Following an hours-long meeting, the Jackson Township Zoning Board has approved plans for Rabbi Schecter’s Bais Medrash, formally known as Yeshiva Tiferes Talmud.
This approval allows the uses and permits multiple structures on the lot, which is split between the R-1 and R-3 Zones.
The vote in favor of the application, which includes the first-ever Yeshiva dormitory in Jackson Township, was unanimous.
The property contains a single-family home, converting the existing residential structures into a Bais Medrash (classroom) for approximately 60 students, and a dormitory.
The current property, located on Brewers Bridge Road, is split-zoned between an R1 and R3 zone.
The classroom and dormitory facilities are in the R3 zone, but the driveway access is in the R1 zone. The applicant assumed variance in order for the existing structures to be used as a school.
The board had previously asked many questions of a representative of the Yeshiva, as they sought to understand the various details of how a Yeshiva works, including the daily schedule, Shiurim, rules, off-Shabbosim and meals.
Additionally, relief was granted for the minimum size of the ADA parking space and the land banking a portion of the required parking spaces.
Other conditions of the approval included a maximum of 60 students, the basement may not be habitable, the land banking parking spots be at the zoning officer’s discretion, as well as added consideration with dense vegetation for the adjacent properties.
Last month, the Jackson Township Planning Board approved the application for the planned Jackson Boys Cheder.
Historic Kiddush Hashem! Mazel tov! Thank you to all those who got us here
The applicants took the right steps of filing their application with the Zoning Board. Had they gone to the Planning Board, they would’ve been been denied and thrown out head first. Some of the locals should learn from them.
when boys spend good years somewhere they will return to invest there
Tons of Orthodox private schools are/will be going up in Jackson (and soon in adjacent towns), but where is the infrastructure improvement to deal with all those school buses? Will the roads be safe any longer or will people drive the way they do in Lakewood?
The town would have only been sued if it wasn’t approved. That’s the way things work in Jackson these days.
When asked whether he was happy with the Jackson Zoning Board’s approval, one supporter of the yeshiva told reporters on Thursday: “I can’t answer that question because I’ve been told to stop being an approval-seeker, who seeks out other people’s approval.”
When informed that the building could not have been built without other people’s approval, the yeshiva’s supporter said: “That’s the building’s choice, and the building’s problem. If the building is willing to rely on other people’s approval for its survival, then that’s the building’s prerogative. But the building and I are two different animals, and we’ve got completely different outlooks in life.”
When asked to respond to the yeshiva supporter’s comments, the building told reporters on Thursday: “I have nothing to respond to this man. I don’t need his support, and I don’t need his approval either.”
“Besides,” the building added, “I am just a inanimate object, since when does my opinion matter?!”
Very funny