Strollo's Lighthouse slated for new site
Application carried to the March 18 Planning Bd. meeting at 8 p.m.
BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer

LONG BRANCH - It was standing room only at the city Planning Board meeting last week where plans were heard that call for opening a Strollo's Lighthouse ice cream stand in a residential neighborhood.

Applicant James Callano is seeking site plan approval from the board to relocate his homemade ice cream business from Seaview and Ocean avenues to a new site between Ocean Avenue and Ocean Boulevard, between the cross streets of Joline and Avenel avenues.

Strollo's has been operating at the oceanfront site on Seaview and Ocean avenues for the past 26 years in structure shaped like a lighthouse that stands 40 feet high.

"I am moving because I am pretty much forced to move," Callano testified at the Jan. 30 special Planning Board meeting. "I have been there for 26 years and the land was sold out from under me.

"I have no other choice but to move," he said, adding, "I was put into this situation. I am just trying to save my business."

Callano is proposing to close the 500- square-foot outdoor ice cream stand and reopen an 800-square-foot, lighthouseshaped structure on a 33,000-square-foot tract of land surrounded by residential housing.

Several residents at the meeting who live in the neighborhood of the proposed site of the project objected to the plans at the meeting.

"People's homes are going to be devalued," Ronni Stein said at the meeting. "We are just trying to save our homes."

EvelynAllison of OceanAvenue agreed with Stein.

"He is proposing to construct a 40-foot lighthouse in the middle of our residential block, zoned mixed use, between private homes and numerous condo associations," Allison said. "Quality of life on our residential block will be significantly impacted, compromised and forever altered by this outdoor establishment.

"Any person who has visited Strollo's ice cream stand between April and October can testify to all of the factors regarding noise, cars parked three deep, safety concerns, double parking, hundreds of customers lined up outside in line, garbage winding up on the residents' front lawns and driveways," Allison said.

After four hours of testimony on the application, the meeting was adjourned and the application is scheduled to be carried to the March 18 Planning Board meeting at 8 p.m.

Plans call for applicant Callano to reconstruct the Strollo's Lighthouse building a few blocks away from its current location on three lots of land located between Ocean Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, according to Steven J. Tripp, attorney for the applicant.

Callano currently owns two of the lots where the structure is planned to be constructed, and he is the contract purchaser for the third site, according to Tripp.

Callano is seeking three bulk variances for lot depth, lot area and lot frontage, according to Tripp, who said the applicant is not seeking height, sign or use variances for the lighthouse structure.

"The height [permitted] in the zone is 35 feet," Tripp said at the meeting. "We are not seeking sign or height variances because we don't believe they are necessary.

"We believe the [height] falls within the ordinance exception that allows an additional

5 feet," Tripp said, adding, "It is a permitted use. It is our

position that we don't require

any ordinances."

Attorney Ronald Gasiorowski, who is

representing residents

in the neighborhood

opposed to the project,

said at the meeting that

the lighthouse structure is a sign and requires a variance.

"The second half [of the structure] is there for visual communication to attract customers," Gasiorowski said. "Clearly this lighthouse is designed solely to bring people to this site. My position is that a use variance is needed.

"Rather than simply drawing a lighthouse on the building, you are proposing to attach a lighthouse to the structure," Gasiorowski said.

Callano disagreed, calling the lighthouse a part of the building and not a sign.

"The aesthetics is part of the building," Callano said. "I want it there. I want it to be part of the businesses.

"It is located on the shore," he said, adding, "It is across from the beach. The name of the business is the 'Lighthouse.' Why not represent that?"

The proposed site is located in an RC1 beachfront mixed-use zone, which permits residential and commercial uses, according to Tripp.

"It is a permitted use," Tripp said. "We have a use that doesn't require a lot of property. It is a tiny building.

"When you think of a commercial building, you usually think of something larger," he added.

Plans also call for a 17-space parking lot to be constructed at the site, which will only allow for egress and ingress on Ocean Avenue, according to Tripp.

The current ice cream stand is open seven months a year and operates from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. April through May and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Memorial Day to Labor Day, according to Callano. After Labor Day, the business is open from 2 to 10 p.m., he said.

Proposed plans for the project also call for 10 tables with four seats each to be located outside of the building on the site. The structure itself will also increase the number of serving windows it has from three to four, according to the plans.

"Right now, the site is about 16,000 square feet and there is no parking," Callano said. "Basically, it is a free-for-all. People park wherever they can get a spot."

Tripp explained that city ordinances require one parking space for every four outdoor seats, as well as parking for employees of a business. The proposed plans call for 17 parking spaces, where only 15 are required, according to Tripp.

Plans also include "gooseneck" lighting in the parking light so that light will be reflected downward, according to Tripp.