By Yvette Blackman, Contributing Writer @ Blogfinger
Mayor Randy Bishop. Blogfinger photo
Given the chorus of objections from Ocean Grovers to parts of the Neptune Township Master Plan, it was a surprisingly civil crowd that greeted Mayor Randy Bishop Saturday.
The Ocean Grove Home Owners Association invited the new mayor to its first monthly meeting of the year, and he seemed unsure whether he would face a friendly or a hostile group. Bishop, an Ocean Grove resident and member of the Planning Board, was among those who had promoted creation of a Land Use Advisory Committee to review certain building applications. The proposal was a part of a draft of a new Master Plan written under the supervision of Bishop and other Neptune officials.
The OGHOA feared that such a committee could lead to influence peddling and that the judgments of existing citizens’ boards could be replaced by those of various Neptune Township executives, outside of public view. Last November, the HOA expressed its objections in a strongly-worded letter to the Township.
The result: On Wednesday the Planning Board voted to approve a new version of the Master Plan that did not include the creation of this controversial governmental committee – an apparent victory for the HOA.
Saturday’s HOA meeting was the first opportunity Grovers had had to publicly discuss the Planning Board’s action.
If there was lingering bitterness over the controversy, Bishop tried to diffuse it by taking responsibility and moving quickly through his agenda.
“What we were trying to do, I will tell you, we presented poorly. There were some questions about it, we regrouped and instead have adopted [a model] used by the [Historic Preservation Committee],” Bishop told the audience of about 45 people packed into the Community Room.
Going forward, Bishop said, instead of having the committee that was proposed, a building application will be reviewed by the Zoning Board chairman, another member of the Zoning Board and several professionals. At that committee’s discretion, members might decide to meet with the home- or business-owners to resolve any issues that might otherwise delay the application process.
“We’re trying to become more consultative,” Bishop said. “The idea of doing this is to try to help a homeowner and business get through the process smoothly, faster and with less money.”
Bishop, who was sworn in as Neptune’s mayor on Jan. 1, also announced that once every quarter he intended to randomly select two applications, from the Zoning and Planning boards, and call the applicants for feedback.
Here, briefly, are highlights of other issues that came up for discussion during the two-hour meeting:
* Neptune Township has purchased a seven-acre parcel on Corlies Avenue, site of the former Welsh Farms dairy, and intends to turn it into Veterans Memorial Park. It will honor Neptune Township residents who have been killed in action.
* As a result of the razing of the Sampler Inn, Bishop said, there has been an uptick in the number of people maintaining their buildings. However, the Township has begun looking at buildings that have fallen into disrepair in Neptune. “We’re going to start sending a very clear message that they will not be tolerated,” Bishop said. He has set aside in this year’s budget $25,000 to be used to demolish two buildings identified as abandoned or derelict after review.
* Because of an increased number of burglaries in recent months, some members of the audience suggested that every homeowner purchase a motion detector. “It would make the town less foreboding at night,” one home owner said.
* Residents also raised concerns about hydrants that become lost in snow piles; blind spots that result from piling snow on corners; changing recycling days to a day other than Monday; fear of accidents caused by people driving the wrong way down Sea View Avenue from Central Avenue; an increase in goose droppings near parks, and the need to address the parking problems sure to arise this summer because of the meters that went up in Asbury Park.
Ed. note: For background on the Master Plan issue, go here and also here.
I agree with hobe. Do not want to feed those crazy meter kiosks. Five of us had dinner in Bradley Beach Saturday, as it was too cold to walk to AP. Meters in AP continue to reduce business. No one in our group of 5 wanted metered parking. I wonder if the meters contributed to two stores relocating from AP to OG? Something to ponder!
Regarding parking, when everyone moved into OG, was parking not an issue?
Get over it and install meters
I get frustrated by parking as well! However, when you really break it down, it’s 3 to 4 weekends max. in summer that are the worst. A nice electric scooter helps as well as a bicycle, plus, it’s good for your heart. Just think, it could be Manhattan……
To JEC: However nice it would be to have a designated parking spot with the house number reserving it, that is not possible on NJ public streets. What is reality is that NJ municipalities have the power by ordinance to designate individual sreeets and or areas for parking with regulations ranging from NO PARKING to restricted parking at certain hours by qualified vehicles and just about anything else in between. Meters may not fly in Ocean Grove but there may be other acceptable solutions for this situation. Interested parties should get together and figure out what to do rather than move out.
Spoke to a neighbor after the HOA meeting. We are both on the first ocean block. He is incensed about the parking situation in summer and thinks about moving. Feels each homeowner should have a designated parking spot at their home with the house number in the spot preventing anyone else from parking there. Being on the north end we discussed that many of our free parking spots are probably taken by some of AP’s employees. If this is the case it does not bode well for the summer months.
In regard to burglaries, it happened to my home this past summer…… with 3 sets of motion lights in working order—two on my house, one on my next door neighbors. The Evil Doer totally disregarded all those lights, went past them, and did just what he wanted to do. I agree that more is better than less in the lighting dept., but just don’t expect them to stop anyone. I don’t have any answers, just sayin’…………
I went to Asbury Park to eat one rainy night, and stood in the rain trying to get the meter machine to work. Didn’t want to take coins or dollars. I vowed not to return. I know the town council recognizes the revenue from the metered parking (when they work), but without an attraction what good is it.
I hope something is in the works to prevent Ocean Grove from becoming Asbury’s remote parking lot. Residential permits? Anything?
As an aside, I took a stroll down Cookman in Asbury recently and was amazed and saddened to see an eerie lack of activity and some newly vacant store fronts, empty restaurants and parking spaces. Is all that metered parking killing off the ‘revival’?