Beach Easement Countdown

What does it really mean to sign your easement? What is going to happen once you do? Don’t fear, your Government has listened and is addressing your concerns. You are not signing your rights away, you are enabling your community to help you in the future. Below are facts, no opinions, just the cut and dry of what is going on.

May 1st is the final day for easement holders to sign in order for LBI to not be skipped over by the Army Corps of Engineers for replenishment. ***This day has now passed, those towns previously replenished (HC, BB, SC) will get worked on first, then other areas.***

LBT– 55 left! (NB 12) (LL 29) (South 14) (As of 5/29)

Ship Bottom– 10 left! (As of 5/29)

Beach Haven & Holgate– 0 left! ***Rumor is, replenishment to begin in November***

Army Corps to Begin Restoring Beaches in Surf City, Harvey Cedars and Brant Beach Later This Month

Long Beach Township Mayor Joseph Mancini does not expect the project will be overly intrusive to beachgoers. “In the job specs, the Army Corps says they will only close a couple blocks of beach at a time” during the project. “And if need be, Long Beach Township will provide a bus between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.” for any individuals who desire transport to a different section of beach. Rochette confirmed that the contractor will likely close just two- to three-block sections of beach as work progresses. Read more here.

Replenishment Schedule- via ACOE

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District and its contractor will begin restoring the previously constructed Coastal Storm Damage Reduction project on Long Beach Island in May of 2013. The Army Corps’ Philadelphia District awarded a $30.6 million contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company on April 24th to restore the previously constructed segments of the project along Long Beach Island. Work involves placing approximately 3 million cubic yards of sand to rebuild beaches within the Boroughs of Harvey Cedars, Surf City and Brant Beach in Long Beach Township. In addition to beachfill, work includes the replacement of dune crossovers, sand fencing, and the replanting of dune grasses.  The project is currently scheduled to begin prior to the end of May, with construction beginning in Harvey Cedars and Brant Beach, and then moving on to Surf City. Construction is expected to last approximately 120 days once begun in Harvey Cedars, 100 days in Brant Beach and then 60 days in Surf City after the completion of work in Harvey Cedars. For updated schedule check back here weekly.

Christie Calls “BS” on Sand Dune Criticisms- April 30

At a town hall meeting on Long Beach Island, the governor said their true objection is losing their oceanfront views.  “I have no interest in taking your property,” Christie said. “I have no interest in building anything other than a dune. I don’t want to build a road, I don’t want to build a shower, I don’t want to build a hut. Any knucklehead neighbor of yours that says: `Oh, Christie comes in, there’s going to be showers, a bathroom, a hot dog stand.'” For more read here.

NJ DEP Engineering and Construction Page Devoted to LBI Project

Letter to Mancini about Replenishment March 12th link

“…eliminate fears from property owners that dunes would be allowed to grow to heights above the design standard…Shore protection funding is no longer linked to public access requirements in the regulations. We no longer require bathrooms and parking every few blocks or access points every 1/4 mile. Our new regulations will allow each municipality to develop it’s own plan, consistent with our policy goals and unique to its character…”

Long Beach Twp Mayor Blames Misinformation For Blocking Dunes

Bill limits payouts to N.J. oceanfront homeowners who refused beach replenishment easements, report says

New Jersey legislators have introduced a bill to stop big payouts to oceanfront property owners who refused to grant easements for beach replenishment, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press.

If approved, the bill would limit condemnation payments for easements needed for future beach replenishment projects. The bill, introduced Monday, comes in the wake of a Harvey Cedars couple receiving a $375,000 award in a state court after they claimed their view was impacted by an engineered dune. More click here.

Long Beach Township to Enforce Ordinance Making Easement Holdouts Responsible for Dune Maintenance

Long Beach Township plans to enforce an ordinance making oceanfront homeowners responsible for maintaining the dunes in front of their residences if they have not signed their easements to allow beach replenishment.

The ordinance, which township Mayor Joseph Mancini said is a couple of decades old, was revised in 2010.

“We’ve been fixing the dunes in front of people’s homes that have signed,” said Mancini. “If people haven’t signed, that indicates they don’t want us on their property.” Click here for article.

Letter to Mancini From Christie- Image here

March 12, 2013

Joseph Mancini, Mayor

Long Beach Township

6805 Long Beach Boulevard

Branch Beach, NJ 08008

Dear Mayor Mancini:

Thank you for your continued efforts to work toward the protection of our coastal communities by participating in the State’s beach and dune replenishment program. A critical aspect of this program is obtaining necessary easements so that these projects can proceed. I am writing this letter to address certain issues you have raised that are concerns to some of your constituents regarding the issue of easements.  In essence, some of your constituents have fears, based on past practices of the Department, that views will be blocked by growing dunes and that other activities will be allowed that may not be compatible with the nature of your community. Let me address each issue.

When beaches and dunes are constructed pursuant to the Army Corps of Engineers design, they afford a certain, defined degree of protection.  It is the Department’s policy that the size of both the beach and dune can and should be maintained at those levels.  Toward this end the Department is developing regulations to allow municipalities to add or possibly remove sand from dunes consistent with the engineered design.  To the extent that this policy would maintain views from properties, this policy should eliminate fears from property owners that dunes would be allowed to grow to heights above the design standard.

The other concerns you expressed stem from the Department’s now repealed public access rules. Under the repealed rules a condition of receiving shore protection funding was the provision of bathrooms, parking, and access points at specific distances up and down the coast without regard to municipal character., As you know, the Department has since replaced these regulations with a more common sense approach, where we recognize the individual character of each community and the needs of the public from a regional perspective.  Shore protection funding is no longer linked to public access requirements in the regulations.  We no longer require bathrooms and parking every few blocks or access points every ¼ mile.    Our new regulations will allow each municipality to develop its own plan, consistent with our policy goals and unique to its character.  I know our staff has been working with you on developing a public access plan for your community.  I look forward to completing this process.

I hope I have answered your questions and concerns and look forward to moving forward to ensuring the protection of our shore and its enjoyment by our residents.  Please contact me with any questions.

Sincerely,

Ray Cantor,

Chief Advisor

C:  Cindy Randazzo, Director, Local & Government Assistance