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Posts Tagged ‘North End Redevelopment confusion’

Gobbledygook Part II: Township lawyer tries to offer a lucid explanation of the current North End Resolution.

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove new business, Ocean Grove North End Redevelopment Plan, Ocean Grove opinions, tagged , , , , on November 30, 2018| 3 Comments »

The Township Comedy needs to shine some light on the current Resolution so OG citizens can see the gobbledygook.   Paul Goldfinger photo.  OG beach. September, 2018. ©

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net

When Jack and I  first read the new North End Resolution which was passed on Nov. 26, 2018, we looked at each other and asked, “What is this?”  It wasn’t clear what the main point of the Resolution was.  It included an itemized list of over 30 important elements of the plan, none of which were explained in detail.

It not only wasn’t clear as to what the Resolution was all about or why it was necessary, but it was impossible to figure out if the Resolution was attempting to actually pass the “new” 2018 North End Redevelopment Plan.

Here is the official title of the Resolution #18 -395 as obtained from the Neptune Comedy agenda:

“Authorize the execution of a conditional designation and interim cost agreement with OG North End Development (OGNED) including provisions for a deposit of project funds to defray costs incurred by the Township of Neptune in connection with the negotiation of a Redevelopment Agreement, pursuant to the local redevelopment and housing law, N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1, ET Seq.”

Got it?

We thought the language was gobbledygook, and below is a link to Part I of our discussion of the Resolution.

Gobbledygook Part I regarding the North End resolution 11/26/18

The Township Redevelopment Attorney for the “Proposal” did speak to the  public at the Comedy meeting, and some of his quotes are mentioned  (below)  in a Coaster front-page article dated Nov. 29, 2018

Isn’t it interesting that none of our elected officials tried to explain the Resolution to the public–instead the Neptune Comedy brought their hired gun out of the shadows and asked him to explain the Resolution to the citizens.

Below are some Qoaster quotes from the Township Redevelopment Attorney Joseph Maraziti of Short Hills.   He said:

“It’s important for the community to understand the project.”

“…this is not  a redevelopment agreement but part of negotiations towards a redevelopment agreement with Ocean Grove North End Development LLC.”

“There will be many topics at many levels discussed and resolved (in the agreement.) Nothing is even resolved at this time.”

The Coaster reporter said, “Redevelopment of the long-neglected North End of Ocean Grove took a step forward this week when Neptune officials approved an official agreement that is expected to eventually result in a comprehensive redevelopment plan.”

Mayor Nicholas Williams of Neptune Township. What will his legacy be? By Paul Goldfinger ©

And finally, Mayor Nicholas Williams cleared it up by saying, “This is just the first step and that’s where we are tonight.”

So, Mr. Mayor, you say that ” ‘this’ is just the first step,” and now that we all know what the meaning of “this” is,  we can  be reassured that we now understand the Resolution.

Last June we posted this Mayor’s photo with the lead-in:  “Portrait of a leader who represents the electorate or just one of the boys?  What will Nicholas Williams legacy be?”

What do you think?

SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS:

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MUDDY WATERS: Ocean Grove Homeowners’ Association makes a murky mess of the facts regarding the North End Redevelopment Plan (NERP)

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, tagged , , , , on December 21, 2015| 10 Comments »

OG North End waiting for development since 2007. Home Groaners Ass. are clueless. Blogfinger file photo ©

OG North End waiting for development since 2007. Home Groaners Ass. (HGA)  are clueless. Blogfinger file photo ©

 

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger and Jack Bredin,, researcher @Blogfinger.

A Blogfinger reader suggested we view the minutes of the Nov. 28, 2015 Home Owners Association   (HOA) meeting. It can be found on their website (OGHOA.org,) and below is our evaluation of their North End misinformation including some quotes from their minutes. We suggest that all of you familiarize yourselves with the truth:

  1. The Township’s application for a RISS exemption is ignored by the OGHOA, according to their minutes. There is no mention of that situation which we have been reporting about recently. The Neptune Township application to the Sites Improvement Advisory Board in Trenton has important implications for the North End Plan. The Home Groaners are missing in action.   That application must be blocked by our citizens.
  1. “The entire negotiation process has come to a pause.” Sorry, but there is no negotiation process going on. The CMA is having private discussions with WAVE, while the Township waits for WAVE to sign a Redevelopers Agreement. The Town Attorney has been waiting for 7 years for WAVE to show their financial capability and to sign the Agreement.
  1. OGHOA says there is “a newly revised and reduced plan that has lowered the amount of RSIS standard required parking to be accommodated in a one level underground parking garage which will be for the condos in block one.”

This is nonsense. Committeeman Randy Bishop presented a concept plan earlier this year which, he said, would replace the 2008 NERP. But that “new” plan was never approved because no revised plan can be approved before the signing of a Redevelopers Agreement for the 2008 NERP.

On page 22 of the 2008 NERP it says, “Any proposed changes in permitted uses in the land use plan (NERP)—residential density, building height, or the core design concepts in this plan shall require notice and new public hearings in a manner similar to the adoption of the original plan.”

The “new” WAVE plan presented by Bishop proposed reducing the density west of the boardwalk by 50% and also increasing the density east of the boardwalk by 100% by adding two  upper stories of condos to the large Pavilion on the beach.

When Bishop was subsequently questioned about the “new plan” by a member of the public, Bishop said, “That plan was a mistake.” Ann Horan must have missed that meeting.

  1. “WAVE has asserted that they will not give complete financials to the Township until the CMA signs a revised CMA-WAVE Agreement.”

This is also nonsense:   Private negotiations between OGCMA and WAVE have nothing to do with and cannot hold up the redevelopment process that is controlled by the Township Committee.

  1. OGHOA says that “reduced RISS mandated parking would be accommodated in a one level underground parking garage.”

That is wrong because no actual garage plan has ever been submitted for the 2008 plan. In the “new plan” there is a dotted line on a drawing to show the extent of a parking garage, but again, there is no actual plan available and no engineering estimate of the project’s costs for such a garage. There is reason to believe that the bulk of the new condo’s will sit on top of the garage, but there is no plan to show such an arrangement.

  1. Another issue that is not mentioned by the HOA: According to the NERP and the “new plan” no parking will be required for the boardwalk Pavilion despite the condos and the banquet hall mentioned in the “new plan.”

So, the OGHOA, which supports all of this, would agree that for a wedding reception to be held in the Pavilion during the summer, the guests can park on Ocean Avenue or use the meters in Asbury Park or Bradley Beach. Of course such situations will produce increased need for on street parking at our North End.

This scenario actually could come true if the State awards Neptune Township the parking and streets exemptions which they are currently seeking.

Blogfinger readers need to learn about these issues so that they can be knowledgeable when it comes time to demonstrate and speak up in large numbers, not only about the North End Plan but also about the application to the State RISS Board. The Home Groaners Ass. continues to be incompetent in their assessment of this situation.

BARRY MANILOW with music like we will be hearing from the new North End Hotel and the Banquet Hall in the Pavilion on the beach  (aka “Asbury Park South.”)

 

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Making something out of nothing: more fantasies from the North End.

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, North End Redevelopment, Ocean Grove North End Redevelopment Plan, tagged , , on May 30, 2015| 9 Comments »

Blogfinger photo.

Blogfinger photo.

By Paul Goldfinger,  Editor @ Blogfinger

The Coaster has once again uncritically reported on North End “news.”   This time the “news” is emanating from the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association at the OG Home Groaners meeting on May 24, 2015.

In the May 28 edition, the Coaster states that JP Gradone, CMA spokesman, said, “Neptune Township and Wesley Lake Village Enterprises (WAVE) are the developers.” This confusing statement requires clarification, but the Coaster just repeats what it hears and asks no questions. That is how it is.

In addition, the OGHGA allows its podium for the repetition of nonsense with no indication that it asked any questions about the current revelation and how it would impact the citizens of Ocean Grove.

The confusing announcement noted above requires clarification:

A.  There are only two agreements which are currently in force regarding the North End Redevelopment and they are both from 2008.

1.   On March 24, 2008, the North End Redevelopment Plan (NERP) which contains zoning changes to permit condos, underground parking, etc. was officially approved by the Township Committee.

2. On June 9, 2008, a Resolution was passed by the Township Committee that named the OGCMA and WAVE as co-redevelopers.

Nothing has happened to change either of these two agreements which currently remain in effect.

B.   The announcement by Gradone on May 24 regarding a change in “developers” is just talk until we see official Neptune Township paper work . Only the Township  Committee may  approve a new Resolution or a new Redevelopment plan.

It is unclear as to why Gradone, a CMA spokesman, is announcing an action by the Township Committee.  Nowhere do we find a resolution by the Township to become a “developer” at the North End nor do we know why such an idea would be considered.

C.   On April 27, 2015, Committeeman Randy Bishop (repeating a plan by WAVE) announced that a new redevelopment plan had been created which would reduce the density by 50%. But all he had was a conceptual drawing from WAVE.

To change the NERP would require the Township Committee’s rescinding the 2008 version and then signing off on a new version, but that has not happened.

This is what the NJ Local Redevelopment and Housing Law says about changing a plan:   “All agreements, leases, deeds and other instruments from or between a municipality and to or with a redeveloper shall contain a covenant running with the land requiring that the owner shall construct only the uses established in the current redevelopment plan…..”

It’s time for the Neptune Township Committee to speak to the people of Ocean Grove and tell the clear truth about where we stand now regarding the North End Redevelopment project and to explain why corners appear to have been cut during this process and why transparency has been lacking.

And it is time for the Ocean Grove Home Owners Assoc.  to get tough and work to defeat the North End Redevelopment Plan and stop being patsies for the Neptune Township Committee. The North End Redevelopment plan is not good for the town and will lead it down the road to becoming Asbury Park South.

COLE PORTER   “Anything Goes.”

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