The Warrington, Feb. 2017. Photo by a citizen reporter who lives a stone’s throw away. The Park View site is adjacent, approved for undersized lots. © Blogfinger.net
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger and Jack Bredin, Researcher @Blogfinger
This is no surprise, but the final Site Plan approval for turning the Warrington into a boutique hotel will be signed this week by the Zoning Board of Adjustment Engineer, Secretary, and by the Board Chairman. As you may recall from our October, 2016 article (see link below,) the process of final approval had been held up pending consideration of a variety of issues.
Our concerns last October included the need for an easement to connect the Lake Avenue structure with the utilities on Seaview Avenue. There are two small cottages which are interposed between the Warrington and Seaview Avenue.
According to Kristie Armour, the Zoning Officer for the ZBA, in an interview today, it was found that there was a pre-existing easement which would cover this matter. But the tax map has shown no such easement.
Also, the new project encroaches on CMA property, but Ms. Armour tells us that the CMA wrote a letter to give permission. However, normally, such a letter would be useless unless the CMA property were newly subdivided to show that the Warrington owner now owns that encroached property.
There were other matters as well, but we have no information about these concerns including the bizarre suggestion by the Home Owners Assoc. to turn part of Lake Avenue into a two-way street near Founders’ Park ostensibly in order to create new parking. New parking should never crowd out a historic location.
Another irregularity is that the Warrington is on a land-locked lot, not fronting on a street; Lake Avenue is not a street. This should be illegal now as it pertains to the new project.
Other violations include failure to follow New Jersey state RSIS parking standards whereas this project should have been required to provide on-site parking.
The Warrington originally received final ZBA approval in 2015. In June 2016, the ZBA Engineer found that a Developers Agreement was needed. In September 2016, the Developers Agreement was passed. But there were still loose ends, and now we hear that the matter is finalized.
The only way that this project could be blocked now is with an appeal to the governing body or a law suit brought by the citizens to the Superior Court. There is a 45 day opportunity to sue, and then it will be a “done-deal.”
But the Home Groaners have shown no interest in this project or any other important land-use issues in town including the condoization of the Grove. How do the residents of Sea View Avenue feel about this situation?
So there will be project approval this week even though the application is riddled with land-use law violations.
https://blogfinger.net/2016/10/21/the-case-of-the-worrisome-warrington-chapter-ii/
SUTTON FOSTER: From Mel Brooks Young Frankenstein. If you think that land use policies in Ocean Grove are hopelessly corrupted, do something silly and have a roll in the hay.
So many people in Ocean Grove were against the work being done to change the Warrington into a hotel, mostly because of parking problems. Is the the 5th or 6th multi huge winter north end fire in the past decade or so? People say it is because of the wind and the buildings being so close. the wind and how close the homes are is nothing new.
I think before this series of fires, the last huge fire was around 1980 when we lost the south east section of 3/4 of the beach block on Ocean Pathway. And then we go 20-25 years without another huge fire and now so many in such a short period of time. Something is not making sense.
I ledge to donate $1,500 towards hiring a lawyer. Seems like the neighbors near the Warrington should be the ones to organize hiring counsel. I’m sure that if you were to run a kickstarter-type campaign you could raise the $10K you would need to file a legal challenge and gum up the works for a few years.
rather a shame that the OGHOA shows no leadership and does not care about enforcing the existing zoning laws. They should be the organizers of the legal challenge. What do these guys do anyway?
If you get something going — post it here and I’ll send in my check.
That’s part of the problem. Everyone is ‘outraged’ and wants to complain. But to actually get involved? Start a group? Attend meetings? Donate money? That’s where their interest plummets.
Millie Stires, when looking East from Ocean Grove, it’s a rare occurrence to see a whale ‘BREACH’ from the Atlantic.
When looking West toward the Town Hall meeting room, you will see a ‘BREACH’ of ethics at every Planning and Zoning Board meeting.
So, in addition to the ‘law breaker’s on the Township Committee who break their own laws, and NJ State land use laws, the members of the Planning and Zoning Boards have no idea what land use law is. They just ‘rely on the experts’ provided for them, and the HOA’s leadership are cheerleaders for the whole corrupt system.
Blogfinger is the only journalist trying to put this complicated situation into focus.
If a group of concerned citizens is formed to review our options I will join the group.
Is there anything we could do to stop it? Could we hire a lawyer to file a lawsuit? How much would that cost? Would a resident lawyer be willing to offer his service pro bono? I have many questions but no answers. But I would be willing to help in any way I could to stop development or at lease impede it.
Hotels do not make economic sense in Ocean Grove. Many existing hotels that were purchased for far less than it would cost to build a new hotel are in dire straits and thus for sale. What I fear is conversion to a drug rehabilitation facility, which has no place in a resort town. This dilapidated structure should be afforded the same fate as the Whitfield. Single family homes should be built on the vacated lots.
This block began its life with 7 lots for Methodist ministers to build single family houses. Now the total of residential units has grown to about 60 units. Is it any wonder that Ocean Grove has become so congested? Neptune Township has been allowing development for years, regardless of what was best for the Grove.
How do they justify or explain where people will park? 21 more cars on the already parking starved Seaview Ave? “Something is wrong in Denmark”
How could the Township approve a 21 unit hotel with no parking on a “land-locked” parcel of property, in a historic district?
The answer is, they can’t, but they did.
Apparently, breaking the law, by Township officials, regarding Ocean Grove issues, is a time honored historic tradition, dating back to 1879 when Neptune Township was established, and we have grown accustomed to their ways.
A hotel? Really? The hotels and B & B’s we have in town are already looking to convert to condos and rehab facilities. How can the town keep ignoring the RSIS standard? This is in the least accessible area where they want to cram high density housing on the North End. Beyond crazy.
Blogfinger you are 100 per cent correct vis a vis parking.
Luv your reply blog! I am speechless, for now.
And now we get a high end boutique hotel. Where will the Mercedes crowd and their friends park? Won’t they be surprised when all the spaces on SeaView are taken up by Asburian nomads and Visigoths?
I use to live here, and while I can say that there were a lot of unsavory folks who lived here, there was also us, the couple who were just trying to make it, and still stay close to our family. We have no criminal history, or substance abuse history. We just needed a roof, and one that was close to family. There were a few people like us who stayed there. Just trying to make it.