Toms River Prepares To Add 'Cease And Desist' To Peddling Ordinance

The Toms River Township Council has introduced an ordinance that would bar real estate brokers from repeatedly canvassing an area for home sales listings.

The ordinance, which will have a second reading and public hearing on Nov. 10, gives the township the ability to prohibit real estate soliciting in certain areas, for a period of up to five years.

It was developed in response to repeated complaints from residents in the North Dover section of the town of real estate salespeople knocking on their doors asking if they would consider selling their homes.

It also expands an ordinance passed earlier this year that put restrictions in place on real estate soliciting, requiring solicitors to register before canvassing in any neighborhood.

The complaints center around real estate agents from Lakewood who are seeking properties for sale; residents have complained about feeling harassed or even intimidated by agents pressing them to sell their homes.

The Asbury Park Press reported that the plan for the newest ordinance was announced Monday night at a meeting at Toms River High School North that had nearly 1,000 people in attendance, all there to discuss the issue of the canvassing and also to create a neighborhood watch program in the North Dover area, where there have been seven permits issued so far for real estate canvassing.

“I saw what was going on in my local neighborhood...and I just didn’t think it was right,” Jim Tobia, a North Dover resident, told the Asbury Park Press. ”This can help us solve problems that we see happening in our community.”

The issue highlights rising tensions between the Orthodox Jewish community in Lakewood and surrounding towns, which have adopted ordinances regulating the real estate canvassing in particular. Significant growth of the Orthodox population in Lakewood has led to a search for homes in nearby areas.

But that also has led to conflicts and anger over what some view as an attempt by some members of the Orthdox community to impose their beliefs and culture on others.

In Manchester, a resident complained to the Township Council about an incident at Pine Lake Park where her pre-pubescent 12-year-old daughter was approached by an adult Orthodox male and told to put her clothing back on over her one-piece bathing suit while the girl was playing on the splash pad. In Howell last spring, residents complained about several stores covering the fronts of various magazines, including titles like Cosmopolitan, People and more, after in response to requests from members of the Orthodox community. In Jackson Township, the zoning board rejected a variance request for an all-girls Jewish high school -- a rejection that has been upheld by state Superior Court Judge Marlene Lynch Ford in Toms River, according to the Tri-Town News -- amid intense debate in the community.

The revision to the ordinance regulating real estate canvassing allows the township to take reports from residents about canvassing, hold a public hearing and set up a “cease and desist zone,” where all real estate canvassing will be prohibited for up to five years, according to the ordinance. It allows residents who want to be approached by real estate agents to file a letter with the town saying they would welcome the canvassing.

The revision also limits canvassing to Mondays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and bans it on New Year’s, Memorial Day, Independence Day (Fourth of July), Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

But Tuesday night, Councilman Maurice “Mo” Hill reminded residents that the effectiveness of such an ordinance depends on the residents notifying officials if there is a violation.

“We can’t we enforce ordinances if no one says anything,” Hill said.