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Judge Rules Against Bay Head Homeowners in Dune Case

Posted on August 22, 2017

By Jean Mikle

The state has the right to condemn beachfront property in Bay Head and Mantoloking to build dunes and widen beaches, a Superior Court judge has ruled.

The decision by state Superior Court Judge Marlene Lynch Ford clears the way for New Jersey to move forward with a massive beach-widening project for northern Ocean County’s barrier island.

Ford rejected the arguments of lawyers representing more than 50 oceanfront property owners in Bay Head and Mantoloking, who said they should be exempted from a beach replenishment project because a rock wall they had installed provided better protection from storms.

The narrow strip of land in northern Ocean County suffered some of the worst damage when superstorm Sandy roared onshore in October 2012.

Ford’s long-awaited ruling was issued nearly seven months after lawyers representing more than 50 oceanfront property owners argued that their clients’ land should be exempted from the beach replenishment plan.

Their argument: a 1.8-mile rock wall – or revetment – paid for and maintained by beachfront homeowners provides better protection than the Army Corps of Engineers’ project. The rock wall has been installed and maintained by the homeowners, who have paid for the structure without using any federal or state funds.

On the other side were representatives of the state Department of Environmental Protection, who said expanded beaches and bigger dunes are needed along the entire length of the project to protect the coast against future storms, as well as to preserve beaches for recreational use.

State Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin and Attorney General Christopher Porrino praised Judge Ford’s ruling, saying it will allow New Jersey to continue acquiring land through eminent domain for beach protection.

“The opinion handed down today is a strong vindication of the state’s authority to protect all of the people and property of Northern Ocean County,” Martin said.

Porrino said, “This decision reaffirms the state’s authority to condemn from oceanfront property owners in Bay Head the easements necessary to create storm protection for everyone else.”

Judge Ford said the Bay Head and Mantoloking property owners failed to prove that the state acted in bad faith by filing eminent domain actions against property owners who had refused to sign easements necessary for the Army Corps to access their land.

But she did say that the property owners had made “a very compelling argument that in their opinion the project is superfluous.”

It is unclear if the homeowners will appeal Judge Ford’s 52-page ruling. Anthony F. DellaPelle, a lawyer who represents many of the homeowners in the case, said his clients have not yet decided whether to appeal Ford’s decision.

“Many of them have not yet read it,” DellaPelle said. “After they read it, we will talk with them about their options.”

It’s the second time Ford has ruled against oceanfront homeowners in a beach replenishment case.

In March 2016, Ford ruled that the state can seize portions of oceanfront land for beach replenishment, paving the way for the long-delayed northern Ocean County beach replenishment project to proceed.

The $128-million beach replenishment project started in late May with an emergency beach replenishment in vulnerable Ortley Beach. It is expected to resume this fall.

Gov. Chris Christie and DEP Commissioner Martin have criticized homeowners along the New Jersey coast who have balked at signing easements, the legal documents necessary for the Army Corps to access the beach through private property.

“I’m not going to put up with people that decide their view of the Atlantic Ocean is more important than the lives and the properties of their neighbors,” Christie said in 2013.

While Bay Head did not suffer the severe devastation superstorm Sandy caused in neighboring Mantoloking – where all 521 homes were either damaged or destroyed – many houses along the bay side and Twilight Lake were flooded during the storm.

Oceanfront residents credit the rock wall, first installed in the 1890s, and greatly expanded after the fierce 1962 nor’easter, with protecting their properties from serious damage.

After Sandy struck, dozens of Bay Head and Mantoloking homeowners paid to extend the rock wall from Egbert Street in Bay Head to Lyman Street in Mantoloking. A northern group of homeowners paid to expand the wall from northern Bay Head into Point Pleasant Beach.

The homeowners argued in court that there is no guarantee that federal and state money will be available to continue replenishing beaches after the initial work is completed.

The Army Corps has estimated it will cost $514 million to maintain beaches on northern Ocean’s barrier island over the next 50 years.

Commissioner Martin said the initial beach replenishment project will move forward.

“Our commitment to restoring and making the Jersey Shore more resilient for the future has and will remain steadfast,” Martin said. “Now, it is time to move ahead on that pledge. “

Source: app

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