At the June 14, 2022 meeting of the Planning/Zoning Board, the main item on the agenda was a discussion regarding the future of a potential boutique hotel in the Borough.
The Board has been considering creating an overlay zone in the B1 district that would provide an opportunity for the establishment of a boutique hotel. The expectation is that such a facility would increase the number of Avalon visitors that would support local businesses and restaurants. The focus of the discussion was directed towards the requirements needed in an ordinance to promote the purposes of planning and zoning in support of such a proposal.
Among the items discussed were rooms, parking, staffing and use:
ROOMS: The number of rooms under consideration ranged from 25 to 75. The consensus was that the size of the rooms should be specified and amenities such as kitchenettes should be prohibited so that guests would use local restaurants.
PARKING: Adequate parking is a necessity. Parking under a building is not a desired option. The street level should be for a lobby, restaurant and retail space of specified size. Use of public parking spaces for valet parking should be prohibited. Off-site parking would require a variance.
STAFFING: Many motels now do not have a person to register guests and instead rely on electronic check-in systems. The Board is considering requiring a specified number of staff to be present on site 24/7.
USE: The use of the facility needs to be defined so as to prevent it from being converted into a condominium.
The public comments, in a broad sense, were directed to whether Avalon would benefit from a boutique hotel. For example, one person pointed out that there was no data-driven analysis showing a benefit to the community. Another suggested looking into alternatives such as the use of events to attract tourism — craft fairs, art fairs, music events and the like. Several people recommended that the Board hire some experts to help in this process. Another reminded the Board that in 2014 when the issue of a boutique hotel last came up, a person who had studied the failure of 51 boutique hotels concluded at that time that the proposed boutique hotel was not likely to succeed.
Finally, the Board was again urged to display documents that the Board is looking at on the monitor so that the public could also view them.
