LONG BRANCH — The City Council adopted an ordinance splitting a right of way among three properties in the MTOTSA neighborhood.
As part of an agreement between the MTOTSAAlliance and the city, three beachfront properties will receive a share of the vacated, city-owned right of way.
The council voted 5-0 to adopt the ordinance, which will increase the size of the three properties in the Beachfront North Phase II redevelopment zone.
Dave Fisher, vice president of Matzel & Mumford, a K. Hovnanian division that owns one of the properties that will receive land, explained the history of the right of way.
“The right of way in question is one that existed for quite some time to provide access to what was probably at one time a landlocked parcel that didn’t have access to a public street,” Fisher said. “There is no need for the right of way at this juncture because all the properties have access to public streets.
“One of our lots gets part of the right of way and the other two properties are MTOTSA residents involved in the settlement,” he added.
Fisher also cleared up confusion about the developer’s plan for the neighborhood.
“We are only building residential housing,” he said. “Our plans depict single-family homes with the exception of one three-unit town home building on Ocean Boulevard.
“The homes to be constructed are all single family, detached residential homes,” he added. “There will be no commercial development on Seaview.”
Fisher spoke after Long Branch attorney John Tatulli appeared on behalf of a commercial property owner, voicing concern that the ordinance is unclear on the description of the land.
“I went by the site today and there wasn’t really a clear description of the site,” he said.
Tatulli was also concerned whether commercial properties would be allowed elsewhere in the Beachfront North Phase II zone. Long Branch Business Administrator Howard Woolley Jr. addressed his concerns.
“It calls for the developer to build conforming, for the most part, single-family properties,” he said. “It is just a residential section; there are only two areas in the zone that allow commercial development.”
Another resident questioned whether the right of way had clear title or had been appraised.
“My understanding is that the city has clear title,” said attorney Barry Capp, who was filling in for City Attorney James Aaron. “I’m not aware of an appraisal being done.”
The ordinance is in keeping with the city’s settlement with property owners in the Marine Terrace, Ocean Terrace and Seaview Avenue neighborhood reached after years of contention and legal action.
The settlement between the city and the MTOTSA Alliance was formalized in court Sept. 15. Signed by all but six property owners in MTOTSA, the agreement required the property owners to waive their right to sue the city for compensatory damages. In return, the city agreed not to use its power of eminent domain to take properties in MTOTSA, the three-street neighborhood that gained national attention when residents fought off the city’s attempt to condemn their homes
As part of the 14-point settlement with the MTOTSA property owners, the city also agreed to pay $435,000 in legal fees the alliance accrued and to have the developer demolish several vacant, boarded-up houses in the neighborhood. In addition, the city agreed to pave the roads and fix lighting conditions in the area within two years, and the property owners are eligible for five-year tax abatements if they improve their properties.
Contact Kenny Walter at
kwalter@gmnews.com.