By Charles Layton, Editor Blogfinger.net. 2010
An appeals court has upheld the township’s right to proceed with the controversial North End development in Ocean Grove.
Neptune Township’s plan for a major hotel and residential complex on the vacant lot at the northern end of the boardwalk had been challenged by Ocean Grove resident Kevin Chambers in a suit filed earlier this year.
Chambers argued that the procedures by which the plan was enacted violated New Jersey land use laws. In September, a Superior Court judge decided in the township’s favor on all counts. Chambers then appealed to the Appellate Division in Trenton.
“We are very happy that the township has prevailed,” Mayor Mary Beth Jahn said on Saturday.
Chambers has 20 days to file an appeal to the New Jersey Supreme Court, if he chooses to do so, township officials said.
The North End would be the largest construction project undertaken in Ocean Grove in decades — and also the most controversial. As approved by the Township Committee in March of 2008, the plan calls for a maximum of 80 hotel rooms and 85 residential units, mostly condominiums. It also calls for on-site underground parking for all residents and hotel guests.
Co-developers for the project are the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which owns the property, and an ad hoc company headed by local developer Bill Gannon.
Thursday’s ruling appears to clear the way — after many months of delay — for the township to begin negotiations with the developers on the finer details of construction. The end product of those negotiations would be a Redeveloper Agreement, which is a legal contract between the township and the developers. This will spell out the permitted uses of the property, the exact number of housing units, traffic flow requirements and much more. It is also likely to include deadlines for each phase of the work, to ensure that the Township has recourse should the project stall for financial or other reasons.
It is worth noting that the actual numbers of hotel rooms and residential units could be less than the maximums called for in the Redevelopment Plan already adopted by the Township. For instance, if it turns out that the developers cannot provide enough onsite parking, the Township might make them reduce the number of condos to match the amount of parking they can provide.
The final contract promises to be quite detailed. Because it must be enacted as an ordinance, there will be public notice and an opportunity for public questions and comment, as with any ordinance. Given the degree of citizen interest, there will likely also be a special public hearing on this contract, Neptune officials have said.
Once the contract is signed, there would be legal remedies for the township should the developers violate it. Also, if the developers later seek to renegotiate some aspect of the contract, that change would also need to be done by ordinance – which means it too would be a public process.
And then, fast forward to 2022:
North End plan is stuck. Blogfinger post
SUFJAN STEVENS. “No Man’s Land.”