HOA meeting 11/27/21. Questions on leases from audience. Zoomers above. Paul Goldfinger photos. Blogfinger.net 11/27/21 ©
Barbara Burns speaks for the “Save Our Values” group. 11/27/21 HOA meeting. Blogfinger.net photo.
By Paul Goldfinger, MD Editor Blogfinger.net
This HOA meeting, Saturday, November 27, 2021, was not to be a debate; it was a discussion. The main themes were “What do we know and what don’t we know about land lease changes in Ocean Grove?”
In attendance were about 60 people in person and about 70 observers on ZOOM. The tone was civil, but a handful of attendees expressed anger towards the Camp Meeting Association, and the natives were restless with applause breaking out intermittently. Some of the references went all the way back to the 1869 founding where land leases were used to erect tents.
Barbara Burns, the former HOA president, made an initial presentation. It was only late in the session that she revealed that she was representing the new group “Save Our Values” and she did not reveal that she is a lawyer.
Her advocacy group is currently engaged in research and fact finding regarding the ground rents in town, and they need to raise money since researchers are expensive. These “Sandinistas” have already obtained some legal advice, but currently they do not plan any suits. “We are not jumping to sue the Camp Meeting,” she said. “We want to understand the rights of all.”
She complained that the CMA had already begun implementing new policies regarding land leases without giving citizens a “heads up.” She said that the early lack of information resulted in “uncertainty,” and that there should have been prior public discussions and notices.
And since then the CMA has offered no public statements to explain why they are embarking on lease changes that can cause financial problems for homeowners and other lease holders.
Burns said that the CMA developed their new lease policies “behind closed doors” and that no one knows who is pushing the buttons behind the curtain.
She said that communication was difficult because of the CMA’s lack of disclosure. She also said that “a new vocabulary is needed,” and the lack of information is “morally improper and wrong.”
She wanted to know who is “making decisions” in increasing the land assessments in town. “Things go on and I don’t know why it’s being done”
Clearly the “Save Our Values” group is starting from a place where “uncertainty is at the root of this problem.” Burns said that her group is “just starting the process.”
Burns also said that a basic principle is that Neptune is the governing body and that the CMA is not elected. This provides the framework for judging some of their controversial actions.
I think she did a good job in trying to calmly define and explain the issues, but her expressed uncertainties and the questions from the audience showed that there is a mixed bag of anger, questions, issues, accusations, theories, misunderstandings, and understandings out there, and the realization that so much of this has implications for all of us creates a heated environment.
Michael Badger at today’s HOA meeting. 11/27/21 . Blogfinger.net photo.
Michael Badger, CMA President, felt that his view of the situation is much less complicated. He said that the CMA is a landowner in town and deserves the same rights as any landowner including charging rents for OG lands that are used by renters. “We are not charging a tax.”
He acknowledged that the CMA is “not a municipal government as it used to be, but that it is a nonprofit religious institution.”
Badger said that the rent revenues are used for the CMA’s activities, and that as a private landowner, the CMA can make changes in leases, as long as those changes are within the law and within the written lease parameters.
As for new lease policies, he said that any changes are “new” having been created this year. He wasn’t very specific about lease policy changes, except to say that there is a variety of lease wordings and that property owners should read the provisions of their leases because those leases are binding, and the CMA’s decisions will vary.
He calls the lease landscape “a patchwork” and that each case must be considered individually. Badger said that “OG leases have never been one size fits all.” He tries to read each lease himself.
Badger claimed that most current leases are for 99 years. He also seemed to explain the recent changes by describing 99 year leases as “an antiquated concept.”
The audience was a bit unruly as their questions were all over the map. One person called the CMA’s rule changes “undemocratic.” Another Grover, Dave Gaetano, commenting on the ZOOM chat, said, “The big burn here is how Neptune Township taxes us on land we do not own.”
See our article from yesterday about lawyer James Hundley’s response to that question.
Eileen Michaels asked for more “open meetings” and transparency by the CMA. And someone else demanded a “legally binding resolution” to protect homeowners after new changes are made.
Another commenter claimed that the CMA cannot control the use of developed land, although many leases say that the CMA can do so and force compliance on use.
And yet another claimed that he is being denied financing for a commercial building on Main Ave. because the CMA won’t provide a new lease. He says that he is “being held hostage.”
And finally someone said that “the groundhogs were coming for his money.”
MARGARET WHITING
*cartoon: The New Yorker. 11/27/21/
So what happens if you don’t pay your lease to OGCMA ? Can they evict you ? Can they sue you for non payment ? Can they remove the land under your home ? Can they place a lien on your property ? At $10.50 we pay it and chalk it up to a quirky nonsensical OG custom. However if it goes up to a ridiculous amount then the question I ask just might become a possibility
. BTW : How does OGCMA define land ? Beginning At ground/street level ? I am curious as I have a 7 foot deep basement .
The area where I live in NYC has a number of 1950s co-op buildings on originally leased land. The co-ops always had to pay the real estate tax to NYC directly. The 99-year leases had a provision for purchase at a fixed price that became very affordable with time. Be aware that ground leases can be sold by the landowner and this happened several times in our case.
Ocean Grove was never its own municipality with tax collection powers. At first its homeowners paid property taxes to Ocean Township, and when Neptune was split off from Ocean, OG was attached to it.
OG has paid property taxes to Neptune since about 1875. This was cause for complaints, resentment, and some law suits over the years.
The CMA charged land lease rents, not taxes. Even Stokes complained* about his taxes to Neptune since he was supplying a variety of services, but that was the price he paid to maintain control of his religious community and continue the blue laws. Among my souvenirs I have a copy of his speech* on this subject.
As far as the homeowners’ paying real estate tax on the land, that does seem unfair, but even though the CMA owns the land, the land lease is like a deed for the homeowner,and the courts have upheld this bizarre arrangement. (See Mr. Hundley’s letter to the Coaster by scrolling down)
So what is Neptune’s involvement in this matter? If indeed the OGCMA owns the land then shouldn’t Neptune be sending land portion of assessment and consequent tax bill to OGCMA and not home owner?
Would like to know who paid taxes to whom back when OG was its own entity and not part of Neptune Township. Anyone remember/know ? Maybe we should send our tax bills back to Neptune with “wrong party/address” scrawled across them . Ha.
I suspect the OGCMA has already taken sides as it hosted a meeting of the Wesley Covenant Association in the Youth Temple. This is a proto-conservative denomination that will likely merge into the “Global Methodist Church.”
David: I think the UMC has its hands full as conservative congregations plan to split. The split has been held up by the pandemic. It will be interesting to find out what the OGCMA plans to do in this regard.
The OGCMA has always claimed to be “of the Methodist Church.” I have been curious as to what the official connection, if any, actually is. Methodist church properties are owned by the local Annual Conference. Of course, OGCMA is not a church. It would be an interesting turn if the UMC took on the OGCMA.
The Historical Society was approached about matters relating to leases. Unfortunately, we have little other than the original 1870 promotional map that describes leases.
By chance, I had just completed a paper on Sanders Cottage, OG’s most palatial house on Lake Ave. The original leaseholder challenged the right of the Association to evict tenants, but lost the case locally and after appeal.
After the first loss, the ground lease was canceled but reissued after the tenant paid all fees and costs. Copies of old leases would be desirable for the collection.
When Blogfinger posted our articles regarding ground rents, over a week ago, we had nearly 1000 hits on Nov. 17.
This topic will explode into a variety of interesting subjects such as the roll of a religious organization to try and change the culture and meaning of this small town.
Today someone in the audience said that the CMA would incorporate a phrase in the new leases “..upholding of Christian values.” That subject was instantly dropped.