Washington House's Permanent Dining Tent Hearing Continues Thursday

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — The continued hearing on Washington House's application to make its more than 5,000 square-foot outdoor dining tent permanent is set for Thursday.

The application by Finley Real Estate, LLC, which owns the restaurant at 55 South Finley Ave., will be heard by the Bernards Township Board of Adjustment on Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m. (See meeting details below)

The applicant still has a professional planner and another witness slated to speak before the hearing will be open to the public for their opinions. The previous meeting on June 16 included traffic experts and the owners of the restaurant testifying and answering questions from the board and the public. Read More: Washington House's Permanent Dining Tent Hearing To Continue

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 agenda and application click here.

Meeting info:

This meeting will be held in person in the Warren Craft Meeting Room. In addition, the public will be able to view the meeting live on Optimum/Cablevision TV – Channel 15 and Verizon FIOS TV – Channel 35. For those interested in watching on their computers, the link will be available at 7:30 p.m. by clicking on the “Watch the Meeting Live” icon on the Bernards Township Zoning Board of Adjustment web page.

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