OG Boardwalk. What kind of town do we want?    Paul Goldfinger photo

By Paul Goldfinger,  Editor, Blogfinger.net.  11/11/23

So, after all these years of hiding under their beds, the Home Groaners are sounding an alarm about the North End Redevelopment Plan.

They should have done so in 2007  when the Township allowed a perfectly good building lot, zoned for single family homes, as required by the Historic Master Plan, to receive a fraudulent designation as a “Zone in Need of Redevelopment” thus permitting this awful design to be approved for a hotel, condominiums, some single family homes, commercial functions and an underground garage.

The Master Plan spells out the situation, and the HPC recently refused to buy into the pseudo-Victorian design. So now it seems that the Township is doing what comes naturally:  ie making an end run around the HPC and doing as they please.

ETHYL MERMAN:

So here it is in a cut and pasted version by Blogfinger.    We encourage that you all read the entire document which is linked by the HOA in their email to all of you on their useless list.

“AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING THE AMENDED REDEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR OCEAN
GROVE NORTH END LOCATED IN THE TOWNSHIP OF NEPTUNE, COUNTY OF
MONMOUTH, NEW JERSEY

“The Parties now desire to enter into a Settlement Agreement and Amended and
Restated Redevelopment Agreement.” DOES LAND USE LAW ALLOW MESSING WITH THE ORIGINAL PLAN?

“The Township’s Chief Financial Officer obtained and reviewed certain  financial information from OGNED as well as the entities which comprise OGNED and determined that OGNED possesses the financial strength and capability to finance and/or obtain such financing as may be  necessary …”. SHOW US THE MONEY!

..”in order to settle the pending Complaint without further delay and expense and to further the implementation
of the Redevelopment Plan, as amended, and the overall redevelopment of the Project Site which is being
stymied by the Litigation, subject to the terms and conditions herein; and WHEREAS, the Parties agree that upon the satisfaction of certain conditions …..”

Blogfinger comment.   You will notice that the Home Groaners, busy as they are sounding an alarm, encourage you all to “attend the meeting.”  But, as expected they offer no point of view, no strategy, and no suggested solutions to this ongoing zoning abortion about to be tortured into an amendment that would change the town’s “Historic District” forever, to the detriment to all of the Grove.

Where is their legal committee currently announced with a flourish.  

You will notice that there is no mention of the anticipated giant music venue with 5000 seats proposed just on the other side of the Asburian Casino. This North End fiasco will go hand in hand to create Asbury Park South..a sort of Jersey Shore Disneyland in our back yards.

Those of us who live in the Grove will see their hoped-for historic community interlaced with the fine arts, classy small events, secular programs, small town niceties as we see in the towns around us, finer dining, a place for kids and families, go up in smoke, dust, noise, more tourism, and pollution.

Paul Goldfinger photo on the old OG pier. 2023.

We the people of Ocean Grove are being taken for a ride.

RAMIN DJAWDI.   “A Song of Ice and Fire.” Game of Thrones.