Proposed Self-Storage Facility Settles With Barnegat Zoning Board

BARNEGAT, NJ — A proposed self-storage facility on West Bay Avenue is now being allowed to move forward with its plans following a settlement agreement between its developers and the Barnegat Zoning Board of Adjustment.

The facility, proposed by PSC Barnegat LLC, was denied by the board in June of 2023. After the denial, the developers sued the board, claiming the denial was "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable."

The settlement was approved at a recent meeting after what is known as a Whispering Woods hearing, based on a New Jersey court case from the 1980s. This allowed PSC Barnegat LLC and the zoning board to settle the lawsuit without a full hearing, but allowing the public to hear the terms.

In order for the settlement to be reached, the developers needed to provide an amended proposal. Michael Bruno, the attorney representing the self-storage facility developers, said they listened to the audio from the meeting where the plan was denied and "parsed out each and every concern."

One of the biggest concerns with the facility was the impact on surrounding properties. While it is planned for a wooded, vacant three-acre lot, there is a neighborhood directly behind the property. It also abuts the Barnegat Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Walgreens and across West Bay Avenue is Mavis and Fulton Bank.

In order to lessen the impact on the neighbors, the new plan includes lights on a timer as to not disturb residences, greater utilization of buffers like trees and shrubs and a shrinking of the building's height. It will now only be four floors, instead of five.

Still, neighbors were concerned - particularly because rendering of what the building would look like from their neighborhood would look like didn't look right.

"The rendering is not our neighborhood," said resident Charles Cunliffe. "It doesn't resemble our neighborhood."

Cunliffe also noted the rendering provided a "summertime view" of the neighborhood. Most of the trees there are deciduous, he said, meaning that when the leaves were gone from the trees it would make the storage facility even more visible from their homes.

"I'm surprised that we are here again," another neighbor said, voicing her disappointment that rules were not being followed. The area which the facility is proposed is zoned for a variety of commercial uses like retail, restaurants, banks and more. But storage facilities are not expressly allowed, nor are they disallowed in the zoning law.

Neighbors also hired an attorney to represent them. Lawrence Sachs urged the board to not take action on the matter that night and instead require the developers to provide a viewshed analysis that would show what residents would see from their second floor windows.

But the board voted to approve the settlement unanimously.

This doesn't mean that the facility has the go-ahead to start building. It only means that the board is allowing a use variance for storage facilities in the zone. The developers still have to come back before the board with a site plan for further approvals.