Bonfire on the OG beach at the 150th birthday of the town. 2019. Blogfinger keeps the North End fire alive with the help of Jack Bredin and Kevin Chambers. Paul Goldfinger photograph.
TO THE EDITOR:
February 2, 2023
From Jack Bredin.
Re: Possible fraud regarding the Ocean Grove North End Redevelopment Plan.
The North End Redevelopment Plan has been in existence for the last 16 years. Recently the Plan has been held up at the HPC, and that situation has resulted in a law suit.
Among some of the issues about the Plan is my concern that a required “Letter of Credit” for the Plan may not exist.
I submitted an OPRA Request Form (Open Public Records Act) to the Neptune Township Clerk’s Office on January 19, 2023 and received a reply on January 30, 2023 signed by the Township Deputy Clerk.
My request was for a copy of the “Letter of Credit” for the Redevelopment Plan Ocean Grove North End Prepared by T and M Associates; also referred to as “Performance Guarantees,” both meaning the same thing.
The Township Clerk’s office replied that my request was for a copy of the letter of “line of credit” for the Redevelopment Project, prepared by T & M Associates. And she said “there were no responsive records to your request.”
Of course not; there is no such thing as “a line of credit regarding an Area In Need of Redevelopment.”
The Deputy Clerk got the name of the requested document wrong thus failing to provide me with the information which I asked for.
In the end I did not receive an answer to my concern, and I believe that there may be fraud in the document process regarding my request.
I plan to proceed with this matter by filing a complaint with the State Attorney General and with the N.J. Department of Community Affairs.
JACK BREDIN, OCEAN GROVE, NEW JERSEY
The writer is a long-term resident of Ocean Grove and an activist with expertise in land use laws. He has been particularly concerned with issues surrounding the North End redevelopment.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Below is a reply by Ocean Grover Kevin Chambers. He and Jack Bredin have been keeping the North End fire alive on Blogfinger for years. Below is Kevin’s reply to Jack’s Letter (2/3/23)to the Editor:
“There is far more fraud dealing with the North End Development:
There was never a legal subdivision of the land in question. There was never a legal definition of the 5 acres required to establish the Area in Need of Redevelopment. There was never a hearing for the OGCMA to establish that they met all parking requirements for their facilities before the Area or Redevelopment was established.
The Overlay Zone for the first two blocks in OG was created in violation of law.
Neptune used the illegal Overlay Zone to creat the illegal Area in Need of Redevelopment. The first two block Overlay Zone discriminates against all other like 99 year leases by granting them greater uses in violation of contract law.
Neptune is in violation of RSIS and refuses to establish legal zoning and uses that are required from RSIS not only for the first two blocks but for all of OG
The attorneys are supposed to be protecting OG residents equally by enforcing state and federal laws, instead they are taking our tax dollars and violating our rights by refusing ti protect us as the laws require.
I will also be writing to the State demanding an investigation.”
Kevin Chambers is a longterm resident of OG and an expert on Ocean Grove history and land use law. He is formerly President of the Historical Society of OG.
I came across a web article by attorneys with some interesting information on Master Plans in the State of New Jersey:
“Six year Re-examination Process (C. 40:55D-89)
“Master Plans are required to be re-examined every six years to reflect current conditions and visions of your community. This re-examination process should identify recent problems and changes of land development in the municipality. It is important to identify changes in the assumptions, policies, regulations and
objectives that have been used in the past.
“New information should be incorporated to provide recommendations and support current planning goals and objectives.
“Once completed, the Master Plans are presented at hearings and officially adopted by the Planning Board. Town Council members can adopt zoning ordinances that are consistent with the goals of the Master Plan.”
“New Jersey is a strong “home rule” state, which means that New Jersey laws provide broad powers to municipal governments to protect public health, safety and welfare through local planning and ordinances. The New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL) was originally passed in 1975 and defines the responsibilities of the local Planning and Zoning Boards, and provides municipalities the right to zone and enact ordinances if a current Master Plan is prepared. (Chapter 291, New
Jersey Statues Annotated, 1975, NJSA 40:55D – 1 et. seq.).”