2015 Wesley Lake, looking toward the OG North End. A space where light, breezes and ocean views currently prevail. Paul Goldfinger photo Click to enlarge. Note the White Whale building which subsequently burned down. (2019).
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
At last week’s Neptune Township Committee meeting, April 27, 2015, Committeeman Randy Bishop reported that WAVE requested the Committee to amend the North End Redevelopment Plan (NERP. ) However, the Committee took no formal action to amend the plan. As such, the 2008 plan (permitting 165 units) is still in effect.
The Coaster reports on the Grove, but they are not from the Grove. Their reporter goes to the Committee meetings, shuffles through the packet of press releases given to him by the Township, and then rolls it out in their next edition, as they did last week, sticking to the Committee’s narrative.
The Coaster doesn’t offer any editorial opinions on these matters because they get lots of money from the Township for ads that you can see at the back of every issue; not that there’s anything wrong with that, but The Coaster is busy covering a bunch of towns in this area, so it may not get all the facts straight in Ocean Grove. We, on the other hand, are OG specialists.
It’s a good thing Blogfinger is hovering nearby to keep the record accurate. In The Coaster front page story on April 30, 2015, about the New NERP, we found some things that need clarification. All quotes are from that Coaster article:
——–“Redevelopment of the North End section in historic Ocean Grove will proceed under a revised developer’s agreement.” Wrong! How can an agreement be revised when it has never existed in the first place? That agreement should have happened back in 2008 when the redevelopers were identified, but it never did.
——–“…but an exact timeline for the project has not yet been announced.” No kidding! Such a timeline would be a necessary part of a redevelopers agreement which doesn’t exist, so why would anyone expect a timeline to be announced now?
——–“Committeeman Randy Bishop, who was mayor during the initial hearing to adopt the 2008 plan, said at Monday’s workshop that recent meetings were held with the main principals of the redevelopment project.”
Really? Meetings? We only know of one such meeting that was announced as occurring in April, and that meeting was attended not by our Mayor (definitely a “principle”) or by the Camp Meeting Association (definitely a “principle.”) Instead that meeting was attended by the Township Engineer, WAVE, Bishop, and the Township lawyer. That meeting was supposed to be about negotiating a redevelopers agreement, but instead it was for WAVE to offer a new plan. If there were “meetings,” then why don’t the citizens know about all of them?
——– “It was very hard and there were very frank discussions. Everyone at the table gave up things to make the plan better.” per Bishop. But who exactly gave things up? Only Bishop and WAVE were there. Where was the CMA to say what it would give up?
——-Coaster, “The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association…..will still own the land, like it does in all of Ocean Grove.” But, excuse us, the CMA does not own the beach or Wesley Lake, and those places are involved in the “New NERP.”
——-“Bishop said all of WAVE’s principles and financials will have to be given before it is declared the sole redeveloper and that a timeline for the project will probably be announced once this happens”
Sorry, but the timeline must be included in the Redeveloper’s Agreement before it is signed. And let’s be frank here: those WAVE “principles” have been concealed from the public for the last 8 years. Why weren’t they identified before? They will have to come out of the shadows now if they own over 10% interest in the project.
——-And Coaster what about the site plan which must be designed after the surveys are complete, and no surveys have evidently been done so far. Those site plans are needed to get all necessary approvals such as DEP, Army Corps of Engineers, etc.
——-And Coaster how about the Gateway Design feature* which has now been eliminated? Why did that happen and why did you forget to tell us about the construction plans which must be obtained before this New NERP goes forward?
It seems that you only want to mention what they tell you to mention. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
* Gateway design feature: A statue or other structure on the boardwalk at the place where Asbury Park meets Ocean Grove.
BIG BIRD: What the heck avenue do those NEW NERP words mean?
State and federal law prohibited the creation of the hotel overlay zone of the first two blocks of OG. That illegal zone was needed to create the illegal North End area in need of redevelopment.
Neptune just paid for a reexamination of the Master Plan using our tax dollars.
This new reexamination was required by law to abolish not only the overlay zone but the area in need of redevelopment because both were knowingly created in violation of the MLUL.
The reexamination also failed to establish RSIS parking standards required by law for OG.
Even more troubling is that the reexamination is now promoting the continuation of nonconforming uses and conditions in direct violation of law which will also promote bribe taking of officials.
In my opinion, by using my tax dollars for clear and intentional violations of zoning law designed to harm and deny the residents their civil rights amounts to grand larceny.
Kevin Chambers
In response to My View:
The Beach belongs to you, and is held in Trust for you and your Grandchildren by the State, under the jurisdiction of the DEP and managed quite nicely by the OGCMA.
The money collected from the sale of beach badges pays for the cost of maintaining the beach.
The structures on the beach (boardwalk, fishing piers, pavilions, etc.) are private property permitted by the D.E.P. and are provided for your recreational use of the Beach.
The NERP contains an attempt to take some of your property from you. This is a Neptune Township project.
i thought that the OGCMA did own the beach and approx 1000 feet into the ocean, that is why they and not Neptune Township sell the beach badges. Can anyone confirm one way or the other?