A motor vehicle crash near Whiteville Road and East Brentwood shortly after 9 a.m. Monday caused a brief backup as worshippers were arriving for morning prayers at a nearby residential property used as a synagogue.
TOMS RIVER, NJ — A motor vehicle crash shortly after 9 a.m. Monday, traffic was temporarily slowed near Whiteville Road and East Brentwood as people gathered for morning prayers at a nearby home that has been converted for religious use.
No major injuries were reported.
The scene was cleared in roughly 30 minutes, and traffic began moving normally again after a short backup.
Crash Occurred as Worshippers Were Entering and Exiting
The collision happened near a residential property on East Brentwood that is used as a shul, or synagogue.
The location is one of a number of smaller religious gathering spaces that have emerged in residential sections of Toms River as the township’s Orthodox Jewish population has grown.
The crash did not result in a prolonged closure, and there were no reports of serious injuries associated with the incident.
Toms River Zoning Changed After Federal Lawsuit
The property’s religious use comes against the backdrop of a major change in Toms River’s zoning laws following a 2021 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice under former Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill.
The Justice Department sued Toms River under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, alleging that township zoning rules placed unreasonable restrictions on houses of worship and treated religious institutions less favorably than comparable secular uses.
Before being forced into a decision by the DOJ, Hill and his then council majority voluntarily changed the zoning rules to settle the dispute, instead of fighting to secure Toms River’s existing zoning structure.
At the time, Toms River regulations generally required houses of worship seeking conditional approval to have at least 10 acres, a requirement federal officials argued severely limited the number of available properties.
The settlement was reached during the administration of then-Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill.
Township Council Changed House of Worship Rules
Following the consent order, the Township Council adopted Ordinance 4700-21 in 2021 to bring Toms River’s land-use regulations into compliance with the federal agreement.
Current mayor Dan Rodrick voted against that ordinance.
The ordinance reduced the minimum lot requirement for houses of worship in several zones from 10 acres to two acres and expanded the areas where religious institutions could seek approval.
It also allowed houses of worship as conditional uses in several residential zones and permitted them as of right in certain highway business districts.
The federal agreement also required Toms River to allow smaller houses of worship on additional road classifications and to treat religious assemblies on terms comparable to nonreligious places of assembly.
Settlement Did Not Create Blanket Approval for Every Home
The zoning change did not simply make every single-family house eligible to become a synagogue or other house of worship without review.
Toms River’s land-use code continues to impose requirements involving zoning, lot size, building configuration, parking, setbacks, construction codes and other site standards depending on the property and zone.
The township code specifically recognizes synagogues and shuls as places of worship, but also provides that a building originally designed as a residential dwelling does not automatically become a place of worship simply because religious gatherings occur there.
A residential building must be altered, modified or arranged for that use in compliance with applicable construction requirements and must be open to the public for worship on a regular basis.
Monday morning’s crash was cleared quickly, but its location highlighted how residential neighborhoods in northern Toms River have changed as smaller religious gathering spaces have become part of the township’s landscape. It also highlights how a once quiet residential intersection leading to a main road can quickly turn into a bustling commercial level complex with vehicles zipping in and out during prayer services.