BRICK – A letter that talks about the future of the former Temple Beth Or has gone viral on social media in town, and has resulted in a deluge of phone calls to Town Hall from residents seeking information.
The letter states that the site of the former temple is being rented out by the current owner as “an illegal boy’s school for 200 students,” and that an application has been filed with the township Board of Adjustment for a “Change of Use” since township code says a school is a conditional use at the site.
“Come join us Wednesday August 11 2021 at 7 p.m.!” The letter states. “The time is now! This is our only chance to stop this school!”
The reality is, no application has been filed with Brick township, said Township Planner Tara Paxton.
“I do not know where this information is coming from, but it is inaccurate,” she wrote in a July 27 email to The Brick Times.
No application has been submitted to the township’s Board of Adjustment or Planning Board, and nothing regarding the former site of Temple Beth Or is scheduled for a hearing, she said.
“If the owners are planning to apply for approvals, they will have to publish the notice with the date, time and location in the newspaper and send notices to all residents within 200 feet [of the site],” Paxton said. “We will also post it on the township’s website under Boards, and on the calendar.”
Once someone applies for an application, it usually takes some two to four months, and sometimes longer, to get through the administrative process just to the point of getting onto the agenda, Paxton said.
“So, if they do apply, I do not anticipate a meeting being scheduled any time in the next few months,” she wrote. “I hope this clarifies everything and the word gets out nothing is on the agenda in the near future regarding this property.”
