Politics & Government

Oceanfront Easement 'Poker Game' To Begin in Toms River

No offers made to oceanfront dune holdouts yet, officials say

Toms River officials have made no announcement on how much they will offer homeowners who refuse to sign easements that would allow for a federally-funded protective dune to be built along the township's oceanfront.

The 16 holdouts, who will have tiny slivers of land in front of their properties taken by eminent domain, are entitled to the market value of the parcels. But like a contestant in a poker game, the township will not show its cards and say how much it has specifically budgeted for easement takings, said Township Council President George Wittmann.

"The attorneys have the ability to negotiate," said Wittmann. "We’re not going to give up our position."

No offers have been made to property owners yet, said Township Administrator Paul Shives. The township has been directed by the state not to make any such offers just yet, he said, but is keeping with its March deadline to have the easements in public hands and away from those who would have prevented the dune from being built and the entire $86 million shore protection project from moving forward.

Wittmann said earlier this week that he expects the compensation to easement owners will be "nominal."

The slivers of land are not able to built-upon as is. And likely, any case owners could make for loss of view due to higher dunes would be challenged against the protection from storms the dunes would provide that would increase the home's value – a legal concept known as a "special benefit."

Indeed, in the test case for New Jersey's oceanfront eminent domain policy in Harvey Cedars, the state Supreme Court this year specifically ruled that homeowners could not collect a "windfall" for having their easements taken. That case – the home at the center of which was spared by Superstorm Sandy, likely due to the dunes that had been constructed there as a result of the easement taking – eventually was settled for $1.

In such eminent domain takings, the township appraises properties and makes an offer to a homeowner. If the homeowner refuses, the negotiations continue under a court's supervision, however the township becomes the legal owner of the land in question during the negotiation process.

Many of the 16 properties remaining are owned by a single man – John McDonough – who owns some of the Ocean Beach communities and the oceanfront areas of some other private communities in the township's North Beach section.

The overall dune and beach replenishment project will begin in June 2014, though the exact schedule as to when Toms River beaches will be worked on has not yet been determined. The project will encompass the shoreline of Ocean County's northern barrier island as a whole.

According to project engineers, the dunes will measure approximately 25 feet high and the beach will be extended by about 200 feet. The enlarged beaches and beefed up dunes will help prevent the type of overwashing and dune breaches that caused thousands of homes both on the barrier island and mainland to flood during Superstorm Sandy, officials say.

On Tuesday night, the township council introduced an amendment to a bond issuance adding $3.5 million to a fund that would include easement payouts, however the same bond will also fund the replacement and construction of various township boardwalks and beaches, and improvements to township parks including all work and materials.


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