Changes Coming For Toms River Certificate Of Occupancy

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Township Council's Land Use committee will be discussing changes to the township's controversial certificate of occupancy ordinance at a meeting Oct. 18, officials said Wednesday night.

The announcement of the committee meeting came as the council listened to residents' concerns and complaints about issues they have faced trying to deal with the new certificate of occupancy ordinance.

The ordinance, which was adopted in December 2021 and took effect in July, has been blasted by realtors over its $300 application fee and its requirements, which realtors say repeats the work that a good home inspection will cover.

Toms River Township Engineer Robert Chankalian gave a presentation on what led to the town adopting the certificate of occupancy requirements, including photos of dangerous electrical issues and other problems that had been uncovered during inspections in the last two weeks.

His presentation — and the meeting itself — was repeatedly interrupted by yelling from the audience, including people calling Chankalian a liar when he said the process, when there have been no issues with a home, has been taking six days to complete.

Councilman Justin Lamb, who has vocally opposed the ordinance, calling it a money grab, continued his demands that the council repeal it. On Wednesday he tried to introduce an ordinance to repeal the measure completely, but his motion did not receive a second. He then tried to introduce one to repeal the fees and violations defined in the ordinance. That motion failed too, further stirring the anger of the audience.

Chankalian said there have been 516 applications for the certificate of occupancy since the ordinance took effect in July, and 85 percent have been approved. As the building department has begun to adjust, the number of homes that have been flagged for issues has dwindled and the code enforcement staff is trying to focus on safety issues, many of which arise because of illegal construction.

One home he displayed photos of had been raised following Superstorm Sandy, a requirement for many homes that were substantially damaged during the hurricane 10 years ago. Chankalian said that the home had received approvals for work that was done to elevate the house, but once inspectors had signed off on that work, the homeowner then illegally turned the lower level into living space. The work blocked flood gables — required as a way to reduce or prevent damage from a storm surge — and used materials that were specifically forbidden for work below base flood elevation.

The work makes a flood insurance policy invalid, Chankalian said, and because it was done after the elevation was approved, a home inspector might not realize it was illegal.

The issues with homes that were flooded during Sandy have been a particular problem, he said, because there have been instances where sellers did not disclose that a home had a substantial damage determination, meaning buyers found out after the fact that they had purchased a home that has to be elevated. Chankalian said in some instances, sellers altered letters from the town on the issue.

"This program identified that so the buyer knows," he said.

Chankalian said the certificate of occupancy is good for six months, so someone planning to sell their home should apply for it early, to give themselves time to address issues.

David Corrigan of Branch Brook Court said the process has been a nightmare for him and his wife as they try to sell their home and downsize after more than 35 years.

Corrigan said their home has been well maintained and they have done no work to it. There had been some alterations to the basement before they bought the home in the late 1980s, so their realtor told them to get those "legitimized," he said.

That set off a series of nightmarish arguments with the building department, Corrigan said, including demands that the couple remove fences that were not their fences. One fence, across the rear of their property, actually belongs to Toms River and is part of Riverwood Park, he said.

Fences along either side of the property belonged to his neighbors, Corrigan said, but building department officials demanded they be removed anyway.

"Now our neighbors don't like us so much," he said.

Corrigan, who spoke during a gathering led by Lamb before the council meeting, said one of his complaints was that as he addressed one issue, a new one arose, instead of all of the problems being identified up front.

Once the Corrigans removed the fences along the sides of their property, they were told they had to replace the fence around their swimming pool — and then were failed again because they did not get a permit to build a fence.

"We put in a new fence because you told us we had to," he said.

Chankalian said he would meet with the Corrigans separately to address the matter so they can close on the sale; their closing is set for Friday, Corrigan said.

Chankalian said the building department has been trying to streamline some of the process by allowing home sellers to submit receipts or photos showing minor issues that have been flagged have been addressed, such as installing ground-fault circuit interrupter outlets or latches on pool gates.

"We don't have to send someone out to reinspect those. All we need to see is that the work was done," he said

Councilman Josh Kopp, who chairs the council's Land Use committee, said the time involved in the process and the fees are the two top issues they have heard and they are looking at ways to address those.

But he defended the majority of the certificate of occupancy requirements because they aim to address issues with illegal construction, not only in Sandy-damaged homes but also in cases where bedrooms have been added in basements with no possible exit available in an emergency.

"Toms River is at an all-time high with illegal construction," Kopp said. He said the issues that have arisen since the process started in July can and will be addressed, but "we have to work together and work through this."

Joan Strathern, a member of the board of the Ortley Beach Voters and Taxpayers Association, thanked the council for the ordinance, saying the organization had been pushing for the town to address illegal construction that has happened on the barrier island as residents rebuilt.

"This is an important ordinance," she said. "We've seen the consequences" of work that isn't properly done.

Another resident said the ordinance is simply a redundancy that isn't needed, and that it isn't the town's responsibility to protect buyers.

"They have a home inspector, a realtor and a lawyer there to protect the buyer," the man said. "I've never seen the government get it right. Let the open market handle it."