A look to the future. Paul Goldfinger ©
There are a lot of moving parts to Ocean Grove’s parking problems.
I believe the number one problem starts with the Neptune Township Committee.
The process of site-plan approval is guided by both the local zoning ordinance and the State off- street parking requirements.
When local standards are inconsistent with State Standards, then the State Standards supersede the local ones.
The local Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment can grant a variance from the zoning ordinance, but there is no approving authority in the Township that can grant a “waiver” from the off-street parking requirements until the Township applies for and the State grants approval of a “Special Standard.”
However, when the Township is reviewing a site plan application for Ocean Grove, it is the Township’s policy to usurp State Authority and circumvent the State’s off-street parking requirements (that the State has exclusive authority over) and grant an approval with no off-street parking.
As a result of this practice, with few exceptions, all site-plan approvals in Ocean Grove over the past 18 ears, were granted in violation of State law.
Kevin Chambers has been telling us that for years, and it is not just his opinion—-it is a fact!
When developing a standard 50×100 foot lot, the State off-street parking standard, requiring two (2) off-street parking spaces for a detached single family house, is reasonable because the State standard was designed using the 50’x100’ lot format.
Ocean Grove cannot be re-subdivided into 50 x 100 foot lots, and so the strict application of the State off-street parking regulations would cause practical difficulties in developing any 30 x 60 foot lot in the Historic District.
Because the 30 x 60 foot lot size is 2 ½ times smaller than a 50 x 100 foot lot, there is simply not enough room to include off-street parking into a site-plan without destroying Ocean Grove’s historic character.
We are the only town in New Jersey like this, and so we qualify for a State waiver for detached single-family houses with no parking.
Last year the Township filed an application for an exception from the State off-street parking standards.
So what’s the problem?
The problem is that Ocean Grove is zoned single-family, and the waiver the Township requested is not only for detached single family houses, it is for all new residential multi-family development, foreseeing variance approvals for condominiums.
If approved it would open the floodgates to condo development; that would destroy the Historic District.
The threat to our historic designation comes from an increasing real estate demand for a “condo by the ocean, for vacation.”
Make no mistake about it. The primary reason for the Township’s application was to permit condo development throughout Ocean Grove, and not just for the big guy, but also for the little guy.
As an example: If you own a two family house like I do, you can form a condominium association and, like magic, your two family house becomes two (2) attached single-family houses (aka condominiums) which are worth a lot more money than your former 2-family house. That also applies to 3,4,5 family and up. The only problem for this agenda is that you now need two (2) off-street parking spaces per unit, and the Township cannot grant you a waiver or a variance.
Although the Township had reasons for a single-family waiver, they had no reason to ask for a multi-family waiver. And so, at the Township’s request, the Town Planner manufactured the reasons, after doing a parking study of Ocean Grove.
In support of a multi-family waiver the planner determined: We have plenty of available parking spaces, and the residents also have the option of parking in Asbury Park or Bradley Beach and then walking home.
This is nonsense, and if it were such a great benefit to Ocean Grove, then why did the Town Planner call the State Advisory Board last December and request that the application be withdrawn?
The Committee has been silent on why, or who instructed the Planner to withdraw the application, and has given no indication if or when they will reapply.
But they must reapply. They can’t keep breaking the law. And when they do reapply, we should insist that we still need that parking exemption for SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES ONLY, and not for multifamily buildings that are inconsistent with the Master Plan and with Historic Preservation.
I am offering a motion for your consideration that the OGHOA would support the single family application. The HOA should be pro-active and get ahead of the curve.
The motion is: “The OGHOA is in favor of the Neptune Township Committee re-filing an application for a waiver from the State RSIS parking standard for detached single-family houses only.”
Editor’s note: Jack Bredin’s motion was seconded, but the group voted to table the motion. —-PG
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