Brick Council Approves Camp Osborn Zoning Overlay

BRICK, NJ — It's been 5-1/2 years since Nick Honachefsky left his home in the Camp Osborn section of Brick Township as Superstorm Sandy roared in. And for the first time since the day after Sandy hit — and he learned that everything he had except the clothes on his back and what he'd put in his Jeep was gone — there is hope that he'll finally get to go home.

On Tuesday night, the Brick Township Council unanimously approved an ordinance to create a zoning overlay for the area on the barrier island known as Camp Osborn. The cluster of beach bungalows, many of which had stood for decades before Sandy hit on Oct. 29, 2012, was obliterated during the storm, by natural gas-fueled fires that started as the waves roared ashore, knocking down homes and upending lives.

Most of the families that have ties to Camp Osborn have used the bungalows as summer homes, but for some, like Honchefsky, it has been his year-round permanent address.

"Tonight could be Step One to finally getting back," he said, telling again his odyssey of living in motels, on the couches of friends and family and even sleeping in his Jeep at the Manasquan Inlet.

Dan Redmond, one of the board members of Osborn-Sea Bay Association, which represents the main portion of the site that once held 78 homes, spoke of his family's history in the community, where his great-grandparents first bought a bungalow decades earlier, and where multiple generations of his family have spent their summers.

"My family's story is not unique," Redmond said. "By approving this ordinance, you're allowing us to rebuild that family legacy."

The overlay zone will allow the Osborn-Sea Bay Association to move ahead with plans that will allow the residents to rebuild individual homes on their lots, which have been nothing but patches of weeds and sand for the last five years. The homes will be 10 feet apart, a proximity that raised concerns from residents of the Ocean Club condominium complex, on the site of the former Thunderbird hotel.

"Is this wise?" asked Robert Fortunato, one of the board members of the Ocean Club, referring to the distance between the homes. "We all want to see Camp Osborn get rebuilt, but isn't this running a risk if there's another fire?"

Brick Township Mayor John Ducey said the zoning overlay had input from the township's fire safety official, who said 10 feet between the homes would be acceptable. The initial plans had them closer, Ducey said, but the fire inspector said 10 feet would be acceptable.

Fortunato also expressed concerns about the height, which is set at 38 feet. "That's three stories. Why do they have to be three stories?"

The height issue was not addressed but properties in flood zones have been required to be lifted as part of flood mitigation measures that have allowed the township to be certified for a rating that gives homeowners lower flood insurance premiums.

The standard zoning on the barrier island is R7.5, a residential zone that provides for lots of 75 by 100 feet. In 1990, the township approved an ordinance defining a conditional use for the entire area, called a beach cottage community, "for structural alteration or rebuilding of these residential buildings only."

But when Sandy destroyed the homes, the conditional use — created to allow Camp Osborn residents to make repairs without having to seek a variance every time they did work on their homes — no longer applied. It led to a red-tape nightmare.

As Councilwoman Marianna Pontoriero cast her vote cheers erupted in the room, drowning out the vote of Council President Heather de Jong as the Camp Osborn residents celebrated.

"This should have been done a long time ago," Councilman Jim Fozman said at the end of the meeting.

"The Camp Osborn coommunity is a microcosm of what Brick is," Council Vice President Lisa Crate said. "That sense of community is beautiful. I hope the building isn't going to take as long as getting to this point did."

Read more: 730 Days Later, It's Still Day Zero For Camp Osborn Man Left Homeless By Sandy

WATCH: Three Years After Sandy, Going Home Remains Elusive

Photos: June Squillaro, a year-round resident of Camp Osborn, addresses the Brick Township Council Tuesday night, with a shirt that expresses her goal and determination. Councilwoman Andrea Zapcic listens as Nick Honachefsky recounts his post-Sandy life. Honachefsky poses in front of his empty lot in October 2014. Photos by Karen Wall, Patch staff