Keyport Neighbors

Re: 7/17 Borough Council Meeting

The next Keyport Borough Council (KBC) meeting is today starting at 8:00 PM. The agenda for this meeting lists a public hearing and a vote on the 2007 KBA budget. The present KBA Board of Directors (elected by an overwhelming majority of the business property owners who voted in 2006) has developed a 2007 program and supporting budget. One attribute of this 2007 KBA program is that it would result in the lowering of the present special BID tax assessment of $.25 per $100 of assessed property value. Some members of the KBC have expressed dissatisfaction with this direction from the present KBA Board of Directors, see report on 7/10/07 Special KBC meeting in this e-mail.

The next Keyport Unified Planning Board (KUPB) meeting is scheduled for this Thursday 7/19 starting at 7:00PM at Keyport Borough Hall. The only new item of business on the agenda is:

• Case #07-08 Associates 111 Route 36 Block 51 Lot 21 Minor Site Plan. This application is "for approval to construct additional on-site lighting, which exceeds 500 watts on property operated as an auto dealership known as Pine Belt Nissan".

"The Keyport Borough Council (KBC) held a Special Meeting on July 10, 2007 for the purpose of:

1. Presenting and discussing Special Business Improvement Districts, the Keyport Business Alliance. Material concerning the structure and purpose of a Business Improvement District (BID) was presented by Joseph Steiner, Executive Director of Downtown, New Jersey. Michael Fabbrizo, from the Morristown BID also spoke about the BID programs in his town. Keyport business owners, downtown property owners, and residents contributed their inputs on the value of KBA events and KBA capitol improvement programs, and the need for measurements to gauge economic progress. The KBC and KBA were urged to develop a consensus on KBA goals and how to define success for the KBA program.
2. Taking action regarding designating Metropolitan Planning Areas within the Borough as an Area in Need of Rehabilitation. A resolution was approved by the KBC to redefine the Keyport "area in need of rehabilitation". The redefined rehabilitation area will now include all of Keyport except those areas designated as PA5 (environmentally sensitive areas). With this new resolution all 4 Keyport marinas and the Aeromarine site are not included in the "area in need of rehabilitation".
3. Enabling BDA Redevelopment. The KBC authorized the Keyport Borough attorney to compose a letter addressed to the owners of Lots 26-28 and Lots 30-31 Block 22 (Saute Bay and Apollo property, former Kara Homes site) expressing the Borough’s interest in acquiring (buying) their property. This action adds weight to the Borough’s designation of this area as Brownfield Development Area (BDA) sites #. 9 and 10. If the Borough acquires these lots, the earlier BDA designation for these two sites enables the Borough to obtain NJ State funds to "clean-up" the site and then plan/manage the redevelopment of the site. Under the BDA program NJ State expenses would be recovered from the redevelopment of the site. Similarly, one would assume that the Borough expenses need to be recovered from the redevelopment project, possibly putting the KBC in the position of championing high-density developments.

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