The Millburn Zoning Board of Adjustment approved renovations to the Wyoming Club and its continued tennis use, subject to restrictions addressing neighborhood concerns about traffic and events. The board voted 6-1 to grant the variance after months of hearings.
According to TAPinto, the board found that the proposal required a D-2 variance to expand a pre-existing nonconforming use. The application covered renovations to the clubhouse and continued operation of the tennis facility in Millburn, New Jersey.
The plans reduce the clubhouse footprint from roughly 1,900 square feet to about 1,500 square feet, TAPinto reported.
New Limits on Events, Noise and Pickleball
The approval sets limits on events: club- and member-sponsored gatherings are capped at 20 a year combined, with no more than 40 attendees per event, according to TAPinto. Events must end by 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and a caretaker must be on site during them.
The conditions bar rentals to the general public, outdoor amplified sound and pickleball. Seasonal tennis operations may continue, but team play must take place at the Maplewood Club location, not at Wyoming Club, TAPinto reported.
Board Members Split on Enforcement Worries
Board members who supported the application pointed to the renovation, smaller building footprint and operating restrictions. Others raised concerns about parking and event activity, as well as whether the conditions could be enforced, according to TAPinto's account of the meeting.
In closing arguments, the applicant described the property as having operated as a tennis club for more than a century and characterized the renovation as a continuation of that use. The board rejected arguments that a zoning officer's permit denial should have resulted in automatic approval after a statutory review period, or that the denial lacked sufficient specificity.
The Maplewood Club owns the historic Wyoming Club property at 60 Linden Street. The board's decision followed months of hearings, testimony and public debate.
A century of tennis at the site
A historical account by Patch reports that the Wyoming Club settled at 60 Linden Street in 1910 and officially opened its courts there in September of that year. This history documents the club’s longstanding tennis use at the property.
Neighborhood traffic concerns were part of the dispute, with nearby church and school activity already affecting surrounding streets, according to TAPinto's account.
