State Files Eminent Domain Claims Against 7 Beachfront Owners

It’s news that’s sure to be music to the ears of Ortley Beach property owners: The State of New Jersey has begun eminent domain proceedings on the northern Ocean County barrier peninsula.

Eminent domain complaints were filed Friday in Superior Court in Ocean County against seven property owners in Brick Township to obtain access for a long-awaited Army Corps of Engineers dune project, according to a news release from state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin and Acting Attorney General John. J. Hoffman.

The Army Corps beach replenishment and dune project, which has been in the works for years but has taken on added urgency for many homeowners and government officials in Ocean County in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, has been held up by the refusals of property owners to sign easements granting access.

There are currently 283 easements still outstanding on the northern Ocean County peninsula, held by 176 property owners, according to the news release. Of those, 124 easements, held by 71 property owners, are still needed in Bay Head, the release said. Another 68 easements from 50 property owners are required in Point Pleasant Beach, where Jenkinson’s Amusements also has a pending lawsuit that seeks to block dune project.

In Toms River, just a handful of easements are still needed, not including those for beach associations, which had to sign new agreements after the Army Corps rejected a document that Toms River officials had gotten beach associations to sign.

“It is disappointing that we need to go through such considerable legal efforts to obtain easements from holdouts who continue to delay our efforts to safeguard our coast, particularly in northern Ocean County, where Superstorm Sandy did the most damage,” Martin said. “We will continue to be aggressive in seeking condemnation of portions of remaining properties in northern Ocean County and elsewhere along the coast to avoid any further delays for these critical Army Corps beach projects that will protect lives and property.”

The dune construction and beach engineering project is designed to run from Manasquan Inlet south to the northern edge of Island Beach State Park. As the fight for easements has dragged on, officials in Brick and Toms River have begged the Army Corps and the DEP to move faster, and to consider doing the project in phases -- a move the DEP said it is trying to accomplish.

These are not the first eminent domain filings by the state. Eminent domain complaints have been filed in Atlantic County as well, against private property owners in Margate and Longport, where an Absecon Island beach and dune project has been delayed. Another 17 complaints have been filed against property owners on Long Beach Island, needed for the completion of an ongoing $128 million beach and dune construction project, according to the release.

But it was northern Ocean County, which took the brunt of Sandy’s blow, where the easement battle has been the loudest and most drawn-out.

“We continue to appreciate the majority of beachfront property owners who have unselfishly volunteered their easements in service of the greater good – namely coastal protection efforts that benefit all New Jersey residents,” Hoffman said. “As we were reminded by Superstorm Sandy, coastline protection efforts are vital to safeguarding our communities against certain natural disasters. For that reason, we remain committed to acquiring all of the needed easements as expeditiously as possible.”

(The effects of a nor‘easter combined with waves generated by Hurricane Joaquin in early October eroded much of the dune put in place in Ortley Beach. Photo courtesy of Toms River Township)