Ocean Grove skyline as seen from the non-fishing pier. To the right (not shown) is our North End. What will that look like if the current planners have their way?   Have you seen the Asbury skyline lately?   Paul Goldfinger photograph published in Maine Ahead magazine. ©

By Jack Bredin and Paul Goldfinger @Blogfinger.net

At the May 13 Township Committee meeting, Vito Gadaleta, administrator at the Mother Ship, told the Committee that the owner of the White Whale building  (aka #4  Boardwalk”), Robert Dwek, was considering two companies to remove the debris that remains at the fire site.

Gadaleta said that the building’s owner is planning to remove the debris by using access across the boardwalk to the site from the north (Asbury) side.

Blogfinger has suggested that the land is owned by the State of New Jersey in trust for the public. Gadaleta seems to think that the OGCMA is the land owner.  This could prove to be problematic if one of those entities claims the right to lease the land in the future and if the DEP decides to review this issue.

He also stated that because the building was totally destroyed in the fire, the owner could rebuild a totally different building than the one which was there before.  Gadaleta said that the first step towards rebuilding would be to get a site plan together followed by certain approvals. (see below.) That site plan should contain the signature of the land owner.  We’ll see if the CMA is so listed.

However, the 800 pound gorilla  in the room is the New Jersey DEP (CAFRA) which must give approvals that should satisfy new post-Sandy rules dealing with elevations. And they could not rule on just a piece of the pie  (ie the White Whale property) but those elevations would have to be consistent for the entire North End Redevelopment Plan.

Wiki:   “The Coastal Area Facility Review Act (CAFRA) (N.J.S.A. 13:19) is intended to protect coastal areas from the effects of uncoordinated development, and thus preserve the most ecologically sensitive and fragile coastal lands. … In general, the closer the property is to the coast, the more likely it is to be regulated.” 

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) administers the CAFRA rules for our state.

But we suspect that when the DEP looks at the most recent proposals, they might unearth revelations about such hidden-from-view matters as zoning for that White Whale property.

Gadaleta specifically said that the Planning Board approval would come before the HPC, but we believe that HPC approval should be a prerequisite for PB approval. This is because once the PB says OK, it becomes a “done deal.”

As this process evolves, we also are concerned about whether any additional parking will be provided for the White Whale Part II which may become the largest building in the Grove.  The original NERP contains no plan to add additional parking for that site.  The underground garage is planned for the condos, homes, stores, etc on the west side of the boardwalk.

If no parking is provided for the new building, then a “special parking standard” would be required from the NJ Department of Community Affairs  but only if parking is available on Ocean Avenue, because the State has Development Standards that require a minimum amount of parking for any type of residential or commercial development.

Gadaleta said that they expect the “Pavilion Plan” to go before the Planning Board in June of this year, and the Township cannot grant a variance from parking standards.  Only the State can do that.

Committeeman Michael Brantley, reporting on the over-all North End Redevelopment Plan by OGNED,  said, “The Plan is expected to “break ground” early next year.

Play it again Sam?    In 2012, the CMA had announced that it would break ground at the North End in 2013 and that DEP and other approvals had been obtained, but we doubted that and never saw documentation  (We received those assurances from a Neptune Township official.)

But Sandy happened, and there was no ground breaking in 2013 as promised.

BOB DYLAN  from his album Triplicate.   The song, from 1931, was featured in the movie Casablanca, and it is the second most famous song in film; the first is “Over the Rainbow” from the Wizard of Oz.