Red Bank zoners are setting the bar too high

Development decisions are never easy, particularly when they involve non-conforming uses.

There is a balancing act required between fairness to a property owner and fairness to the public at large that every board, particularly zoning boards of adjustment, must do for every application they consider.

In most cases it is easy to see where the line is, and more often than not, the Red Bank Zoning Board has wound up on the right side of it.

That is not the case with the application of Alain Belilty who is seeking to make improvements to a two-family home he bought on Tilton Avenue.

Some residents of the area,, most notably William Poku, who heads the borough’s chapter of the NAACP, have spoken out against considering the home as a pre-existing nonconforming use.

It is difficult to see how the home, which has two kitchens, and no internal staircase connecting the first and second floor, could be anything but a two-family home. It has been carried as such on the borough tax rolls since 1971, and all utilities except water are tracked on separate meters.

While the integrity of the neighborhood, which is primarily single-family homes, is important, to force Belilty to seek a use variance for his property is to impose an undue burden.

He deserves to have his application considered at the lower standard, and that ultimately will be in the best interest of the neighborhood as well.

Belilty purchased the property when it was in foreclosure. It clearly is in need of some work.

He wants to make improvements — surely as a two-family home in good condition, the property will be more of an asset to the neighborhood than as a rundown single-family structure.