Politics & Government

Toms River to Move Forward With Dune Condemnations

Ordinance introduced Tuesday will lead to the taking of land for dune project

Toms River officials will move forward with plans to condemn slivers of oceanfront land owned by 16 private owners under an ordinance introduced Tuesday night.

The township's acquisition of the land would allow a protective dune to be built over the length of Toms River's oceanfront by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The plan is aimed at preventing ocean breaches in storms and widening the beach to about 200 feet from its current approximate width of 50 feet.

The oceanfront holdouts include large swaths of land owned by one person – John McDonough – who controls parts of the Ocean Beach I, II, III and Ocean Beach Shores properties. Other beaches owned by homeowners associations.

The condemnations would begin to take place after the ordinance is passed on second reading in about two weeks, officials said. Property owners will be given one more chance to sign documentation that specifically allows the land to be used for dune maintenance before the township would register its taking with the court system, said Township Attorney Ken Fitzsimmons.

Since the state Supreme Court ruled this summer that property owners cannot collect a "windfall" for such small easements, oceanfront towns have been aggressive in calculating the value of land and tempering that value with the special benefits of property protection that owners would receive. The Harvey Cedars homeowners at the center of the controversy taken up by the Supreme Court eventually settled with that town for $1, ushering in an executive order issued by Gov. Chris Christie instructing towns to take the easements from holdouts.

As it currently stands, 72 percent of the township's oceanfront is either publicly owned or owned privately by a party that has signed the easement documentation, said Township Engineer Robert Chankalian. The 16 holdouts are made up of single property owners, most of whom do not live locally year-round, and homeowners associations.

The process of obtaining the land – whether voluntarily or by condemnation – will likely move quickly after the ordinance is passed on second reading, officials said.

"Once the ordinance is finally adopted, we will be in a position to move forward with the outstanding easements, in terms of putting a value on them," said Township Administrator Paul Shives.

The township has already contracted with Henry J. Mancini & Associates of Manahawkin to handle the appraisals, said Shives. If a property owner does not sign an easement, Mancini will be responsible for calculating a value, which the township would then submit to the court. After the money is submitted, the township would legally own the property, which would instantly allow the replenishment project to take place.

Property owners could accept the value or challenge it, but even in the event of a challenge the township would still be recognized as the legal land owner as haggling over the value continues.

"Hopefully, this will be resolved so we can move forward," said Councilman Maurice "Mo" Hill. "I think this is the single biggest thing after the storm that we realized. If those beaches had been almost a football field wide with dunes, the damage would have been much less."

If the project – which federal officials said could get underway by next spring if the easement situation is taken care of – goes through, maintenance would continue on the dunes for 50 years, with renourishments every seven years or as needed after storms.

The project is primarily funded through the federal government.


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