The buyouts of homes in Woodbridge’s storm-battered floodplain area are one step closer to reality.
The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has completed appraisals and is beginning to make offers on 89 Sandy-damaged homes in the township through the agency’s Blue Acres program, according to officials.
“They’ve indicated to us that they’d like to close, and that they’re satisfied with the appraisals,” said Bob Considine, a DEP spokesman.
Through the buyout program, homes are purchased at their prestorm market values. The goal is to move people out of areas in which their homes have been damaged by storms and flooding.
The area where buyouts are being offered in the township is in the lower part of Woodbridge Proper, mostly on Watson, Crampton, Bamford, Pearl and Vesper avenues, which are near the Woodbridge River floodplain, according to township spokesman John Hagerty.
“These are consistent with the Blue Acres program goal — targeting homes that are clustered in a floodplain … to remove these properties from harm’s way in the case of future storm events,” he said. Township officials, he said, have offered to help residents throughout the process, including free bulk pickups of damaged materials.
“We’ll continue to do everything we can for these people,” Mayor John McCormac said.
Although McCormac had heard from a couple of the residents who received appraisals, he said it was too early to gauge the overall sentiment about the estimates.
“We’re trying to find out how many came in, how many [offers] have been accepted and how many are going to appeal,” he said.
Homeowners who wish to appeal their appraisal from the DEP are able to obtain their own number from an independent appraiser to submit to the state, and from there, the two parties work together to come to an agreement.
“I’m confident that they’re getting the best possible offer that would be on the table,” Hagerty said. Residents taking advantage of the buyout program will not have to pay a real estate transfer tax or pay a commission to a realtor in the buying process.
If residents accept the offers and complete the closing process with the state, the homes will be razed and the acquired properties will be permanently maintained as open space. Some may be used for passive recreation purposes.
“It will never be developed; it will never be utilized for any kind of building,” Hagerty said.
The DEP has created a special team in its Blue Acres program to work closely with sellers and expedite their applications. The team is reaching out to individual homeowners personally and guiding them through the process.
“It’s a willing-seller program, so nobody is forcing anyone to leave, for sure,” Considine said, adding that the DEP is encouraging homeowners to take buyouts. “Of course, if people want to stay, we respect that.”
McCormac noted that while the recent passage of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act will effectively limit increases on flood insurance premiums, residents who do not elevate their homes in accordance with new FEMA flood maps may face rate hikes at some level.
“People have to weigh everything,” he said.
The Woodbridge River Community Flood Action Group, composed of residents in the affected area, was expected to meet earlier this week at the First Presbyterian Church of Woodbridge, Rahway Avenue.
The DEP has also completed appraisals on a seven-home neighborhood in East Brunswick.
In Sayreville and South River, which also experienced major flooding from superstorm Sandy, 186 property owners have accepted buyouts and 73 of them have closed on the sale.
The Blue Acres program also is working on potential buyouts in Atlantic Highlands, Linden, Old Bridge, Newark and Lawrence Township in Cumberland County, along with other sections of Sayreville, South River and Woodbridge.
A total of 695 properties have been identified for potential buyouts statewide.
The Christie Administration has committed more than $300 million in federal Sandy recovery funding to the buyout program, targeting 1,000 properties in tidal areas affected by Sandy and another 300 properties in the Passaic River Basin and other areas subject to repetitive flooding.
Homeowners interested in selling their homes through the process may contact the DEP’s Blue Acres program at 609-984-0500. For more information on the program, visit www.state.nj.us/dep/greenacres/blue_ flood_ ac.html.