Keep Homes Off 31.8-Acre Breton Woods Site, Brick Petition Urges

BRICK, NJ — A group of Brick Township residents has started a petition urging local and state officials to protect a wooded piece of property from being turned into a housing development.

The property is a 31.8-acre lot on Laurel Avenue between Mantoloking and Drum Point roads that is owned by Church of the Visitation Roman Catholic Church, according to land records published by the Ocean County Clerk's Office.

It also is the largest remaining wooded parcel in the Breton Woods neighborhood, according to residents who created the petition on Change.org.

"Those who live around the forest know it to be a unique oasis of wildlife and native Pine Barrens forest, all too rare in a town that has already lost much of its original forests and wetlands to development," the petition reads.

"It is also a historic space enjoyed since the area was named Breton Woods in 1934," the petition says. "If it is lost, the 'woods' in Breton Woods will be in name only."

Church of the Visitation purchased the property from Brick Township in 1983 for $10,500, according to the deed.

The petition says a developer named D.R. Horton, and one of its officers, Robert C. Fesco, have submitted plans to the state for a development with more than 60 houses. D.R. Horton has housing developments all over the country.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has indeed received applications from D.R. Horton seeking the state's interpretation of zoning rules for the property, said Caryn Shinske, an NJDEP spokeswoman.

"The DEP received applications on June 7 for a Freshwater Wetlands Letter of Interpretation, a Coastal Jurisdictional Determination and a Flood Hazard Applicability Determination for a residential development project proposing 62 single-family homes at 443 Laurel Ave. in Brick," she said.

"These applications neither permit nor authorize any work at the property," she said. "They identify which DEP program has jurisdiction and whether any permits would be required based on the proposed project plan."

The applications are under review and there is no timetable for when the review will be completed, she said.

Residents sharing the petition on social media hope officials at some level — whether it's the church, the township or the state — will prevent the land from becoming developed.

The building proposal "ignores the essential role this forest plays as a natural buffer to mitigate flooding and pollution," the petition says. "Given that this area flooded during Hurricane Sandy, and that the nearby Metedeconk River and Barnegat Bay are ecologically stressed due to over-development, the NJDEP, Brick Township Zoning Board, Church of the Visitation (who owns the property), and other actors must stop the destruction of this land."

There were more than 1,000 signatures on the petition Monday evening.

Click here to get Patch email notifications, or download our app to have breaking news alerts sent right to your phone. Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com Follow Brick Patch on Facebook.