Lakewood show does not go on for Calibre 50 fans, caught in Lake Terrace land-use fight
LAKEWOOD - Rarely does a local land-use controversy and squabble between neighbors end up inconveniencing unsuspecting strangers from miles away, but that's just what happened in the township last week.
An ongoing zoning dispute led to the last-minute cancellation Saturday of a concert by popular Mexican band Calibre 50, disappointing hundreds of music fans and causing a traffic jam near Lake Terrace, the Oak Street venue where the event had been scheduled.
Ocean County sheriff's officers assisted Lakewood police in directing traffic near Lake Terrace — located in the township industrial park — as confused concert-goers who were unaware of the cancellation created a traffic jam Saturday evening near the banquet hall, Ocean County Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy said.
Some had driven from Pennsylvania and New York to attend the show. Calibre 50 has scored a record-breaking 20 Number 1 songs on Billboard's Mexican regional airplay chart. In 2017, Billboard described the the four-member group as "part Facebook-savvy boy band, part boot-stomping Sinaloa cowboy quartet."
The called-off concert is the latest twist in a legal battle between the owner and operators of Lake Terrace, a popular event space at 1690 Oak St., and its neighbor, Clayton Associates, a supplier of vacuums and other dust-capture systems that's located at 1650 Oak St.
Clayton Associates filed suit against Lake Terrace's owners, KBS Mt. Prospect LLC, and operators Lake Terrace Manager LLC and Greenwald Caterers Inc. in December 2020, claiming the banquet hall was violating state COVID-19 restrictions then in place by continuing to host indoor events and festivals attended by up to 1,000 people.
The lawsuit, filed in Ocean County Superior Court, also contends Lake Terrace is violating its 2005 zoning approval for a school for 180 students, with an assembly hall.
The school, Bais Rivka Rochel, applied to convert what was then an office building into a school and not into a banquet facility operating a catering business, the plaintiff alleges.
In its civil claim, filed in Superior Court in Ocean County, Clayton Associates asked the court to order the township to enforce its zoning code to keep the banquet hall from scheduling any more events and stop functioning as such. It also asks for "compensatory and punitive damages."
The lawsuit names as defendants the township committee, as well as the zoning and code enforcement officials, claiming they were alerted to the problems and did nothing to remedy them.
Robert C. Shea, the Toms River lawyer representing Clayton, said that in "the last several weeks" his clients learned that Lake Terrace's owners had "also decided to turn the hall into a concert hall with over 2,000 attending these events." Shea sought a court order to stop concerts at the facility.
Late Friday afternoon, Superior Court Judge Craig L. Wellerson ruled that the Calibre 50 show could proceed only if Lakewood police and fire officials inspected the facility in advance to determine the safe occupancy limit for the concert, as well as the number of security personnel needed, and put their requirements in writing.
When no inspection was made, the show was canceled.
Red Bank lawyer Matthew N. Fiorovanti, who represents KBS Mt. Prospect LLC, and operators Lake Terrace Manager LLC and Greenwald Caterers, could not be reached for comment. Fioravanti filed a motion to dismiss Clayton's lawsuit late last year.
Jean Cipriani, who represents Lakewood, said KBS Mt. Prospect has an application pending before the township's Board of Adjustment to address the property's use as a banquet hall. She said Lakewood is not taking a position on the legal dispute over whether a banquet hall is permitted at the site.
"The issue of what uses are allowed on this property are properly before the court and the zoning board," Cipriani said. She said Lakewood will abide by any decision on the property's use that is reached by the court and the zoning board.
"The township was placed on notice of the problem weeks ago," Shea said. "It took a court order to stop a use on the property that was never approved."
Clayton Associates' lawsuit accused banquet hall patrons of parking illegally on its property, damaging lawns and sprinklers, and “clearly failing to abide" social distancing or mask wearing, risking spread of COVID-19.
The activities, the suit claims, hurt Clayton Associates' business, interfered with use of its property, and exposed it and nearby businesses to COVID-19. Also named as a defendant is the township government and its officials, accused of not only looking the other way as Lake Terrace hosted large-scale events, some with 500 to 1,000 guests, but of lending a hand to the proprietors.
Lakewood police, according to the complaint, helped direct traffic at the site when it hosted a festival the week of Sept. 28, 2020, that drew hundreds of people and created unsafe parking conditions.
"Vehicles were driving through their lot across the lawn," the complaint alleges. "Plaintiff tried to use its vehicles to block the driveways and reserve them for its workers, but attendees drove across the lawn and parked in the rear loading areas, prohibiting the plaintiff's trucks from the parking lot."
Clayton Associates has asked the court to order the township enforce its zoning code to keep the banquet hall from scheduling any more events and stop functioning as such. It also asks for unspecified damages.
A hearing on motions related to the initial lawsuit is scheduled for Friday before Ocean County Assignment Judge Marlene Lynch Ford, while a hearing addressing concerts at the facility is slated for Dec. 23, Cipriani said.
Jean Mikle covers Toms River and several other Ocean County towns, and has been writing about local government and politics at the Jersey Shore for nearly 37 years. She's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Lakewood NJ appearance of Calibre 50 called off amid land-use fight
