Residents near the proposed site for a new hotel on Hooper Avenue in Toms River have raised significant concerns regarding the project. The 125-room hotel, planned by LRE TR LLC, has undergone changes since its initial proposal, including the addition of windows facing residential properties on Vauxhall and Walnut Roads. Local residents have voiced their opposition at multiple Township Council meetings, questioning the accuracy of outdated traffic studies from 2009 and the impact of the hotel’s location near busy streets and schools, particularly if alcohol is served.
With 62 families signing a petition, concerns have also been raised regarding potential safety risks for children who walk to nearby schools or wait at bus stops in the area. The lack of a reforestation plan to replace the trees that would be removed for the project has also been a point of contention. Several residents, including Dennis McGowan, have suggested that a jughandle intersection would be a more beneficial development for the location.
Township officials, including Township Attorneys Greg McGuckin and Peter Pascarella, have stated that they are reviewing the project to determine whether any legal violations have occurred regarding the approvals granted over the years. The hotel was initially approved by the Planning Board in 2019 but has returned to the land use board to request changes in signage regulations.
