Let’s keep our eye on the ball. We are a community. Paul Goldfinger photograph. July 4 parade in Ocean Grove. ©
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor and Jack Bredin, reporter/researcher @Blogfinger.net
December 19, 2017.
At first it seemed like all OG residents would want permit parking, but it soon became evident that many were opposed. The CMA even threatened to sue over the issue. The controversy was impossible to even discuss, because the plan, put out by the Ocean Grove Homeowners Association, was lacking in expertise, and the details were kept under wraps. The Township had tried and failed in the past to accomplish a permit plan.
The Township Committee decided to respond to the HOA and they scheduled a workshop to review the plan and hear from the citizens. The meeting , last night, December 18, was at Neptune High School; about 300 people attended, and about half wanted to speak.
There seemed to be more who were in opposition than were for the proposal, but no poll was taken.
Mayor Brantley did a fine job in conducting a fair meeting and he allowed everyone there a chance to be heard. He suggested 3 minutes per speaker, but he did not interrupt anyone. The Mayor added a further touch of equality by having separate mikes to alternate “for” or “against.”
The Committee did not engage much with the speakers; mostly they listened and tried to figure out exactly what was going on, as did the citizens who were in attendance.
Here is a summary:
A. The Township Committee did not commission anyone to study this matter. Instead they went forward with the HOA plan, as presented by Committeeman Carol Rizzo, who also is a member of the HOA. Her presentation represented a conglomeration of several old and outdated plans. The HOA plan was not backed up by a professional parking study signed by an engineer.
Many in the audience found Rizzo’s explanation to be confusing, as did some of the Committee, who seemed aggravated by the chaotic proposal.
B. The HOA wanted approval. They took the position that “we have to do something, and if this doesn’t work, we can do something else.”
C. Former committeeman Randy Bishop, who owns an inn in the Grove, was opposed on political grounds. He said that the permit entitlement plan would just lead to more complexity, and such plans tend to expand out of control and become more difficult to deal with. He said, “Once you start it, you can’t stop it—it just grows and grows.”
D. Regarding the opposition, many spoke and said “no,” but why do they say “no?” In fact, Blogfinger has had some trouble in the past trying to understand the opposition. We knew that the CMA was opposed and that their supporters were vehement in seeing a permit plan as a threat to their programming because of perceived loss of parking spaces for their out-of-town participants . They see the parking plan as making their situation worse.
But others in opposition appeared to have a different slant. Jack Bredin, BF reporter, referred to them as the “silent majority” which seemed to have a more principled community concern in saying that the permit plan would violate the “spirit” of the town and change the Grove for the worse.
In other words, these opponents of permit parking are resisting the tendency of Ocean Grove to become a congested and commercial place. These are the people who want the Master Plan respected and want resistance to condoization and commercialization, which they believe would turn us into “Asbury Park South.”
These residents do not want their town to lose its “spirit” as a very special place. They connect the dots of that perspective to the permit parking idea. (If anyone wants to further explain this concept, please comment below.)
E. In the end, the Mayor, recognizing that the process was suffering from lack of professional input said, “I think we need some professional help.”
So the meeting, which was not designed to make a final decision, was adjourned. The subject may resurface on Thursday, Dec. 21 at the regular meeting of the Township Committee.
PAMELA MYERS from the Sondheim show Company
In 1999 when I fought the Township at the State RSIS Board, Mr. Randy Bishop spoke at the hearing on behalf of his own special interests. He wanted the Board to eliminate the RSIS regulations because that would help him convert his inn to condos.The Board was shocked.
There were other times that Bishop acted officially with his own interests in mind to promote illegal measures such as regarding zoning and parking in Ocean Grove.
It’s the same thing with the current debate over the permit parking. He stood to oppose it, but not for the reasons which he stated.
And it’s the same for other Neptune Committee members who followed Bishop’s lead in the past. Bishop is not the only one with conflicts of interest.
So Shelley, I do agree. There is a lack of respect for the law when it comes to OG. Time and again it has been proven to me that the only interest the politicians of Neptune have is for themselves and their developer buddies.
Kevin Chambers
I guess I wish I felt like Wisher. But, I don’t believe that the majority of people in public service act in the interest of the people they serve. Politicians are as their name implies political and often “influenced by, based on, or stemming from partisan interests or political ideology or the interests of status or power within an organization rather than as a matter of principle.”
Amusing this catch phrase by the CMA concerning it supporting a “welcoming spirit” as a reason to reject permit parking. If the CMA were truly concerned about being welcoming to all, then it shouldn’t be charging for beach tags.
I have never been a proponent of the Homeowners Association. If they do get involved, they will probably be as ineffectual as they have been here.
Shelly: I do believe that people in public service will act in the public interest. But the Township Committee does not see Ocean Grove residents the same way as they see other residents. And that bigotry prevents them from doing their charge. They see us as a revenue source; They have a cold, un-feeling attitude towards OG voters and residents
And it disgraces them. We have been a liberal, democratic-leaning people, and they still hate us and are indifferent.
Shelley: You mention Midtown. the quote below is from our post dated June 2, 2017:
“The Home Groaners announced that they have found something else to “focus” on. It seems that they have exhausted their work on behalf of Ocean Grove, so, as reported by Ms. Graham, ‘The group will soon focus on issues in Neptune ‘outside of Ocean Grove.’”
“Richard Williams, the Vice President of the HOA “spoke at length on the Midtown Urban Renaissance Corporation–MURC—which serves as a liaison between this community and Neptune Township”
What “community?” Can anybody translate this mumbo-jumbo? Did the HOA members authorize its trustees to spend time looking into “Neptune issues such as gun violence, children’s activities, community garden, and fund raisers?”
Wisher, The Township would do well to assert authority in the Grove?” You have got to be kidding me. I have watched Neptune almost quadruple taxes in OG, throw zoning out the window resulting in overcrowding, and houses that loom to the edges of the property lines and provide snow removal that is far inferior to rest of Neptune.
Neptune has shown contempt for Ocean Grove for decades. My friend from Shark River Hills said that during the Shark Rive Hill’s meeting on taxes, one Neptune official said, “Don’t worry here, we are going to stick it to Ocean Grove.”
When individuals campaigning for Neptune Committee positions came to my door,their pitches focused on Midtown, even when questioned on OG.
Blogfinger is right. Neptune’s only concern in OG is generating more ratables. They don’t care about overcrowding or where you park your car. They don’t care if people are leaving town because they are financially drained.
Their mantra is, if you don’t like it leave. And on the subject of every shore town, let’s not forget that the majority have driveways. We don’t. Sorry for the rant, but the idea that Neptune would function in our best interest is, in my opinion, ludicrous.
Shelley: You are correct in naming one of the many sources of parking abuses in Ocean Grove. We have covered that subject in our pieces about “games people play” to play the system re: parking. But you may have ID’d one that is rapidly accelerating.
Also, our article failed to mention the Asbury Park situation. I was there on a Tuesday evening, and Cookman Ave was booming–barely a table available at TAKA.
A permit parking plan for the North End needs to flood that area with resident parking and/or meters, even if the rest of the town doesn’t need it. —Paul
It seems to me that the CMA and the Township are on the same page regarding zoning, land use and parking. So there’s no need to make a choice.
There are conflicts of self interests between the two, but the definition of those interests is murky since neither party will be forthright about those interests.
For example, the CMA speaks of the “welcoming spirit,” but they are most worried about a parking solution as a threat to their m.o. which is to bring many outsiders into town for their programming. Even now, parking is a challenge for them as they try to protect their financial integrity.
And the Township is, at least, always searching for ratables, but they are reticent to admit that due to the sensitivity of the subject of property taxes, where they are already milking the Grove beyond what is reasonable. And there may be other motives as well for Township officials, and we have written about that subject recently.
In the long term, and the Camp Meeting Association does not think in long terms, Ocean Grove needs preservation.
Long gone are the days when OG was its own town.
It is clear that the Township would do well to assert authority in the Grove. The Camp Meeting Association is comprised of wealthy part-timers. It is high time for the Township take an adversarial relationship with these people in order to preserve the Grove.
I’ll take the CMA over Neptune – lesser of two evils
In my neck of the woods it’s not the Camp Meeting or “religious zealotry”. It’s seasonal rentals and AirB&B. The old studio apartment with five adults and five cars – even in the winter.
The North end is impossible in summer and merely tolerable in winter. If nothing is done, more Asbury Parkers will take all our free spots.
Apparently, the CMA and their agents have undue influence on the Township Committee. Personally, and that’s my opinion, it is religious zealotry that prevents proper governance of Ocean Grove’s streets and property. The Camp Meeting Association is all about the Camp Meeting Association. They would rather the residents, Neptune, and concerned citizens be dispensed with.
We can’t permit this.
Unrestricted parking in the whole town isn’t working anymore,it isn’t welcoming or helpful to the down town stores. Not doing anything about it is not responsible.Every shore town in New Jersey has some form of restricted parking. I have seen near fist fights on my street in the last two years. It will only get worse if nothing is done. Permit parking is only one of many things that could relieve some of the problems. Doing nothing will never work.
I would be more in tune with CMA’s Welcoming Spirit if they took their trash covered abandoned vacant lot at the North End and turned it into a temporary Welcoming Parking lot when they have their events and services. Till then, I’m not buying it!
The “Spirit” the CMA is is talking about is the spirit of those wealthy spirits who want to float down when it suits them and ignoring real residents.
Shelley: I have heard that “welcoming spirit” term before, but it is a code phrase from the CMA who are worried about parking for those out-of-towners that they cater to in large numbers.
I don’t think that those who refer to the town’s “spirit” are necessarily referring to that.
I think opposition, at least from my perspective and those I know in town, was about more than a “welcoming” spirit,” which is irrelevant in my opinion. My friends and I did the math. My Webb Ave is packed with autos in the winter and the summer. When it snows and I work, I end up being blocks from house with one side of the street parking.
With parking permits, I would be forced to buy a permit (more money to Neptune) to at least find a space on either side of the street. It just didn’t seem to provide enough bang for the buck.