Almost a year after the Atlantic Beach Board of Zoning Appeals denied its earlier requests, the Chabad of the Beaches had new zoning variances for its property on Park Street unanimously approved by the board at its Aug. 20 meeting.
The variances are part of a settlement agreement between the village and the Chabad, under which the village will approve the variances for the Chabad’s religious community center and drive-through café and make a $950,000 payment to the organization.
“Chabad, the board of trustees and the zoning board entered into a settlement agreement,” Brian Stolar, the attorney for the BZA, said. “As part of the resolution, the Board of Zoning Appeals consented to the settlement agreement on the condition that there be no admission of liability. As a required next step, within 30 days of the court signing off on the consent decree, which sign-off occurred on July 30, the Board of Zoning Appeals is required to grant Chabad certain variances.”
The measures include a special permit for religious use, a special exception for a sign on Park Street, and variances for accessory parking — with 11 spaces required and seven provided — as well as for parking in the front yard setback; for an oversized drive-through canopy and a front-yard encroachment canopy on Albany Boulevard; for an open porch encroaching into a side yard; and for an oversized accessory structure.
The Chabad was also granted a special use permit for an accessory drive-through café, with restrictions on hours of operation. It may operate no earlier than 5 a.m. and no later than 11 p.m. On days when Lawrence district schools are in session, it may not operate from 3 to 6 p.m.
“This marks the beginning of a happy new chapter in the Chabad-Atlantic Beach relationship,” said Rabbi Eli Goodman of the Chabad. “We look forward to being a part of this community, and serving our friends and neighbors for years to come.”
The Chabad purchased the property near the north end of the Atlantic Beach Bridge in November 2021, but a legal dispute began when the village sought to take back the property through eminent domain in June 2022.
In a letter to residents posted on the village website at the time, then Mayor George Pappas said that the village intended to create a year-round community center with outdoor recreational space.
The Chabad filed a federal lawsuit in July 2022. The court sided with the Chabad, and the parties reached a settlement in November 2023, in which the village agreed to pay the Chabad $400,000 over four years, drop the eminent domain proceeding and refrain from interfering with the Chabad’s ownership and use of the Park Street property.
Last August, the Chabad presented plans to the BZA for a religious community center and the café, along with several variance requests. Two months later, the board denied all but one of the requests, which led the Chabad to reject the original settlement.
“The biggest permit they denied was the variance to use the property for religious use,” Jeremy Dys, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, which represents the Chabad, said last December.
After months of disagreement, the village and the Chabad agreed to the current settlement on July 1. Following the court’s approval of a consent decree signed on July 30, the revised variance requests were granted.
George Cornish, chairman of the zoning board, opened last week’s meeting by thanking the commissioners and addressing the board’s earlier concerns.
“The attorney for the Chabad was ill-prepared to present the case,” Cornish said. “There was no business plan submitted, requiring numerous BZA questioning of days/hours of operation for both business and religious use. The applicant’s comparison of use to be like a Dunkin’ Donuts’ drive-through traffic left the audience of village residents in horror. The applicant’s traffic consulting engineer improperly used (Village of Atlantic Beach) permit parking in his calculations and was unable to convince BZA that the drive-through would not cause dangerous conditions.”
Then, minutes later, board members voted unanimously to approve the variances.
Have an opinion about the Atlantic Beach settlement? Send a letter to mberman@liherald.com.
