City ends wait, adopts historical ordinance

City ends wait, adopts historical ordinance
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
Members of Long Branch's preservation community didn't have much time to celebrate the adoption of a historical preservation ordinance last week before attending a presentation on a museum looking for a home in the city.

The City Council, with three members present, finally adopted a historical preservation ordinance that establishes a Historic Preservation Advisory Commission on May 26.

Councilmen Brian Unger and David Brown, as well as Councilwoman Mary Jane Celli, acting as council president, voted to pass the ordinance. Council President Michael DeStefano and Councilman Anthony Giordano were absent from the meeting.

Unger has been pushing for approval of the ordinance since August 2007 and said, "I have been thrilled to be a part of this process."

"Council worked hard on this," Brown said. "There were some problems that we ironed out."

"I have been thrilled to be a part of this process," Unger said, adding that he wasn't always confident that the ordinance would ever get to this point.

"There were times when we thought it wouldn't ever move forward," Unger said.

"I was the fly in the ointment," Celli said. "I was the holdup. I'm not going to say it's perfect, but bottom line, it did get passed; it took over a year."

Beth Woolley, trustee for the Long Branch Historical Society and a supporter of the ordinance, said, "It's not a perfect ordinance, and I'm sure as time goes on it will be revised, but it's a wonderful start.

"Long Branch still has so many beautiful historic structures with a wealth of history behind them. Hopefully, this ordinance will highlight them so that they can be appreciated and protected."

The following evening, the Long Branch Historical Association (LBHA) held its monthly meeting, where discussion on the ordinance continued.

The historical association meeting featured a presentation by Unger and Mark Richardson, chairman of the Atlantic Surfing Museum, currently located in New Hampshire.

The presentation dealt with the possibility of relocating the museum to Long Branch and turning one of the three buildings on the site of the former United States Life Saving Station No. 5, which became the Takanassee Beach Club, into a museum.

"The idea we have is a surfing/maritime/ lifesaving museum," Richardson said, adding that the museum might include lifesaving crafts, oars, vintage photos and memorabilia from the surfing community.

"We are incorporated, and we are looking for a location," Richardson said. "Quite frankly, we think it could be a good match."

Unger said the idea is a fitting one for the historical site, which has been purchased by a developer and is scheduled to be developed. Tentative plans call for relocating two of the three buildings on the site."

Takanassee has a great history. We should definitely commemorate it in some way," Unger said.

According to Unger, nothing is official, but the Port Huron building is the building being talked about as a potential site for a museum. He explained that there are three possible locations for the building: Hooey Park, the Jackson Woods site in North Long Branch, and the lot adjacent to the Church of the Seven Presidents, which was suggested by a resident.

"I think the second best thing is that if it can't be on the ocean, it should be on Ocean Avenue," Unger said. "And since we have to place one of the structures, we thought why not try to keep it in Long Branch."

Richardson said he believes that building a surfing museum would be a good way to preserve the historic nature of the building.

"I certainly believe in preservation. I certainly believe in finding alternative uses once they can no longer be used in their primary functions," he said.

One of the draws to Long Branch, Richardson said, is that the museum will

be a year-round attraction.

"You are looking for it to be a yearround draw," Richardson said. "Here you're trying to revitalize your waterfront area and make it an attraction for yearround, and we're hoping to be a part of that to bring year-round dollars into your community."

Locating the museum in Long Branch would be an attraction for both residents and vacationers, he said.

"There are a lot of people who are drawn to the ocean or drawn to the area, so you're looking for the vacationer, you're looking for somebody who comes here on a regular basis."

During the LBHA meeting, there was some further discussion on the approval of the historical preservation ordinance that took place the previous evening. Unger gave a summary of what the ordinance actually does.

"The first thing it does is create a commission of seven members appointed by the City Council, with two alternates appointed by the mayor, who are authorized to create a list of historic properties. And then if the property owner wants to register his or her property, they are permitted to do so. It's voluntary at this point by the property owner," he explained.

Celli said that anyone interested in joining the historical commission can apply through the Long Branch website.

"I'm making the pitch now to anyone interested in being on the historical board: you submit a résumé to the city clerk," she said. "If you're interested, go to our website. It's under boards and committees."

She also said that the ordinance does not become law until 20 days after its adoption.

Unger explained that once an owner volunteers a property to be on the list, it is subject to certain regulations.

"It is subject to rules in terms of changing the façade, bulldozing it, and certain rules and regulations that are appropriate to a truly historic structure."

The ordinance defines the goals of the advisory commission and lists specific goals, which include encouraging the continued use of historical landmarks and discouraging demolition of the city's historical and architecturally significant buildings.

The responsibilities of the commission include preparing and maintaining preservation guidelines, reviewing applications that affect the historical properties, and preparing an inventory of historical sites and landmarks.

Celli explained some of her concerns with the ordinance.

"My reservation about it is that there is no money in the budget for a commission," she said, adding that funding might come in the future.

"Now, that doesn't mean we can't transfer funds, but we can't do that until November, so already there is a $5,500 bill against a commission that is not even incorporated yet."

Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider said at the City Council meeting that the next step is to appoint the commission, before worrying about funding.

"Let's get the commission appointed and go from there," Schneider said.

Celli also rattled off a few other issues she had with the ordinance.

"The ordinance, the way I look at it, is much too long," she said. "I think it could have been cut down; it wasn't.

"I had a problem with the historic districts. When you say 'district,' to me it means cluster of things, and I didn't care for that," she added.

But Unger explained that there are no immediate plans to create historic districts in Long Branch.

"There are no historic districts," he said at the LBHA meeting. "The attorney said, 'Leave the language; even though you're not going to designate any historic districts, you might want to do so in the future.' "

Contact Kenny Walter at

kwalter@gmnews.com.


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