The HOA held a meeting on Saturday, Feb 27, 2016. In attendance were Blogfinger reporters. It was a turning point for Ocean Grove. Several HOA board members stood shoulder to shoulder with two Neptune Committeemen (Bishop and Rizzo) and told the audience, in so many words, that they will continue promoting condominiums and commercialization without parking in Ocean Grove.
They pontificated about the RSIS, filling the room with jargon and gibberish, but they failed to explain that offering Ocean Grove an exemption from RSIS regulations will result in unfettered condo conversions, including not only big multifamily buildings, but conversions of smaller multi-family houses all over town. They never honestly explained why they support the RSIS Special Standard, and nobody pressed them to do that.
For those of you who want Ocean Grove to be a charming family-oriented historic town with single-family house zoning, your vision will never happen. If you want a low density town without crowding and congestion, your desire will never be realized. If you want a town where developers and politicians do not prevail over the citizens, you will never see that thanks to the OGHOA Board. It was their responsibility to protect our town, and they have failed at that.
The corruption of the HOA was made clear at that meeting. Ocean Grove is on its way further downhill, led by the HOA, the politicians, and the developers.
It’s time to pull the plug on that miserable organization. Only an insurrection can turn this around, because presently, there is no group in town to stem the tide. The town will change for the worse and few will try to stop the inevitable.
Ocean Grove is doomed to becoming an ordinary place, and that will disappoint many of you who have taken pride in the unique promise of this historic town and who have invested your lives and money in a dream.
Blogfinger will report the news, but we will not waste any more of our time with the feckless HOA, because the citizens have remained apathetic despite our efforts. At present, there seems to be little cause for optimism.
You should all read Jack Bredin’s comprehensive and unique discussion of the RSIS matter. It is disgraceful that his motion at the meeting was tabled due to a vote by the members.
Paul Goldfinger , Editor @Blogfinger
I am disgusted by the fact that the HOA is supporting greedy developers and not the home owners of OG. The RSIS board directed the Township to bring its zoning into conformity. Just what Jack proposed.
The HOA officers and members should have been one hundred percent behind his motion. Instead they are supporting violating the law instead. That is most troubling since one of the two from the HOA presiding at the HOA meeting is an attorney.
The HOA ‘Power Point presentation’ went beyond gibberish.
They created a false impression of how RSIS standards effect O.G.,
HOA fan: Did they make it clear to you that State laws were being violated in our town and that the HOA RSIS position would encourage many more future condominium projects? Did they explain why they are supporting Neptune Township instead of the people of Ocean Grove? Are you sure that the HOA actually “did a good job with communicating a lot of information to a large number of people?” Did that audience really understand the issues?
If they did make those “ramifications” clear to you, then please tell us exactly what you learned and what they said about those “ramifications,” and then I will consider retracting my use of the word “gibberish.—unless your answer is also gibberish.
I attended the HOA meeting last Saturday and found it to be informative, not gibberish. If there had been no meeting, I would be far less informed about the ramifications of RSIS on Ocean Grove. I think the HOA did a good job with communicating a lot of information to a very large group of people.
I could not attend the meeting but have written the Mayor and Council along with our State Senator, expressing our concern of this unfortunate situation and would encourage others to do the same. While I know this has been posted before, I think it cannot hurt to post it again. Here is the link to all of the email for the Neptune Township Mayor and Council: http://www.neptunetownship.org/contact-us/township-directory
Here is the link to contact Senator Beck
http://beck.senatenj.com/contact.php
Optimistic. I guess I was disappointed by our inability to ignite the citizens into action. But we have been making strides. We now know that our scheduled presence in Trenton for the RSIS meeting did scare the Township into withdrawing its application for now.
I agree that the public is now informed about a matter that would have slipped under everyone’s radar, so there is the silent majority that may be on the verge of stepping up. Our polls indicate that the people want to stop the condoization in town from progressing, and they do not want the high density North End development. They want single family housing zoning to be enforced and only that to receive protection from RSIS.
But the support of the people is not the only variable. Our articles have gotten the attention of the Township, and we have hope that the State will take a look at Ocean Grove’s land use management and historic preservation—-OG is the only town in the State with such unique historic importance as we have. We can be optimistic that those with serious power might investigate.
Also our hammering the NERP (North End Redevelopment Plan) regarding its illegal components has put pressure on WAVE and the Committee. We think the State has its eyes on that project. Jack Bredin has had many years of dealing with issues such as this in other parts of the State, and he bravely stands up for what’s right. Kevin also has tried to go against vested interests and continues to do so.
Blogfinger will continue helping to get the word out. I am interested in education and communication regarding the future of Ocean Grove. I am also a homeowner.
Thank you for expressing an optimistic point of view. Maybe your letter will cause others to express support for our efforts. The voice of the people is important in situations like this. —-Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
Paul—-Can you be more specific on why you feel there is “little cause for optimism” regarding high density/condo development not going forward in OG. I’ve tried to follow the NERP/RSIS issue as best I can but I’m a little confused.
Previous posts have exposed Neptune Twp for it’s past under handed, perhaps illegal approvals of high density development in OG and it’s defiance in obeying RSIS parking rules. Now that Ocean Grove homeowners are more informed, and most are against this type of development, wouldn’t it be very difficult for Neptune to continue it’s NERP plans in a legal and transparent manner without stiff resistance of OG homeowners.
Ocean Grove is not Neptune; it never has been, and Ocean Grove is not every other town, and maybe people need to be reminded of that.
ORGANIZE!
The bottom line is that Neptune and every other town in NJ has an insatiable appetite for more revenue. The taxes from waterfront Condos will far exceed those of a few single family homes on the same land. Also, the OGCMA collects a significantly higher land rent from condos than it does from single family homes. Add to the mix the apparent apathy of the local residents regarding this issue, and it is clear that OC is going to end up with more condos.
I’m sure there will be a public uproar after the fact when there are condos galore and the parking wars break out. Once potential home purchasers realize how difficult it has become to park anywhere in town, they will look elsewhere and OC’s property values will drop.
I’m for high density development and communities. I’m for transit hubs. McMansions on 2 acres of former wilderness is actually not a good thing. Putting people far away from mass transit and their jobs is not a good thing. Large townships with no traditional town center, where the closest retail is a super center 15 miles away is not a good thing.
But here’s the thing. Ocean Grove has retail galore, both in the town and nearby. It has super-easy access to a variety of mass transit options. And it’s super high density without having large apartment/condo buildings/towers. It’s a model for a high density community with easy access to retail, transit and entertainment and it’s been that way for over 100 years.
It doesn’t need more density.
I understand that Neptune officials will be in favor of almost anything that can potentially raise revenue for the town even if it comes at the expense of existing homeowners in Ocean Grove.
I enjoy investing and earning a return on those investments, so I understand why developers have an interest in potential projects in town. If someone thinks there is money to be made, then they are going to attempt to move forward with a project.
With that said, I have yet to figure out why the HOA itself is in favor of additional condominiums and commercialization. Quite frankly, the town is dense enough with or without additional parking for new projects. Unless one has an equity stake in the potential condominiums or commercial projects, why would one want more of them here?
The core of this community is based upon the single family homes, a relatively small business district, the inns, and the OGCMA, of course. We don’t need more condominiums, we don’t need more apartments, we don’t need to be like so many other communities along the Jersey shore. Communities like those are nice places to visit, but I would not want to live there. That is why I don’t.