Blogfinger

HOA meeting 6/22/19. Full house, but some questions were banned. Paul Goldfinger photo. Democracy takes a hit.

Paul Goldfinger,  Editor @Blogfinger.net

June 22, 2019.  Ocean Grove, NJ

Barbara Burns, President of the Home Owners Assoc., had invited two members of OGNED, the OG North End Redevelopers, to discuss the latest plan at today’s meeting, but before letting anyone speak, she set the ground rules:

No questions may be asked if they relate to the past history of the NERP.  She said that she didn’t want to “re-litigate” old news.  Her guests, “Conditional Redevelopers”  William Gannon III and Joel Brenner agreed that they would not answer such questions. They just wanted to talk about the plan as it is today.

But such questions comprise the very foundations of how this controversial plan developed over time, with considerable difficulty, much skepticism,  and no results, so it made no sense to limit  questioning to the latest point on the timeline.  She may think that there is only old news looking back, but that is outrageous. The whole NERP history, 11 years in duration, is flammable and ignitable.

Evidently Burns and Gannon had conspired to keep the subject matter confined only to what he wanted to talk about.

It seems that Mr. Gannon wanted to control the parameters of the meeting—perhaps he didn’t want to be embarrassed by certain questions having their roots in the past.  And President Burns went along with that—-she should not have invited him if he were going to disrespect skeptical  homeowners in the audience, such as myself and others.

Her demand that only she decide on which questions would be appropriate was arrogant, dumb, overbearing and undemocratic.

In fact, Gannon admitted that his attorneys did not want him to speak at this meeting, but he refused to take their advice, evidently because Burns assured him that there would be no embarrassing questions.

The sorts of questions that she disallowed might  have included those having to do with land use procedures in Neptune Township, redevelopment rules and practices, zoning, easements, bidding, RSIS standards, transparency, secrecy, specialist lawyers, and finally, which plan is this one?  Only one, from 2008, was ever formally approved.

There is a long list of topics related to the NERP which she inappropriately declared off-limits.

It is idiotic to cut the subject off at the knees when everything that Gannon presented today had its beginnings back in 2008 when the NERP was approved by the Township and the Planning Board.  OGNED would not be existing today if it weren’t for the approval of that plan, so all questions dating that far back should have been fair game.

Since that time a great deal has occurred including continuous behind-the-scenes negotiations that went on for years, with no public disclosure, even though a redevelopment plan is a public plan run by the Township, ideally with the utmost in transparency.

Mr. Gannon, a founder of WAVE,  tried to tap dance around the fact that the NERP became a public plan in 2008 when WAVE  and the CMA  succeeded in convincing Neptune to approve the North End as an “area in need of redevelopment.”   Neptune Township was to be in charge.

Now, all of a sudden, today, Gannon says that it is a “private redevelopment project,” but he didn’t explain where that term came from nor did he offer to give up the zoning that came with the public “re-development” designation.  He should have offered to return the zoning to 25 single family houses if “private” is what it is.   And how did he manage to fire Neptune Township as the entity in charge?

My question at the censored meeting was going to be:  “In 2008, when the North End was designated as ‘an area in need of redevelopment’ under the supervision of Neptune Township, what was the legal rationale that permitted that designation?”

The CMA back then was capable of building 25 new homes and creating a beautiful new neighborhood. The “redevelopment”  designation was not necessary.  Then the property lay fallow for 11 years.  So now we are getting retail, condos, underground garage, 10 private homes, and a hotel—ie Asbury Park South.

At the meeting, Jack Bredin tried to ask the OGNED duo about the considerable paring down in project density that occurred between 2008 and now, but no straight answer was forthcoming.

Gannon said that the developers originally wanted 224 condos, but now they are down to 78, with 10 single family homes and 40 hotel rooms.  So what happened? Why did they willingly give up all that money?  Jack  and the rest of us want to know.

Homeowners do not seem to be Burns’  top priority—instead developers are.

The biggest news of the morning was that OGNED and the Township have still not signed off on a Redevelopment Agreement, and that is needed before the package goes to the Planning Board.  It seems that there still is a tangle of issues to be settled, and OGNED was evasive in explaining all that, hiding behind the “we can’t talk about it” excuse.

Gannon promised that there would be plenty of parking, but no smiley face and jokes will disguise the fact that parking will be trouble.

He said that the White Whale is not part of his group, and he doesn’t know what that owner will do, but maybe there will be a Phase 2 in the future to create further congestion over there.

Also, it seems that OGNED will buy the land currently owned by the CMA.

Gannon  also said that plans are being made to treat ground water coming off the site. Details are not available. The DEP is still looking at the plan.

Many permits are still not obtained as OGNED and the Township deal with agencies looking at the situation.

This song is dedicated to Barbara Burns and the Home Groaners:

JUDY CAPLAN GINSBURGH: