At a meeting on Oct. 10, the Atlantic Beach Board of Zoning Appeals denied all but one of the Chabad of the Beaches’ variance requests for its property at 2025 Park St.
The decision came nearly two months after Rabbi Eli Goodman, of Chabad of the Beaches, in Long Beach; attorney William Bonesso, representing the Chabad; Barry Nelson, of Nelson Realty Group; and Wayne Muller, of R&M Engineering, presented plans for a religious community center with an accessory café on the Atlantic Beach property at a Board of Zoning Appeals meeting on Aug. 22.
The Chabad purchased the land in 2021, and a legal battle ensued when the village tried to claim the site by eminent domain. A federal court sided with the Chabad, issuing an injunction against the claim the following year.
Atlantic Beach has since agreed to pay the Chabad $400,000 over four years to settle the Chabad’s lawsuit against the village.
“The settlement is conditioned on Chabad receiving the variances and permits it needs to use the property for a Chabad house for outreach to the community,” Bonesso said at the August meeting. “If the Chabad is denied such variances and permits, it has the option to terminate the settlement and resume the federal litigation in which that the village’s exposure would be considerably higher.”
At a village meeting on Oct. 15, Atlantic Beach resident Kevin Kelley expressed concerns about the next steps for the Chabad.
“At the original meeting, the attorney said, ‘If you don’t give us what we want, we’re going to blow up the agreement and bring you back to court,’” Kelley said, referring to Bonesso.
Atlantic Beach Mayor George Pappas said the village had not heard anything from the Chabad’s attorney. Village attorney Dominic Minerva said that the Chabad has two options at this point, per the terms of the agreement.
“They can either file an Article 78 trying to overturn the denial by the Board of Zoning Appeals, or they have the option to terminate the settlement agreement and recommence or continue the pending federal lawsuit against the village,” Minerva said.
Under state law, if the Chabad were to file an Article 78 — a legal proceeding to challenge the BZA’s ruling — it would have to be within 30 days of the written decision.