Posted on May 5, 2016
By Nicholas Huba, Press of Atlantic City
City officials hope to decide by the end of the week if they are going to an appeal an Atlantic County Superior Court judge’s ruling that cleared the way for the federal beach-replenishment project to continue on Absecon Island.
Mayor Mike Becker said city officials have been meeting with their attorneys following Judge Julio Mendez’s April 11 opinion that backed the state.
In his ruling Mendez wrote that the state used the proper protocol in using eminent domain to acquire the city-owned property needed for the project.
“Right now we are still talking,” Becker said. “We are hoping to know by the end of the week.”
Over the past five years, the state and city have been at odds over beach replenishment.
While state officials, including Gov. Chris Christie, continue to push the project, city officials have said they are against dunes and prefer a bulkhead system.
The Absecon Island project for Margate, Ventnor and Longport is expected to cost $40 million, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District. Margate’s initial replenishment and dune construction may be fully funded by federal post-Hurricane Sandy emergency money. The beach project includes the construction of nearly 13-foot-tall dunes.
In October, Christie ordered the state Attorney General’s Office to proceed with taking 87 city-owned properties needed for the project.
Since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the governor’s administration has been aggressive in acquiring the easements needed for replenishment projects statewide. In September 2013, the Republican governor signed Executive Order 140 directing the Attorney General’s Office and state Department of Environmental Protection to take any necessary actions to obtain property easements.
“Right now, we are trying to make the right decision for the residents of Margate,” Becker said.
Source: pressofAtlanticCity.com
