major challenge with the application.

The traffic study was conducted from May 31 to June 6 with five camera running from 5 a.m. to midnight.

Video and photos were presented from Friday, June 3 as it is typically the busiest day for the restaurant, according to the applicant.

On June 3, the restaurant reported having a record day of covers with 446. They normally average 330.

Footage was also shown for Sunday, June 5.

While some board members were worried about the number of covers, the Jepson Brothers (who co-own the restaurant) noted that there would never be that many covers at the restaurant at the same time.

"By having the tent it gives our customers the flexibility. Some may want to sit outside on a nice day they can. If it's really hot and some people want to sit inside where there is air conditioning they can as well. ... We are downtown Basking Ridge we are not New York City. We are not this restaurant where people come from all over the state or fly in to go visit. We are a family restaurant with a business in a small town. And by having the tent it gives us the flexibility to serve customers," said one of the Jepson brothers.

Around 10:30 p.m., Board Chairwoman Jeanmarie Genirs stopped the meeting and the board voted for it to be carried to a future date.

The applicant still has a professional planner and another witness slated to speak before it will open to the public for their opinions.

July 6 was selected as the next hearing date but only as a formality. There is no time to hear the application and the board is already booked through August. Genirs clarified that July 6 is mearly just a date when the Board will vote on when to push the hearing to.

Washington House is seeking multiple variances to allow the 50-foot-wide by 100-foot-long tent to become a permanent fixture in downtown Basking Ridge.

The township previously approved the tent as a temporary solution during the COVID pandemic.

The dining tent, which totals 5,208 square feet, will bring the total floor area on the site to 13,316 square feet or 85.6 percent floor area ratio. It would also reduce the number of off-street parking spots by 23.

The existing restaurant has a capacity of 174 seats of which 150 are indoors and 24 outdoors. If the tent is made permanent it will have 164 dining seats. In addition to the existing bluestone patio that seats 12 it will bring the total restaurant capacity to 350 seats.

The tent is the latest addition to the restaurant's lavish outdoor dining area. It comes with radiant flooring, a luxury bathroom, overhead lighting, ventilation, and trees for the atmosphere.

The applicant is seeking three variances:

1. A variance for the maximum floor ratio of 85.6 percent when the ordinance only allows a maximum of 25 percent.
2. A variance to allow 36 parking spaces where the ordinance requires 216 spaces.
3. A variance for rear yard setback for 3.2 feet where the ordinance requires a minimum of 10 feet.

To see the entire application click here.

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