What will Red Bank's future look like? Community voices to help develop master plan

RED BANK - What do you love about Red Bank? And what is it that you can't stand?

That's what consultants with BFJ Planning and FHI Studio wanted to know, as they presented issues the borough faced and solicited feedback from residents during its first public meeting about revising the borough's master plan. 

This once-in-a-decade opportunity allows borough officials, residents and business owners to have a say in shaping the next 10 years or more of Red Bank.  

Comments and suggestions included “biking is too dangerous,” that the town should create “controls on rent levels” and prioritize a “need for water access.”

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Susan Favate, principal planner, described municipalities’ master plans as a set of policy guidelines that dictate how land within a municipality is used. 

While the document is not a set of laws, its contents need to be taken into consideration by municipalities when deciding land use or investment opportunities. 

“The planning board and zoning board should be following those policies (set by the master plan) in all of their actions,” Favate said. “The actions they take should be consistent with the master plan and if they’re not, then the borough is opening itself up to legal challenge.” 

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Red Bank's last major overhaul of its master plan was in 1995, and since then the borough has seen large changes. 

Peter Van den Kooy, project manager, said the borough has seen a 22% growth since 1990 and a 19% increase in jobs since 2010. As the borough grows, the percentage of people of color decreased from 50% to 45%, with the largest decline among Black residents at 24%. 

He noted that about 12% of residents both live and work in town. And while average household incomes have increased, about one third of residents make less than $50,000 and, according to the PowerPoint, “income inequality is on the rise.” 

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Filling vacant lots

After spending months reaching out to community members at pop-up fairs, places of worship, the housing authority, nonprofits, the senior center and schools, the consultants have received survey data from 525 individuals. 

Ryan Walsh, community engagement manager, said his team has realized five areas of priority. They include: revitalization; new development standards; parks and open space; traffic; and walking, biking and transit. 

While Red Bank has few plots of vacant land available, there are a number of vacant buildings that community members have expressed concern about. 

Walsh said a resident wrote, “Vacant properties, surface lots and other poor uses of land negatively portray the town to visitors or potential homeowners.”

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Concerning new development standards, Walsh said community members were concerned that the building of big luxury developments "encourages speculators and drives prices up, making it impossible for my family to live here.”

Walsh said his team is looking into advocating for an increase in greenspace in Red Bank, with an emphasis on the riverfront. He said community members were interested in beautifying the parks and wanted more activities to happen within them.  

Walsh said community members flagged traffic and transportation as their highest concerns. He said his team was looking to update traffic patterns and make certain that new developments are planned alongside traffic improvements to reduce congestion from an increase in population. He added that they want infrastructure that makes walking and biking safer. 

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Van den Kooy noted that accidents tend to happen along West Front Street, Maple Avenue, Rector Place and Shrewsbury Avenue. He added that while many residents complained about inadequate parking, many parking lots are underutilized. 

Favate said Red Bank has a special vibe that’s unique in New Jersey. She said its small town feel with mom-and-pop stores are an asset to the town. 

“Red Bank is a diverse place,” she added. “We think is a core strength. It is something that is truly special about Red Bank. It’s something that’s appropriate to build off.”  

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Where changes must be made

In surveys, Walsh said, the areas around Marine Park, Riverside Gardens and Broad Street were the most liked by residents, while the areas surrounding Riverview Medical Center, the gateway to Red Bank along Riverside Avenue and the intersection of Maple Avenue, Front Street and Water Street received the most dislikes. 

According to Adam Tecza, urban designer and project manager, the gateway to Red Bank and the hospital have been designated for “small area plans” as well as the proposed Sunset Park. 

Tecza said small area plans allow officials to prioritize improvements and private businesses to identify investment opportunities. 

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He said the gateway to Red Bank has traffic issues that make it dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians. It also has vacant gas stations that need to be redeveloped. In an informal poll conducted at the meeting, about 35% of attendees supported turning the vacant gas station at 80 Rector Place into a public park, followed by about 20% of attendees voting for a marina or boat club.

In a separate poll conducted at the meeting, about 60% of attendees supported turning the vacant gas station at 187 Riverside Ave. into some kind of restaurant, retail or office space. 

Tecza said there is a possibility that a traffic light will be installed on Riverside Avenue and Bodman Place, a proposal that was rejected by the state Department of Transportation in 2017. 

“One of the things we’ll be looking at is different options,” he said. “We understand that if you’re essentially exiting out of Bodman Place, you may end up having to go all the way over the bridge, turn around, do some funky U-turn just to be able to get back going the right direction. So, we’re really going to be studying that closely.” 

Tecza said the hospital, which is the largest employer in Red Bank, has been in tension with neighboring residents and has a parking problem.

“The hospital has indicated to us that there is no immediate plans to make major changes to the hospital,” Tecza said. “They have been purchasing some of the sites across Front Street as they become available. According to them, those purchases are really strategic purchases.” 

He said the needs of the hospital are driven by market forces and in the future, there will be more outpatient care that will result in more medical facilities in office buildings. 

He said the current zoning is outdated for how hospitals will operate in the future. 

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A number of attendees at the meeting advocated for taxing the hospital or limiting how much property the hospital could buy. Under state law, nonprofit hospitals such as Riverview are not subject to property tax.

Tecza said that was beyond the scope of the master plan study and officials cannot restrict anyone from purchasing land.  

The last “small area plan” involves Sunset Park on the west side of Red Bank. A concept plan has been drawn up in 2017, but it needs gap funding to make it a reality. 

Tecza said while some projects or recommendations may not come to fruition, it is important to put it in the master plan. 

“Having things in your master plan make it more likely that (when) grant funding becomes available that the town may be competitive for those kinds of projects,” he said. “You want to be prepared so that if a state agency or the federal government changes policy and starts making grant funding available, (the borough) can move forward.”

Favate said her team hopes to begin consolidating the recommendations from community members and start drafting the master plan in September. She said there will be a second public hearing on the draft that will take place in-person in the fall. 

Olivia Liu is a reporter covering transportation, Red Bank and western Monmouth County. She can be reached at oliu@gannett.com.