LAKEWOOD – The Township Committee has renewed the liquor license for Lake Terrace despite objections from neighbors who claim the catering hall must obtain proper operating permits first.

Lake Terrace has been involved in an ongoing battle over its future for several years, most recently before the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The board has been reviewing an application for the outlet to continue operating as a catering facility, which it has been doing for nearly 10 years without proper permits.

The Zoning Board plans to continue its review on Monday, July 1.

When Lake Terrace filed to renew its liquor license weeks ago, attorneys for neighboring filed an objection on June 13, saying the facility should not be granted a renewal until the permitting issue is settled.

“Issuance of a liquor permit is highly inappropriate,” Attorney Bob Shea, who represents neighboring businesses, said during the Township Committee hearing June 20. “The property itself is operating as a non-permitted banquet hall facility without any approval whatsoever.”

More: Neighbors say Lakewood catering hall never should have opened, but township leaves it be

Matthew Donohue, an attorney for the township, said the committee has approved the renewal the past two years even as the permitting issue has been in dispute. He said the township should not be blocked from doing it again.

“This is the same argument and the brief that was submitted to you was the exact same as the 2022 one,” Donohue said. “No authority has found any reason this liquor license shouldn’t be approved. The police have signed off on this.

“It is important to note that the liquor license holder would be able to appeal this to the ABC (Alcohol Beverage Control board)and you’d find yourself in more litigation,” he told the committee. “This is a recycled argument.”

The Township Committee approved the liquor license renewal, 4-0, at the June 20 meeting. Committeeman Meir Lichtenstein abstained.

More: Future of Lakewood banquet hall rests with zoning board

“The institution has been there for years, there are disputes between the neighbors but the ABC has approved it,” Mayor Ray Coles said after the vote. “Because it is a litigation matter, we do not get into it.”

The permit issue dates back to 2015, when Lake Terrace opened as a catering facility at 1690 Oak St., but without the required zoning approval to operate in an industrial zone.

In 2020, Clayton Associates, one of the neighboring businesses, sued Lakewood Township, claiming it allowed Lake Terrace to operate without proper zoning approval.

The lawsuit, which was amended to include other neighboring businesses and landlord Sudler Companies, said the operation created an unlawful nuisance.

Last year, Lake Terrace filed an application for a retroactive permit with the Zoning Board of Adjustment so it could continue to operate as a banquet hall in the industrial zone.

More: Does Lakewood banquet hall belong here? This meeting could end nearly decade-long fight

But nearby business owners, including the Sudler Companies, have fought the application, claiming it’s not justified and presenting evidence that alleges the 36,000-square-foot hall causes problems.

Several hearings have been held in the past 10 months, with most limited to an hour’s worth of testimony. The Zoning Board agreed to hold a special three-hour meeting on the issue in May, but it remained unresolved.

The Lake Terrace property was once a vacant office building with approval to become a school. The school closed in 2009 and in 2015 the building, under the ownership of KBS Mt. Prospect LLC, started operating as a banquet facility.

Joe Strupp is an award-winning journalist with 30 years’ experience who covers education and several local communities for APP.com and the Asbury Park Press. He is also the author of four books, including Killing Journalism on the state of the news media, and an adjunct media professor at Rutgers University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Reach him at jstrupp@gannettnj.com and at 732-413-3840. Follow him on Twitter at @joestrupp

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Lakewood banquet hall may continue liquor sales without zoning approval.