Fee Waiver Renewal Aims To Keep Filling Vacant Brick Storefronts

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Township Council has voted to renew an ordinance that waives fees for small businesses looking to start up and fill vacant commercial spaces in Brick.

The ordinance, first enacted in 2015, has resulted in 30 storefronts being filled, Mayor Lisa Crate said during its introduction at the July 25 council meeting. The council voted unanimously to approve the ordinance on its second reading Tuesday night.

The ordinance allows the town to waive fees for a small business that chooses to renovate a vacant commercial property that has been empty for at least the previous 12 months and that is smaller than 5,000 square feet.

The space cannot have any outstanding property taxes or outstanding property maintenance violations.

Uniform Construction Code Surcharge fees are not eligible to be waived.

Crate said that typically a new business has to pay for a business license, parking fees, traffic impact fees, building review and planning review fees, which can be enough to stop someone from moving forward.

The goal is to continue to encourage and support small business start-ups while filling vacant spaces, she said.