BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

An architect's rendering of Monmouth University's MAC center. WEST LONG BRANCH - - Mon-mouth University will appear before the West Long Branch Zoning Board with a downsized version of its application for a multipurpose activity center (MAC) rejected by the board last month.

Monmouth President Paul G. Gaffney II said Friday that the college filed a motion with the Zoning Board for a reconsideration of the Dec. 14 denial of the controversial application.

The college is expected to present a revised proposal for the MAC before the board at its Jan. 25 meeting, according to Gaffney.

In a further attempt to meet the common needs of the existing university population and its programs and its neighbors, Monmouth University has offered new conditions on the (MAC) size and usage," said Gaffney at the press conference held at Wilson Hall on the college campus.

The board voted 4-3 to reject the application, which required five affirmative votes for approval due to use variances.

In its new proposal, the university is proposing to reduce the total number of seats in the MAC by 720, bringing the new total to 4,122.

The new proposal for the MAC also calls for the capacity events at the arena to be limited to 12 per year, four fewer than the previous proposal for 16 events.

Capacity events are defined as having at least 4,000 spectators made up in whole or in part, of members of the general public.

The 12 events do not include any high school graduation ceremonies, non-university education events or athletic tournaments that may exceed such number of tickets sold.

Those events would require the approval of the Borough Council for the MAC facility to be used.

Monmouth University has also pledged to work with the West Long Branch Police Department for parking and traffic protocols when it anticipates the sale of at least 3,000 tickets.

"We feel confident that reasonable negotiations can find common ground, hence our revised offer," Gaffney said.

"I am all for maintaining quality of life for all neighborhoods," he said. "We hope [the MAC] will improve quality of life in many ways."

Gaffney described the MAC as a first-rate venue and place of destination for the 4,000 undergraduates at the college.

"When you have a great university," Gaffney said, "everyone benefits from it.

"Right now we cannot compete when it comes to athletics and a destination center," he said.

Plans call for the proposed 152,400-square-foot MAC to be connected to the 2,200-seat Boylan Gymnasium, the 40-year old venue for basketball games and other sporting events.

Another condition of the new proposal included that the college will not be permitted to use both the proposed MAC and the Boylan Gymnasium for events attended by the general public at the same time.

The MAC is slated to be constructed in an R-22 zone in the center of the south campus, about 647 feet away from Larchwood Avenue.

The proposal call for the MAC to include a gymnasium, an indoor track, a bookstore, student classrooms and ancillary facilities.

Gaffney said the new plans address any traffic concerns from residents in surrounding neighborhoods.

"We have a great working relationship with the West Long Branch Police Department and we have experience in working with them," Gaffney said.

"We have proposed to reduce the number of seats ... we have reduced the number of events ... and we will manage the traffic by working with West Long Branch police," Gaffney said.

The borough police as well as the college police will also submit annual reports on traffic and parking issues to the borough administration as part of the conditions listed in the new proposal.