$400,000 sewer connection fee ‘never was accurate’
City, beer garden owners still unsure whether fee applies
A city official has commented on a social media site that the $400,000 sewer connection fee calculated for the Asbury Park Festhalle and Biergarden is inaccurate.
“The $400,000 potential fee for the Beer Garden is not currently and never was accurate [too high],” said City Engineer Joe Cunha on a Asbury Park Nextdoor.com post about sewage flow data.
Based on the figures Cunha posted on the site, the connection fee for the 732 seat restaurant can be calculated at approximately $320,000.
It’s still a steep fee for Jennifer Lampert, a partner in the two-story restaurant and beer garden slated for the corner of Lake Avenue and Press Plaza, who says she has still never received a physical bill from the city for any amount.
Lampert submitted applications to begin work installing windows at the site weeks ago but was denied the permits until a $400,000 sewer connection fee payment was fully paid. It was the first time she was made aware of the fee after working with the city for over nine months to get the project approved, she said.
“As with all other ordinances, an applicant is to perform their own due diligence in determining what their responsibilities are in order to complete the approval process. The process and our involvement is simply to guide the applicant thr[ough], review and approve/deny thereby upholding the ordinances that protect the City and its taxpayers,” Cunha said in the post.
It is also unclear who made the calculation.
“I never said $400,000,” Cunha told the Sun. Other city officials have declined to comment on the calculation.
According to Andrew Karas, an attorney representing the beer garden owners, the quote was given verbally to his client ” by someone in the municipality,” he said. “I have never seen anything in writing.”
Construction at the two-story restaurant and rooftop beer garden has since been put on hold until the issue is resolved, as the owners say they cannot afford a $400,000 charge, Lampert said.
The issue now perplexing city hall is whether the beer garden owners are even responsible for paying it.
“At this point, it is too premature to render a final conclusion as to whether, and to what extent, a sewer connection fee may be required relating to the proposed beer garden to be located at 527 Lake Ave.,” City Attorney Frederick Raffetto said in an email to the Sun.
A change of use was the city’s “initial position” for imposing the fee, Karas said. According to state statute, a change of use does not trigger a connection fee unless there is new construction added and his client is not adding floors, extensions to the building, or new residential units, he said.
“We are beyond the point of whether this is a change of use – that was their initial position,” Karas said.
Whether the existing four inch sewer pipe at the site will have to be expanded, and whether the expansion of the pipe counts as a “new” connection is another issue, Karas said.
Based on calculations made by an engineer and architect working with Lampert, the four inch pipe is the correct size, Karas said.
Attorneys from both sides have met with personnel from the city engineer’s office to review how the fee was calculated. The developer will next submit additional information to the city before a decision can be made on whether the fee will be reduced, Raffetto said. “The city cannot make a final determination as to the imposition of a connection fee until that information is received,” Raffetto said.
The beer garden owners are keeping the faith a fair outcome can be reached.
“The city of Asbury Park has been working diligently with our team to come up with a resolution,” said Lampert. “We are hopeful, and we believe there is a beer garden in Asbury Park’s future.”
Lampert voiced her frustrations during the public session at last week’s city council meeting.
[UPDATE: This post has been updated to reflect that the figure of $320,000 for the correct connection fee is based on calculations using information provided by Cunha in his comments on the nextdoor.com social media site. The Sun confirmed the $320,000 figure with other sources.]
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