HOWELL — Several homes in the Moors Landing development that were badly damaged by Hurricane Irene in 2011 and superstorm Sandy in 2012 are being purchased by Howell. The homes will be demolished, and the property on which they stood will remain as open space.
The Township Council unanimously adopted an ordinance at a Nov. 12 meeting that will allow the municipality to purchase and demolish properties deemed unlivable by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for $614,250 in Moors Landing, a development off Strickland Road.
No member of the public commented on the ordinance during a public hearing prior to the council’s vote.
According to Councilwoman Pauline Smith, the money to purchase the homes in Moors Landing will come from FEMA and from Howell’s open space fund.
The homes that Howell will purchase and demolish are in a cul-de-sac at the end of Mariner’s Cove and are surrounded by the Manasquan River, where a flood drain is supposed to keep water from flowing into the street and onto properties.
“All of the structures in that location will be razed and converted into open space,” Deputy Mayor Robert Nicastro said. “We have two years from now to complete this process, so we are looking to perhaps start sometime in the spring.”
Nicastro said of the seven homeowners who have been offered money for their residences, five homeowners have accepted the offer.
“Buying these homes is sponsored by FEMA. It was an idea that got passed down from the federal government to state government to us and we were awarded the money for [this project],” Nicastro said. “It was a stringent process to go through, and we are glad we can help these residents.
“It is an optional program, of course,” he continued. “The two (homeowners) who have not gotten back to us on this offer are people who bought their homes (at a reduced amount) after Irene as an investment. They would be getting whatever the houses were worth after Irene.”
Nicastro said if those two homeowners do not accept the township’s offer, a portion of the money will be returned to FEMA.
The most recent damage to the homes in Moors Landing began in mid-August 2011 when heavy rains caused flooding and damaged the properties. Irene hit the region a week later and rendered the homes unlivable.
Certain areas of Moors Landing have had issues with flooding dating back to the development’s construction more than 20 years ago.