MIDDLETOWN — The oldest operating fishing port on the East Coast will be the subject of a revitalization study as township officials seek to address areas where redevelopment can have a substantial and positive impact on the community and residents.
The Belford Sea and Ferry Terminal area, more commonly referred to as the Port of Belford, was a discussion point at a town hall meeting on land development and preservation June 16 at the Middletown Arts Center.
“This entire area is an area we’re going to study and take a look at to see if it meets the criteria as an area in need of redevelopment,” Township Administrator Anthony Mercantante said.
The township — which issued a request for proposals for the Port of Belford redevelopment investigation study earlier this year — awarded the contract for the study to township-based T&M Associates for a sum not to exceed $46,300.
An estimated project schedule includes a draft of the study due in July and a Planning Board hearing on the final redevelopment study in September.
“We don’t have a preconceived idea of what will wind up here,” Mercantante said.
“We’re going to explore options, meet with people in the community, the various property owners and fishermen, and try to develop a vision for the future.”
While the area has a rich maritime history connected to the commercial fishing industry, many of the third- and fourth-generation fishermen have been struggling in recent years to compete with the larger port areas in New York or Cape May.
“Whatever we do here, we don’t want to lose the fishing industry — we want to preserve it,” Mercantante said.
“It’s part of the character of the area, but it’s getting harder for commercial fishermen in a small port like this to compete with the bigger ports in New York or Cape May.”
Another area addressed at the town hall meeting included the redevelopment of North Middletown.
“This is the first area we designated as an area in need of redevelopment,” Mercantante said.
One specific area, Lunney’s property, is in dire need of redevelopment, he said.
“It’s this abandoned storefront … that got to the point where it was literally unsafe for the community,” he said.
Mercantante said the township has hired a firm to conduct a redevelopment study and come up with an alternative concept.
“People in the community that we have spoken to are thrilled,” he said. “They’re going to get a nice new development in their community, new services and housing options.”
Committeeman Gerard Scharfenberger said New Jersey is the most built-out state in the union — and the most densely populated — and part of the reason for holding the town hall was to educate residents on how the development process works.
“Every time a new development comes through, the reaction … so many times I hear is, ‘How could you let this happen?’ The reality is, it’s not a matter of what we want or don’t want, it’s a matter of what the law allows,” he said.
“I don’t think people realize how little say we at the local level have about things … there’s a municipal land use law that is set by the state and all towns are [required to comply with] that municipal land use law.”
Despite those restrictions, he said the township has done well in using a number of different resources to preserve as much land as possible.
“We in Middletown cherish the open spaces,” he said. “We have about 5,000 acres of permanently preserved land in Middletown — that’s not even including the conservation easements that have been acquired and worked out over the years. But we really do, very creatively and very effectively, I think, a good job of preserving where we can and redeveloping.”