Freehold Borough puts plan for American Hotel on hold
Property taxes owed and lack of site plan KO planned hearing
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer

FREEHOLD—A plan to add a fourth floor and create 55 rooms at the historic American Hotel is on hold until the organization proposing the project presents an application that borough officials deem complete.

Meanwhile, the business in the heart of the borough’s Main Street restaurant row remains closed.

An application had been submitted to the borough and scheduled for a public hearing before the Zoning Board of Adjustment on Oct. 26. Details of the project were not heard that evening because municipal officials deemed the application to be incomplete.

Information contained in the application indicated that the zoning board was going to be asked to consider granting a height variance for the project since the proposed improvements would bring the building to a height of 48 feet.

Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina said their are two key reasons why the application was not heard. He said Valdet Kelmendi, of Staten Island, N.Y., who owns 100 percent of the hotel stock under the corporate name Hoti Inc., owes the borough almost $100,000 in back taxes.

The application was also deemed to be incomplete because it did not include a site plan, according to Bellina.

The American Hotel — which has not rented rooms for years and was primarily a banquet facility — has been closed since late 2003.

Bellina said he sent a letter dated Oct. 19 to Hoti Inc. in which he advised its representatives that the application for the project at the American Hotel had been deemed incomplete because of “failure to pay property taxes and site plan requirements and engineering related items.”

Documents provided by the borough indicate that Hoti Inc. owes $91,537 in back taxes and other fees. According to a statute, all taxes and outstanding bills will have to be paid before zoning board approvals are allowed.

The statute states that every application for development submitted to the Planning Board or the zoning board must be accompanied by proof that no taxes or assessments for local improvements, water and sewer are due or delinquent on the property.

The law states that if it is shown that taxes or assessments are delinquent on such a property, any approvals or other relief granted by either board will be conditioned upon either the prompt payment of such taxes or the making of an adequate provision for the payment in such a manner that the borough will be adequately protected.

Attorney Robert Wines, who represents the applicant, said the principals of Hoti Inc. are “working hard to get everything [they need] to have the application complete.” He said Kelmendi is working to resolve the situation involving the taxes due the borough. He could not say when the application for the proposed improvements to the American Hotel might be heard by the zoning board.