Blogfinger

Neptune Planning Board wrestles with OG  North End site plan approval. Paul Goldfinger photos from ZOOM.  Blogfinger.net 2/26/25. Click once to enlarge. In- person attendance seems sparse. Are any of these  Boarders from Ocean Grove?

Jennifer Krimko (in black) OGNED lawyer kept objecting and stifling comments from the floor. Is her body language admissible in court?

A few Grovers from the group formerly known as the Home Groaners chat during the “health break.”

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor. Blogfinger.net. 2/26/25.

At last night’s  Neptune Planning Board meeting  there was a great deal of quibbling about procedural/legal matters, but it seemed that everyone agrees that the North End Redevelopment Plan of 2008 is the touchstone for proceeding.  The OGNED lawyer kept shutting down comments by the public because, she said, most of what had been set in stone is still set in stone, but there is something that was not said:

In 2015, a “new” NERP was approved because certain “experts” alleged that the new plan was totally consistent with the only plan that was law, namely the NERP of 2008.

We heard the Township engineer testify that the new plan was consistent with the official plan, but she refused to answer any other questions, and she abruptly got up and left the room.  See link below:

Historic meeting 2015 to resubmit a new North End site plan

Now, assuming that “new” plan  (2015)  to be legal, it forms the basis for allowing the Planning Board to say “yes” to tonight’s proposal to approve the final site plan.

I witnessed part of the meeting and found legal wrangling and discussions about a metal roof , commercial details, parapet questions, and “health breaks”
too much to bear.  And there was a moment when the public could speak, but there were only a few who spoke, and they were about architectural details with questions only being allowed for the architect, and J. Krimko, the mouthpiece for OGNED,  kept shutting down citizen  remarks including the HPC lawyer..

After years of discussion, when the “redevelopment entity” (ie the Township Committee) could have abandoned the whole project, we have long ago passed that red line. And now, approval looks like a foregone conclusion.

Stay tune for the punch line….this is being dictated before I had that information.  However, given the chaotic  level at which this meeting was being conducted, it seems unlikely that the verdict will be “no.”

Imagine the Township Planning Board showing some love for We-The People.

ADDENDUM:  They said “Yes.”   Get ready for 5-7 years of construction.   Don’t know the HPC situation.

THE CHIMES: