Actors can have a house to call home
Zoning bd. approves lodging for Two River Theater thespians
BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer

RED BANK - An application involving housing for a group of actors was unanimously approved for a "trial run" by the Red Bank Zoning Board of Adjustment March 6.

The applicant, Gemini Group, proposed to use a single-family dwelling located at 81 Shrewsbury Ave. in the BR-1 Zone as a residence for artists performing at the Two River Theater nearby on Bridge Avenue.

The board's decision to approve the change in use came after the applicant agreed to include a variance stipulating the use is for a two-year "trial period" as a condition of the board's approval.

"That provision makes me feel more comfortable with the application," said Board Chairman Thomas Williams.

Gemini Group is made up of Robert Rechnitz, founder of the theater company, and his sons who plan to buy the property and lease it for $1 a year to the Two River Theater Company to be used as housing for out-of-town actors appearing in productions at the theater.

The application required approval of a "d" variance for a use not permitted in the zone.

According to Planning and Zoning Director Donna Smith Barr, the proposed use does not meet the definition of a single family home and is considered a rooming house, which is not permitted in the zone.

The residence, which would house anywhere from two to five actors at any given time, includes five separate bedrooms located on the second floor, a living area on the first floor, and four full bathrooms throughout the house, according to one of the owners of the property, Stephen James Whelan.

The use of the term "rooming" or "boarding house" seemed to trouble board members.

"Red Bank has had an experience with boarding houses over the decades … it's given [us] great concerns," said board member Kevin Moss.

Board attorney Kevin Kennedy suggested an alternative to calling the residence a rooming house.

"Perhaps if the concept of a rooming house is what's at issue for the board, perhaps we can call it something else. I don't necessarily think there is something in our ordinance that fits this definition. If we call it a theater actor's residence or something to that effect it would still be a use variance because it's not a permitted use," said Kennedy.

The applicant's attorney Gordon N. Litwin, of Ansell Zaro Grimm & Aaron, supplied the board with an 18-page legal brief describing the inclusion of a condition on the property that would limit the use to the Two River Theater actors as a legally binding restriction.

Litwin also supplied the board with a copy of the Actor's Equity contract. Both were provisions the board asked the applicant to provide to them after the last meeting Feb. 7.

Board members continued to show concern about the monitoring of the residence as well as the need for the property to stay on the tax rolls and not eventually to be donated to the theater and whether or not the applicant had looked into buying other property in the borough.

"I indeed plan to keep this house as a personal property. I have no plans to gift it or sell it to the theater," said Rechnitz in response.

Board member Lauren Nicosia asked if there was a way to include a condition to stipulate that the property would remain on the tax books and not become another tax-exempt property.

"I'm one of those actors that would very much appreciate having housing here in Red Bank," said Maureen Silliman, who will be performing in the upcoming production, "The Glass Menagerie."

"Every acting company has something called a deputy, which we elect among ourselves. If there are problems in that company, the deputy deals with that, Actors Equity deals with that, the theater deals with that should there be any problems."

The actress, who received applause from the audience at the end of her speech, added, "We care very much about being a good neighbor and being a good worker … if we are not our reputation is shot. It's a small business and in our business if you have a bad reputation you don't work very much. So I think that actors can be good neighbors. I've worked for almost 40 years as an actor, and I have worked across the country and I have lived in many of these houses that we are asking you to let us have here."

Williams expressed concerns about how the location of the building would affect RiverCenter's new expanded commercial district.

"In RiverCenter's expansion they talk about expanding to Shrewsbury Avenue. The idea of perpetuating a use that's not permitted to me is contrary to what I believe in the future is a continuous business zone, [from] Broad [Street] to Monmouth [Street] to Shrewsbury Avenue," said Williams, adding, "I'm not opposed to the theater having an artists' residence, I just think in this particular zone, the west side has waited a long time for opportunities to come from the east side and this to me is right in the middle of the beginning of the continuous zone."

RiverCenter representative Jay Herman said the business alliance was in favor of the application and that the organization feels it would enhance the commercial district.

"RiverCenter loves the idea. We just think it's grand and it's part of the rehabilitation of our town. This is part of the economic engine. This is part of what we're trying to achieve to promote a more vibrant economy. This is going to help a vibrant economy more than a single-family residence," said Herman, West Front Street.

After the decision to approve the application with a list of conditions, the board heard brief testimony from an applicant, Signature Communities, propos- ing to renovate the interior and exterior of The Colony House and to convert the apartment units into condominiums.

The Colony House is a 68-unit apartment complex located at 122 Riverside Ave.

Testimony was heard from applicant's engineer James Kennedy, Maple Avenue, about optimizing the amount of available parking spaces on the lot.

The application was carried to the zoning board's April 17 meeting.