L.B. to ban eminent domain in Beachfront South

L.B. to ban eminent domain in Beachfront South
Economy, court battles temper city's approach to redevelopment
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer

Long Branch officials told residents of the Beachfront South redevelopment zone last week that the city would not use its power of eminent domain in the zone.

The city met with residents of the Beachfront South zone on Nov. 5 to discuss zoning issues relating to the redevelopment and provided a timetable that could see an ordinance eliminating use of the city's eminent domain power within the zone by Jan. 12.

Feeling the effects of the economic downturn, including a developer that opted out of the redevelopment, and a decade-long conflict with property owners in the Beachfront North redevelopment zone, the city is choosing a different path, Mayor Adam Schneider told those attending the meeting.

"What became clear from my perspective is that if I want to use eminent domain, I'm looking at a three- to four-year fight legally," he said. "I don't want that anymore.

"The property owners don't want that anymore," he added. "Times have changed. The economy has also changed."

City officials are trying to clarify what the rules for the zone are, he added.

"We are not changing anything in the plan," Schneider said. "Certain assumptions are changed.

"The assumption was that there would be a designated developer, there would be an assemblage of property and there would be multiple buildings built," he added. "That is no longer the case. We are specifying a couple of things."

"What we want to do is clarify that existing use, in the existing footprint, is permitted and can carry on as long as the structure is still standing in good, sound shape," Business Administrator Howard Woolley Jr. said. "We want to amend the ordinance to add that."

Assistant Planning Director Carl Turner said at the meeting that two ordinances will be drafted in the coming weeks that will clarify the zoning regulations in Beachfront South and make official the city's intent not to use eminent domain.

The ordinances will be presented to the Planning Board on Dec. 15, he said. They would then be on the City Council's agenda for introduction at the Dec. 22 meeting. If introduced, the council would be able to adopt the ordinances on Jan. 12.

"There are two separate processes," Robert Beckelman, the attorney who will draw up the ordinances, said. "There is the zoning clarification and the other element is to not use eminent domain."

While Turner said he wouldn't speak for the Planning Board, he said he is confident the board will approve the ordinances.

"Even though I don't know how the Planning Board is going to vote on this, the Planning Board has been kept abreast of what is going on and they are unanimously in favor of this," he said.

Under the amended zoning ordinance, Beachfront South would remain a redevelopment zone, which means that property owners would be restricted from seeking use variances for any improvements.

"The status would remain the same; it would be a redevelopment zone," Woolley said.

Beachfront South resident Harold Bobrow summarized the implications of these actions for the property owners.

"The redevelopment zone would be kept in Beachfront South, but we would take away the tool of the city of using eminent domain in that designated area," he said. "What you're saying is that if anybody wanted to do any redeveloping in that zone, as long as they went along with the ordinances that are in the redevelopment zone, they can do what they want."

Woolley said that leaving the zone a redevelopment zone protects the property owners from obtrusive construction.

"If it wasn't a redevelopment zone, then the property owner next to you could say, 'I think a tire shop could go great here,' and he can go in before the Board of Adjustments and make an application for a tire shop," he said.

City Planner Pratap Talwar said that variances could be problematic for property owners.

"The problem with variances is that nobody has certainty of what is going to actually happen," he said. "Existing property owners don't have the certainty and future developers don't have the certainty."

Talwar said all nonconforming uses in the zone are grandfathered in.

He said the city's goal is to come up with a set of rules that will best serve the entire zone and not individual properties.

"The reason for going through this painstaking process is to make sure that we don't just rubber-stamp one view without understanding where this entire sector is going in the future," he said. "What we are trying to do is end up with rules that are even-handed and applicable to all lots — where the standards are explicit enough so that they are respectful and clear.

"There are rules possible that are respectful to people who want to stay there, as well as those who wish to maximize the value of their properties through redevelopment."

Beckelman said the ordinance would clarify zoning for the zone.

"We are not changing it, but so you can see in clear language, this is what can be done in the zone, moving forward with existing uses," Beckelman, of Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith and Davis, said.

Schneider said property owners seem to be in agreement with the rules that are in place.

"There seems to be a consensus that they are a pretty good set of rules," he said.

Schneider went on to say that the city would have a role in redevelopment; he just isn't sure what that role will be.

"That doesn't mean the city won't play a role, but it won't play the same role it did 13 years ago," he said. "I think the role for the city to play will be flushed out as time goes on."

At least one resident of the Beachfront South zone spoke out against moving forward in the redevelopment zone and argued that he should be able to apply for a variance.

"You are restricting me more," Robert Krebbs. "You are restricting everybody's property value.

"The way it's set up, if you want to keep it the way it is, keep it the way it is," he added. "The people [who] want to build something, let them build it."

Another resident seemed to approve of the zoning restrictions.

"I am delighted that the state has regulations about height and how close houses can be apart," Diana Multare said.

At the city's previous meeting with Beachfront South property owners in August, Woolley explained the purpose of the meetings.

"We intentionally wanted to deal with development possibilities and scenarios before we got into that," Woolley said.

He also explained that while the city does not have any intention of using eminent domain, a ban has not been set into law as yet.

"We are trying to close one door at a time," he said. "I think we made substantial headway on development."

Some residents at the meeting brought up litigation currently in the courts that challenges the legality of all the city's redevelopment zones. Beckelman said he was unsure how the outcome of the court case would affect this particular zone.

"If there was a decision that affects BFS, then we are going to have to deal with that if it happens," he said.

In September, after a protracted legal battle, the city reached an agreement with a group of property owners in the Beachfront North redevelopment zone.

All but six property owners in the MTOTSA Alliance (Marine and Ocean terraces and Seaview Avenue) reached a settlement in their longstanding battle over the city's condemnation of their homes to clear the way for redevelopment of the beachfront neighborhood.

The settlement allowed property owners the right to develop their land and came up with an agreement that the city would not use eminent domain in that zone. In return, the property owners forfeited their right to sue the city for compensatory damages.

Schneider explained the difference between the two zones.

"The difference was there was litigation there," he said. "Here we haven't gotten that far," said Schneider, who has complained that he was vilified for the city's use of eminent domain in MTOTSA.

"The city said we are not going to pursue this from a taking point of view, let's clarify the plan," he added. "The city is getting a coherent development plan that fits the needs of the property owners."

The Beachfront South zone extends from Bath to Morris avenues, between Ocean Boulevard and Ocean Avenue and is one of the city's six redevelopment zones. Other zones include MTOTSA, Pier Village, Hotel Campus, Broadway-Gateway and Broadway-Corridor.

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