Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
Jack, Kevin and I left the Mother Ship to return to our car after attending the Neptune Township Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) meeting May 2, 2018. But as we walked through the parking lot we were approached by a couple who had attended the Aurora Hotel hearing but did not say a word during the hearing for which they had traveled one hour to attend.
They said that they moved to the Grove in 2005 because they thought it was a “charming and special place.” Like so many who have moved here, they had fallen in love with this unique small town, but in recent years, they noticed a decline in their quality of life.
They mentioned the noise and congestion. A strong sense of community had failed to materialize. Parking had become awful, and the town was becoming overrun with tourists who often clogged the streets causing gridlock that was becoming progressively worse.
The heavy-handed Neptune government was allowing a deterioration of historical preservation, culture and zoning in the Grove, and their decisions were causing perceptible damage to life styles for residents.
They thought the taxes were exorbitant for what they received in return. Then they had enough and moved to a New Jersey town that was more appealing to them. They still own their OG home, but they rented it out.
The couple came to the meeting with the slim hope that the ZBA would do the right thing for one of OG’s historic treasures, but they were disappointed by the indicators at the hearing. Their plan now is to sell their OG home.
We know others who also have moved or are thinking about leaving for a variety of similar reasons. One of those reasons is the inconsistency of the HPC. And then there are the wrong-headed, impotent Home Groaners. The Chamber just makes things worse with their self-interested giant mega events.
As for zoning, “The primary purpose of zoning is to segregate uses that are thought to be incompatible. But in practice, zoning also is used to prevent new development from interfering with existing uses and/or to preserve the ‘character’ of a community. (Wikipedia.)” In other words, zoning is supposed to offer protection and to level the land-use playing field for everyone.
The NY State Office of General Counsel says, “Courts have regularly found a legitimate purpose in zoning regulations which are aimed at achieving a homogeneous, traditional single-family neighborhood. ”
But in the town of Ocean Grove, special interests get to defy land use laws in order to provide special deals for developers, politicians, the CMA, and others. An example is the designation of the North End as an area in need of redevelopment, abolishing desirable single family housing zoning.
Residents experience growing frustration and find themselves at the bottom of the priority list.
Ocean Grove, after peaking and looking like it had a bright future as a marvelous place to live year-round, has shown unmistakable signs of losing ground in the quest to evolve into a fair-minded residential historic district with unique character, culture and community.
GERRY MULLIGAN. “Here’s That Rainy Day.”
Dictionary.com defines culture thus: ..”the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.”
That is what I have in mind. It seems that your idea of culture is quite different.
As for historic preservation, I am referring to the efforts by Neptune to weaken the role of the HPC and the Township’s indifference to the Master Plan which was to be all about preserving the “historic district.”
You seem to think that condos and flea markets are the way to go.
Some very big negative pronouncements, there. Can you explain what you mean by “deterioration of historical preservation, culture”? I disagree on both counts.
A land-use shift from hotels to single family detached would not be historical preservation. Nor would abolishing the weekend festival culture be an improvement in culture.
Frank. Undoubtedly you are right, and probably most people who live here are willing to put up with certain issues in exchange for having their home in a nice town with many virtues.
On Blogfinger we focus on the questions that concern some to the point of changing their mind about the desirability of living here.
As Curmudgeon says, it’s still a nice town, even with its faults.
From my point of view, I like living here. We have a great house, good neighbors, and we know many people.
But I and some others remain curious about how things work in Ocean Grove , and we will continue exploring such issues, especially when it seems that fairness and justice are are not distributed equally, to the detriment of some. —Paul @Blogfinger.net
I read your article and realize that Ocean Grove isn’t meeting everyone’s needs and some people get upset and decide to leave.
Yesterday I experienced something that is also very common. I had some work done on my house and I wasn’t going to be there until late afternoon. When I got there, there was a text message with a picture of the progress made and three neighbors came over to let me know what they saw during the course of the day. The quality of the people I meet and the experiences I share with them totally out weigh my experiences with parking, politics and regulations.
My wife’s family has had a house in the Grove since the late 1800’s and she misses the Ocean Grove she knew as a girl and young woman, but except for her issues with parking during the summer, it looks like we will grow older together in Ocean Grove.