Neighbors Raise a Stink Over Fish Bait

The Red Bank Zoning Board approved a variance Thursday night clearing the way for a bait and tackle shop to open on Front Street at the site of a former copy supply business, despite objections from nearby neighbors.

Pride Bait and Tackle will sell fishing gear, including reels, tackle, and even high-end clothing, but it’s the bait on-site that has neighbors concerned. Though the owner of the business, Max Berry, assured the board that there would be no issue with the stinky stuff, residents weren’t so sure, going as far as asking both Berry and the board to ax the bait from the bait and tackle.

Berry’s plans are to carry, in his estimation, 98 percent frozen bait, with only some live bait collected from the nearby Navesink River. The bait, delivered in plastic and cardboard, would be kept in just one large freezer in the shop and would not even be disposed of in outside dumpsters.

The board also received assurances from Berry that when disposing of bait he would transport it to a site in Middletown, never giving the raccoons, which neighbors say exist in abundance near their properties, a free meal.

His goal, the Fair Haven resident said, is to fit in and be a benefit to the community.

“My vision for the store is for it to reflect proudly and be part of the community,” he said. “Especially when you name a store Pride Bait and Tackle. I take pride in what I do.”

Vincent Picciotto, who said he lives near the proposed shop, said, while Berry’s intentions seem good, there’s going to be a day when he or one of his customers decides to dispose of bait of the store.

Having worked in seafood restaurants for years, Picciotto said he could attest to the awful smell of rotting disposed seafood. In the summer time, under high temperatures, it doesn’t take long for bait to go rank.

“This backs up to residential houses,” he said. “I would like this gentleman to say whether he would want an establishment like his to back up to his property.”

The board assured Picciotto that the borough would respond to complaints of any bad smells and fine Berry when warranted. Berry assured both the neighbors and the board that he would not dispose of bait outside, and if one of his customers did, he would be more than willing to go dumpster diving to retrieve it.

Though Berry did seem willing to compromise on selling live bait, the board did not make it a condition of issuing the variance, approving it only with a few conditions, most of them concerning aesthetic improvements to the site, by a unanimous 6-0 vote.

In other board news, Rbank Capital was set to appear before the zoning board to seek clarification and request a variance to facilitate the building of a 76-room Hampton Inn and Suites Hotel on Rector Place. About half a dozen professionals, all armed with plans and drawings, waited through more than two hours of presentations only to be denied a right to present their case because it was too late.

In addition to the bait and tackle shop, the board also issued a variance to a dentist looking to update his newly acquired office. The request, which asked for very little, took more than an hour to approve as the board and the applicant discussed little more than design choices, leaving the hotel developer without an opportunity to speak.