By KENNY WALTER
Staff Writer
SEA BRIGHT — The Borough Council has opted to vacate a portion of Bellevue Place in order to enable a property owner to move forward with a second- and third-story deck.
Despite complaints from various Sea Bright residents, the council voted 4-2 to vacate a portion of Bellevue Place to enable 3 Atlantic Way property owner Tim Parker to move forward with improvements to his property that is located at the banks of the Shrewsbury River.
“It is selfish, I admit that,” Parker said. “We want to improve our property and we want to enjoy the river.
“The public access is something I agree with, and there is public access to the river. The Atlantic Way goes right to the river, and you can access the river off of Atlantic Way. It was never my intent to take Atlantic Way, it was just that small portion that was in front of my property.”
Bellevue Place is considered a “paper street,” meaning it is not a finished street but the borough owns an easement that would enable the construction of a real street. However, the “paper street” currently leads to a 38-foot bulkhead off of Atlantic Way that is used by the public for fishing and other recreation.
According to Parker, the portion being vacated is approximately 32 by 37 feet, and he called the public use of the portion that sits in front of his property “non-existent.”
Councilman William Keeler said having the public right of way adjacent to private property has placed a hardship on the Parker family.
“My assessment on this case is the public access next to a private property creates an undue burden for the private property owner with very little gain for the public,” Keeler said. “This family look out their living room window, and it’s 30 feet to the bulkhead and the public could be there.
“The public could literally come up and look in your window because that is the way the property is laid out.”
Borough attorney Robert McLaughlin said the land being vacated is technically not borough-owned property.
“What we are talking about is not a piece of property that is owned by the borough. What we are talking about is a paper street, and there is a difference,” he said. “A paper street gives the borough an easement to create a street, so when we talk about public access, this is not a piece of property that would be available for use as public access.”
The borough does not have the legal authority to sell the land, so vacating the property would be the only option to allow Parker to build above the land.
Thomas Scriven, a neighbor of the property, said he was against any proposal where the borough vacates land.
“I am just against the principle of vacating any land that belongs to the entire town of Sea Bright for use of any individual small or large for any reason,” he said. “You are here to protect the rights of the future and the present, and once you give land away, it never comes back.”
Borough resident Marianne McKenzie said while vacating the property will add some money to the tax rolls, the positives do not outweigh the negatives.
“Adding something to the tax rolls really does not constitute a public purpose,” she said. “I don’t see any public purpose or any good for the town.”
Long Branch resident Vincent LePore also threatened a legal challenge of the ordinance.
However, several of Parker’s immediate neighbors came to his defense, saying they supported the plan and it would not detract from public access to the river.