Margate City officials halted construction at Sunrise Tequila Bar, 9700 Ventnor Ave., which will seek variances at a special Planning Board meeting, May 15.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE – The Planning Board will hold a special meeting 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 15 to hear two cases that were previously before the board.
Residents concerned about the Sunrise Wine and Tequela bar located at 9700 Ventnor Ave., which received approval to erect a second-story open-air lounge above two ground-floor businesses, will be before the board seeking variances for parking, front and side-yard setbacks, lot coverage and potentially other variances to construct the bar with an upstairs open-air lounge.
The property previously received those approvals on Jan. 25, but when the owners’ engineer reviewed the structure, he noted the foundation walls were insufficient and recommended the support system be replaced with more steel and concrete structural supports. The owners replaced each of four walls one-by-one to avoid having to seek additional approvals. The project was shut down and building halted, which could cause construction to continue through the summer months.
Not only did the property owners lose potential revenue because of the construction delay, local residents in Margate for the summer may have to endure construction in a busy commercial and residential location in the southern part of the city.
The applicants are represented by Eric S. Goldstein of Nehmad Davis & Goldstein PC.
The second case, filed by Esther and Marc Kaplin for their property at 20 S. Cedar Grove Ave., requests approval for a front-yard fence, which is not permitted according to the city’s ordinance. The application is considered a “Whispering Woods” hearing, so named for a 1987 legal case between the Whispering Woods at Bamm Hollow, Inc. and the Township of Middletown Planning Board that settled cross complaints in Superior Court.
According to Zoning Officer Roger McLarnon, the applicants were denied the right to erect a front-yard fence, and they appealed the Margate Planning Board’s decision in Superior Court. The judge ruled the applicants again appear before the Planning Board to seek a C variance for fence location and potentially others to relocate an existing 5-foot open slat fence.
Copies of the applications and supporting documents are located here.
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