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After a public hearing that lasted over an hour, the city council on Wednesday voted to approve a proposal to allow eating and drinking on the second story of a building on Lake Avenue fronting Wesley Lake.

Restaurateur Andy Ivanov, owner of Pilsener Haus in Hoboken and former owner of Radegast in Brooklyn, proposed the plans in May to build a restaurant with a rooftop beer garden at 527 Lake Ave., on the corner of Lake Avenue and Press Plaza.

The upstairs beer garden required an amendment to the central business district [CBD] redevelopment plan, which prohibits eating and drinking on the second story of any establishment that falls within the CBD, said city attorney Frederick Raffetto.

The amendment passed 3-0. Mayor Myra Campbell, Councilman John Moor and Councilwoman Susan Henderson voted yes. Councilwoman Amy Quinn abstained. Councilman John Loffredo was not in attendance.

During the public hearing before the vote, city residents voiced their concerns about the second story beer garden’s close proximity to nearby condominiums and a lack of ample parking in the general downtown area.

Ivanov’s attorney Andrew Karas, Paramus, said a healthy mix of businesses and residential units is why downtown Asbury Park is thriving.

“When you have that mix of businesses along with the residential, there tends to create in some people’s minds, a tension. Conversely, instead of tension, in those areas you have a much better living environment because you have people that are living amongst these businesses,” Karas said. “It is what has resulted in the revitalization of the downtown.”

Jennifer Lynch and Eric Clark, residents of the 550 Cookman complex whose apartment is adjacent to the site, spoke about noise concerns from patrons of the rooftop beer garden and a possible invasion of privacy.

“The sight lines are right into our bedroom,” Clark said.

“We are conscious of the sight lines,” said Karas.

Karas said the beer garden will have an 18 foot buffer area to distance the beer garden from the adjoining residences. “They will also construct a wall” parallel to the condominiums that would be “virtually impossible [to climb] unless you are Spiderman,” he said.

“We had the opportunity to move into the Cookman Avenue side or the Lake Avenue side [of the complex] and we chose the Lake side because it was quieter,” Lynch said.

“Our concern is that this is creating a social environment,” Clark said. ““I don’t see how it is possible to mitigate that volume.”

Under the city’s CBD sound mitigation guidelines, Ivanov and partners will have to submit a detailed sound mitigation application to the city’s planning board.

The application contains requirements for a detailed report of the “provision of buffers, limits on hours of operation, and the use of specific construction techniques or building materials to be utilized in order to meet the performance standards established.”

Ivanov has enlisted the help of “an acoustics expert to work with them to ensure they will be in full compliance,” as required by the planning board, Karas said. The acoustics expert was in attendance at the meeting, but could not provide any insight to the council because he had only viewed the proposed space for the first time that day.

City resident David Kaye expressed his displeasure in the process of the city council having to approve an amendment before they or the planning board had seen any actual plans.

“They are asking for an amendment, and they really have no plan,” he said. ”They are offering up ideas and asking for an amendment that they can’t prove can be achieved.”

Residents also inquired why the new establishment would not be required to provide or construct its own parking spaces, as they say parking in that area is already problematic during the summer months.

“You have to have parking, there’s a rule in this town about parking,” said resident Rita Marano. “These are residents. Most of them own the properties that they’re in. You can’t disregard them for a beer garden.”

“It’s an existing building,” said city Redevelopment and Planning Director Don Sammet. “It does not trigger a parking requirement.”

In the current CBD plan, businesses that operate in pre-existing structures are not required to provide more parking spaces, even if the building’s use varies.

“It’s not fair,” Marano said. “It really isn’t. And you have to get parking. Everybody’s complaining about it.”

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Clarification: A previous version of this article stated Mr. Ivanov owned Radegast beer garden in Brooklyn. Although he and his wife were principal owners in the business and Mr. Ivanov was part of the original management team, they are no longer affiliated with the business.

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Photo at top: The brick building at 527 Lake Ave., site of the proposed restaurant and second story beer garden. The residences at 550 Cookman Ave. are the tan and white buildings in the far right corner.

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