By DONNA WEAVER Staff Writer, 609-978-2015 Published: Wednesday, July 16, 2008
HARVEY CEDARS - An ordinance was passed unanimously Tuesday that will allow the borough to obtain oceanfront property through eminent domain to complete a beach-replenishment project. “In the event that federal funds become available, our hope is the Army Corps and the DEP would come in this fall and offer the project,” said Mayor Jonathan Oldham. “We need to pass this ordinance so we are ready to accept or reject the project. If we accept it there may be sand on the beach by November.”
Oldham said $5 million in federal funding is available for the continuation of the project and the federal government is still working on an additional $11.7 million. Earlier Tuesday afternoon, the state Appellate Division upheld a ruling by Ocean County Superior Court Judge Vincent J. Grasso that allows
Surf
City property owners to refuse to sign the easements that the government is seeking to complete beach replenishment. In December 2006, Attorney General Stuart Rabner filed an appeal to Grasso’s ruling. Grasso said that compensation was required for the constitutional taking of land and that the state’s case “is more appropriately addressed under the eminent domain act.”“The
Surf
City case ruling legitimizes that this is the only way to go,” said
Oldham. “If I thought we would get a positive ruling on the
Surf
City case, then I wouldn’t have gone forward with this.” “It’s timely that this hearing was held today,” Kenneth Porro, an attorney who represents a group of oceanfront homeowners who have not signed the easements, told the Board of Commissioners. Porro said the importance of the Appellate Division ruling Tuesday is the municipality cannot deny that taking of land does affect property value. “Harvey Cedars cannot go into court and put down a dollar for a property because they are saying they are helping the homeowner and protecting the home with a dune,” he said. A dune that blocks an ocean view does not allow a breeze and does not permit beach access for a homeowner also comes with a 40 percent property value reduction, according to Porro. Porro added that an ordinance like the one passed in Harvey Cedars is a double-edged sword. “In one way it’s a victory for the town because they have taken the next step to condemn the homes but on the other hand if they pursue eminent domain they must pay fair market value for the properties, and then we’re talking about a lot of money,” he said. Porro added that each of his clients properties is worth at least $1 million. But oceanfront homeowners in the borough who refuse to sign easements to bring in the multi-million dollar project were outnumbered at the meeting. Victor Grossier, an oceanfront homeowner who has not signed his easement said there was poor attendance because the meeting was in the middle of the week. “People could not be here. They’re working and it’s the middle of the week at 4:30 in the afternoon. If I had my way, they would all be here,” said Grossier, a gastroenterologist who closed his office early to attend the meeting. Grossier read from a statement and a received a harsh response from the audience when he said 95 percent of the beaches in the borough were in good condition. Grossier was the only oceanfront homeowner who spoke against the ordinance. Grossier said he would not sign an easement because they are too broad and allows the corps and DEP to use the land without any limitations or parameters in perpetuity. “What I missed is there is no consideration of alternate means of approaching this project,” he said. Grossier also said failures with the portion of the project completed in
Surf
City last year should give the public grave concern about the project. Along with sand pumped off the coast of
Surf City last year were more than 1,200 World War I-era military munitions. A cleanup of those beaches will continue this fall, according to the corps. With standing room only in the Board of Commissioners chambers, homeowners in support of the project took turns explaining why the project needs to be completed and eminent domain may be a way for that to happen. After each one spoke, the audience applauded loudly. Wendy Mae Chambers, an oceanfront homeowner and a
New Orleans, resident broke down and cried when she addressed the crowded room and Board of Commissioners. Chambers recalled Hurricane Katrina and
Long Beach
Island’s close call with an unusual Mother’s Day northeaster. The storm ravaged borough beaches, forcing the Board of Commissioners to truck in sand from the mainland to place on the eroded shore.
Oldham said on Monday that 50 percent of that sand is already gone. “That Mother’s Day storm we had was a gift,” she said sobbing. “A storm is going to come, and someone will not get out of their house, and they’re going to die like a drowned rat.” Doug Simpson, a homeowner in support of the project, raised his voice and spoke passionately about the need for the project in Harvey Cedars. “If anyone has looked at the pictures of Harvey Cedars from the past we have lost approximately 500 feet of beach since the early 1900s,” he said. “If we don’t do something we’ll lose our first line and then our streets.”
Oldham said that there are approximately 1,200 homes in the borough and 15 homeowners are holding out on signing their easements. He said that means only 1.2 percent of the people are delaying the project. “This project is not just for the oceanfront homeowners, it’s for the whole community,” said resident Debra Austin. “It’s not fair that a handful of people can jeopardize our properties.” E-mail Donna Weaver: DWeaver@pressofac.com http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/186/story/206817.html
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Court: N.J. can’t force LBI homeowners to grant easements for beach replenishment
Tuesday July 15, 2008, 3:03 PM
The state cannot compel a group of homeowners on Long Beach Island to grant access to their beachfront property for a controversial beach replenishment project without first exhausting all its options, the Appellate Division ruled today.
The court upheld a previous ruling refusing the state’s request to order the five homeowners in Surf City to sign easement agreements with the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Both courts said the state had not tried to get access to the property through eminent domain.
Both courts said the state had not tried to get access to the property through eminent domain.
A number of communities on the 18-mile long island in Ocean County have experienced severe beach erosion and have looked to replenishment as a way to regain wide beaches and protect valuable oceanfront property.
The federal government has allocated nearly $9 million for beach replenishment on the island, but has required the state to, among other things, obtain perpetual easement rights from oceanfront homeowners for the construction and maintenance of larger dunes.
But some homeowners, including those in Surf City in this lawsuit, have refused to sign those agreements because they wanted just compensation or they wanted more definitive information about the project. They went to court in 2006 and Superior Court Judge Vincent Grasso in Toms River refused to force the homeowners to sign.
“The core issue here is whether the state can force a private property owner, by way of preliminary injunction, to grant a perpetual public access easement without first following the procedures in the eminent domain act,” today’s ruling said. “We are satisfied that the answer to this question is ‘no.’”
The impasse has virtually frozen the replenishment project.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/07/state_cant_force_lbi_homeowner.html
