Morristown to re-think permit for Latino sports bar after redeveloper appeal

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William Walsh has been ordered to halt improvements to the proposed Futbol-Landia restaurant and sports bar while town Zoning Officer John Fugger reconsiders a zoning permit he approved last month.

The about-face was prompted by a redeveloper who contends the permit violates the town’s massive Speedwell Avenue redevelopment plan.

Pedro Velasquez, left, and Mike Walsh fixing up bathrooms last week at Futbol-Landia, prior to order from Morristown to stop work while a permit is reconsidered. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Pedro Velasquez, left, and Mike Walsh fixing up bathrooms last week at Futbol-Landia, prior to order from Morristown to stop work while a permit is reconsidered. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

William Walsh angrily described the appeal by Morristown Development LLC as “legal sophistry,” and accused the town council of postponing a May 30 vote to buy time for the redeveloper’s lawyers to cook up “mumbo jumbo” to thwart a liquor license transfer.

The transfer would enable him to open the town’s first Latino bar, at 4 Early St.

On Wednesday, June 13, the council is scheduled to decide whether to allow the license transfer by Uncle Baxter LLC, William Walsh’s company. The council heard nearly three-and-a-half hours of testimony, mostly supporting the transfer, at a public hearing last month.

Nobody intentionally delayed the transfer vote, said Council President Michelle Dupree Harris.

“There was no dialogue with the legal department,” she said. “It was because I had questions that needed to be answered: How could I allow them to have their establishment and be sure that residents’ concerns were answered? It was a long night and I didn’t want to make decisions on something I had questions about. It was not about giving lawyers enough time to reject them.”

“We didn’t delay,” said Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman. “There was no way that decision was going to get made in one night.”

The appeal filed last week by Florham Park attorney Andy Norin–a new wrinkle in the saga–asserts that town Zoning Officer John Fugger was “clearly erroneous” in issuing the zoning permit last month.

Futbol-Landia, which has held some functions with one-day alcohol permits, sits in a neighborhood designated for redevelopment in the third phase of a huge project meant to transform the largely Hispanic area with new apartments, retail space and innovative landscaping complete with “woonerfs”– European-style passageways shared by motorists and pedestrians.

The redevelopment plan approved by the town does not allow restaurants in that zone, according to Andy Norin. Nor should Futbol-Landia be grandfathered as a pre-existing, “nonconforming” use, he wrote in the appeal, because William Walsh’s plans amount to creating a nightclub–a substantial deviation from the dry restaurants that have operated there.

Mike Walsh, left, is set to help Pedro Velasquez, former chef of Pierre's, run Futbol-Landia--if the town approves the restaurant/sports bar. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Mike Walsh, left, is set to help Pedro Velasquez, former chef of Pierre's, run Futbol-Landia--if the town approves the restaurant/sports bar. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

“The Supreme Court has recognized that this change and intensification in use can have a demonstrable adverse effect on the neighborhood in which it is located,” wrote Andy Norin, raising concerns about parking, noise, odor and trash disposal.

As a change and expansion of an existing nonconforming use, the Futbol-Landia request requires an amendment to the Speedwell Avenue redevelopment plan, plus site plan approval by the town planning board, according to the lawyer from Florham Park.

He claimed the zoning permit was issued “on the clearly mistaken belief that the Proposed Establishment will consist of permitted uses under the Redevelopment Plan, and should, therefore, be overturned, withdrawn and revoked.”

Nobody from the redeveloper’s side raised any concerns at the May 30 public meeting, even thought their filing fees for the appeal were paid by checks dated May 29.

In a letter to the council, William Walsh, who is an estate attorney, accused the redeveloper’s lawyer of “threatening” the Futbol-Landia landlord, Judy Walker, with lawsuits prior to last month’s hearing.

Walsh family members own three Morristown bars, and they have had friction with local businesses and residents over noisy, messy crowds.

Preventing a repetition of these problems is paramount, according to Michelle Dupree Harris, the council president, citing residents’ complaints of loudness, drunkenness and night-time loitering.

“How do we make sure neighbors are protected, so we don’t have to deal with issues that people have to deal with downtown, and on DeHart Street?” she said.

The public hearing was triggered by community objections to the license transfer.

All of Morristown’s liquor licenses are up for renewal at the June 26 council meeting. No special hearings are scheduled for them because no public concerns have been filed.

The Morris County Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce has endorsed the Futbol-Landia expansion. So have 19 residents of Early Street who signed a petition, said Mike Walsh, William’s son.

Morristown Police Chief Pete Demnitz told the council he saw no security problems with the proposal, as long as outdoor lighting and surveillance cameras are added.

William Walsh has pledged to make those additions, and hire off-duty police for security. He also has told the town he won’t sue if it forces Futbol-Landia to close when–and if–the third phase of the redevelopment ever proceeds.

Wednesday promises to be a busy night for the Walshes and the council.

Billy Walsh, another of William’s six sons, is scheduled to make his pitch to transfer a liquor license to 10 DeHart St. for a bowling alley/bar.

That proceeding also is in response to objections from residents.

Futbol-Landia on Early Street has had about 25 single-day liquor permits per year; William Walsh seeks permission to transfer a liquor license there permanently. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Futbol-Landia on Early Street has had about 25 single-day liquor permits; William Walsh seeks permission to transfer a liquor license there permanently. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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