Brick Zoners: Proposed Wedding Facility Needs Height Variance

BRICK, NJ — A proposal for a nearly 80-foot-high wedding venue will only need a variance for the height of the building, the Brick Township Board of Adjustment said Wednesday night.

The vote on whether the facility needed a height variance — or a use variance for its plan to operate as banquet hall — came following nearly four hours of debate and testimony focused on the issue of a use variance. The board voted unanimously that the proposal did not need a use variance. The next hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Aug. 21.

Villamoura, which brothers Barry Maurillo and Joe Maurillo are hoping to operate at the site of the former Winter Yacht Basin on the southern side of Mantoloking Road near the Mantoloking Bridge, would be 78 feet tall and is described as an elegant wedding venue with waterfront views that usually are available only to members of a yacht club.

The proposal is opposed by multiple people. Save Barnegat Bay is opposing the project, as is the Mantoloking Yacht Club. The borough of Mantoloking is opposing the project, and some residents have hired attorneys to represent their interests.

The dispute Wednesday night centered on whether a banquet hall is considered an acceptable use in the B2 general business zone. Brick Township's zoning allows for restaurants in the B2 zone.

Andrew Thomas, a licensed planner, testified on behalf of one of the groups opposing the project saying he believed a banquet facility in a B2 zone needs a use variance because Brick Township's zoning does not specifically say a banquet facility is a permitted use.

Brick Township planner Tara Paxton, however, testified that the town has treated banquet facilities and restaurants as "interchangeable" for the 18 years she has been in the township's planning department. Christopher Romano, the township's zoning officer, testified that it was his opinion the proposal for a banquet facility at the site did not require a use variance. Romano, who has worked for the township for seven years, became the township's zoning officer last year.

Read my notes from the meeting for a detailed look at the discussion..

The former Winter Yacht Basin was used by Hinckley Corp. to service its yacht customers and provides 270-degree waterfront views, and the goal, he said, is to create an elegant venue that gives couples the atmosphere of a private yacht club that isn't accessible to most people.

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