Planning board approves restaurant conversion at 187 Riverside Avenue with easement, curb and signage conditions

The Red Bank Planning Board on April 8 approved a site‑plan application from All Things Vic LLC to convert the former Bridge Avenue gas station at 187 Riverside Avenue into a restaurant, subject to conditions addressing lot boundaries, easements, frontage improvements, access control and signage lighting.

Board members accepted testimony from the applicant team — architect Tyler Sandlas, engineer/planner Robert Frud, traffic engineer John McCormack and owner Victor R. — who described an adaptive reuse of the existing one‑story, roughly 1,700‑square‑foot building, modest exterior modifications for service and refrigeration, new patio seating and landscape islands, and improved parking layout. The board also marked a same‑day LSRP letter saying environmental cleanup is complete “with the exception of four monitoring wells” and that a no‑further‑action determination is expected once monitoring is complete.

The board required the applicant to revise the site plan to include the entire tax lot 26.02 (an 11‑foot alleyway) rather than only a partial depiction; the applicant agreed and accepted a condition that the complete lot be part of the application or be added by condition of approval. The applicant also agreed to offer permanent access easements to the owners of lots 4 and 5 so those properties retain rear access through the alley.

Traffic testimony emphasized safety and reduced access from the Route 35/Riverside curb. The plan will close the corner driveway and retain a single Bridge Avenue driveway; the applicant will sign and use planters/ballards to discourage vehicular egress through the narrow 26.02 alley and to prevent unauthorized River‑front access. The traffic engineer testified he planned to coordinate a curb/streetscape improvement in the same corridor with a borough/DOT traffic‑signal and streetscape grant; if the borough does not complete the curb improvements, the applicant agreed to undertake the curb work as a condition of approval.

The board also set conditions on the property’s freestanding corner sign: the structure will be refaced rather than enlarged, and the applicant committed to turn off the standalone sign illumination within one hour after the restaurant closes. Public commenters and the board urged that final lighting be down‑facing and modest color temperature to reduce light pollution; the applicant accepted changes to the lighting plan to address those concerns.

A roll‑call motion to approve the application passed. Board members voting in favor included Donna Ebangs, Councilwoman Christina Bonitakis, Dan Manuso, Luis Dementoto, Robert Boaz and Wilson BB. The approval includes requirements that the applicant revise the survey/site plan, provide easements to adjacent peers if needed, implement the ballards/planters/signage scheme to control access from 26.02, coordinate with DOT/burough streetscape funding for curb/sidewalk improvements (or complete curb work if borough does not), and honor any future direction from borough traffic‑safety officials to change driveway turning movements.