Workers laying the sidewalk that blocked access to White Street from the Better Housekeeping Shop, the beige building visible at far right, in October, 2020. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

See UPDATE below

By JOHN T. WARD

Less than three years after a complete makeover, downtown Red Bank’s main parking lot would be reconfigured to comply with the terms of a lawsuit settlement up for approval Thursday night.

At issue: an 84-year-old appliance shop’s truck access to the street.

A schematic included in the settlement shows changes to restore truck access to White Street from the Better Housekeeping Shop, marked with a star. Below, the completed center sidewalk. (Star added by redbankgreen. Click to enlarge.)

A 2022 lawsuit brought by Diane Joy Realty, owner of the building that houses Better Housekeeping Shop appliance store at 46 Monmouth Street, alleged that the borough’s makeover of the White Street parking lot in 2020 interfered with an easement, or right to use another’s property, to the back of the store.

“The easement has been used by Better Housekeeping for access to White Street for the delivery of goods and services by the last three generations of owners,” reads the complaint filed by attorney Zachary J. Styczynski. The store’s inventory “consists of large household appliances which require large tractor trailers for deliveries. These deliveries have been hampered and curtailed due to the lose [sic] of the right of way,” it said.

According to the suit, the easement was acknowledged in legal documents when the borough acquired the property that became the White Street lot in late 1948. Tax maps dating from 1961 to the present indicate the store’s right-of-way access, it said.

Here’s the complaint: Diane Joy Realty v Red Bank 042822

A notice of settlement was filed with the court in May, and the borough council is slated to consider it for approval Thursday night.

The settlement would restore the shop’s access to White Street across the center of the 2.3-acre parking lot. An attached schematic shows the creation of a 30-foot-wide lane running north to White Street from the vicinity of the shop, requiring cut-throughs of two sidewalks and the apparent elimination of 12 of the lot’s 273 parking spots.

Whether the easement was overlooked in the process of reconstructing the lot three years ago is not indicated in the settlement. According to the document included in the council’s agenda, the deal also includes a $15,000 payment to Diane Joy Realty, but “does not constitute and shall in no manner be construed as an admission of any wron$doing [sic] or liability’ on the borough’s part,” it says.

How much the restoration itself might cost taxpayers also is not disclosed. Interim borough Manager Darren McConnell did not respond to requests for information Wednesday and early Thursday.

UPDATE, via email from McConnell Thursday: “We will likely lose 17 spaces but that is dependent on the final design. This predates me, but my understanding is that the easement was not known to the prior administration and engineer when the lot configuration was designed. The engineer’s estimate to make the changes is roughly $50,000.”

In early 2020, the lot makeover was estimated to cost $1.5 million, funded in part by a 2018 New Jersey Department of Transportation grant of $350,000.

The council meets at 6:30 p.m. at borough hall, 90 Monmouth Street. Remote meeting participation is available via Zoom. Here’s the full agenda.

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