Judge upholds city noise and nuisance laws
Case involves noise complaints filed against The Asbury hotel
Asbury Park Municipal Court Judge Daniel DiBenedetto upheld the city’s noise and nuisance ordinance on Tuesday, in a case involving noise complaints filed against the city’s newest hotel.
The Asbury, the 110-room hotel at the former Salvation Army building on Fifth Avenue, challenged the ordinance, set in place in 2010, as unenforceable, according to City Attorney Frederick Raffetto who represented the city at the hearing.
The attorneys for the hotel argued that the city’s ordinance is preempted by state laws, unconstitutional, and not applicable within the redevelopment zone, Raffetto said.
However, DiBenedetto ruled that the ordinance is enforceable against the hotel and that a trial on the noise complaints can proceed. The Asbury will have 20 days to appeal the municipal court decision upholding the ordinance, Rafffetto said.
But iStar Senior Vice President of Land and Development Brian Cheripka said, “We have always sought to be a good neighbor in the community and will continue to do so. We understand the municipal court’s position on the matter and will not be filing an appeal.”
iStar, the city’s master waterfront redeveloper, owns the hotel.
Enforcement of the municipal laws are governed by the city’s police department, which issued 27 noise violations to The Asbury since their Memorial Day opening, according to Councilwoman Eileen Chapman, who attended the Tuesday afternoon hearing.
Chapman said DiBenedetto’s decision included a recommendation that both parties enter into mediation so that all 27 complaints are not tried individually.
“We will wait to see if The Asbury hotel appeals,” she said. “I have every hope this can be resolved before the [summer] season begins. I know that the hotel has brought in a reputable sound team to mitigate the issue.”
Cheripka said they “will try to work together with City officials to clarify our concerns over the existing ordinance, which we believe lacks specificity and may have a long term negative impact on redevelopment efforts across the city. We are working on several noise mitigation efforts at The Asbury and plan to have them in place by the time our rooftop venues re-open in the late spring.”
There are two different types of approaches for towns to regulate noise in New Jersey, Raffetto said.
Municipalities can opt to follow a decibel based standard, like the model adopted earlier this year in the Central Business District Redevelopment zone where residential units are found atop food and entertainment venues, or the more subjective nuisance law that governs the waterfront redevelopment area, which ‘prohibits loud, unnecessary or unusual noise which is likely to disturb, injure or endanger the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of the comfort of others.’
With regard to the constitutionality of the city laws, Raffetto cited precedents set by prior appellate court decisions. Those cases challenged laws similar to the city’s noise nuisance ordinance.
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