BERKELEY – A private landowner managed to get land on Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9503 property and was planning to build a house there until that land was swapped.
A local developer, Jeffrey R. Jerman, had acquired land surrounded by property owned by the VFW, located on Veterans Boulevard.
At the most recent Township Council meeting, they approved a land swap that would prevent his building there. The town gave him a piece of residential property elsewhere in the area and he gave the VFW land to the township. The township, in turn, gave it to the VFW. No money was exchanged.
Bananier Speed Limit Increase
In other news, the speed limit on Bananier Drive might be increased from 25 m.p.h. to 30 m.p.h. An ordinance increasing this was introduced at the meeting. Generally, introduced ordinances are finalized at the following meeting.
A speed study had been conducted which indicated that more people went 30 than 25, Police Chief Karin DiMichele said.
It’s a very wide road, so it would be safe to do so, she said. The study also found no serious crashes on that road.
Summer Concerts
The Township Council approved a contract with LaGuardia and Associates for the entertainment for the Summer Concert Series and the beach party. The dates are tentatively scheduled for July 1, 11, 15 and 29, August 5 and 19, and September 5. LaGuardia had been the vendor for previous years as well.
The contract is for $46,500, which is usually paid for by advertising revenue and fundraisers and not with tax dollars.
South Seaside Park De-Annexation
Five years of hearings have taken place where South Seaside Park residents argued that they should be allowed to leave, or de-annex, from Berkeley Township.
South Seaside Park (SSP) is located between Island Beach State Park and Seaside Park. Residents have claimed that they have more in common with these beachfront communities than the rest of the town. They have also noted that they pay more in taxes for what they have said is less services.
In a unanimous 7-0 vote, the Planning Board recommended to the Township Council that SSP should stay. Planning Board attorney Gregory McGuckin said he will draw up a resolution to that effect and then the council will have to act on it.
At the most recent Township Council meeting, Councilman John Bacchione, who is the council’s representative on the Planning Board, said that the resolution has not yet been sent.
Mainland Berkeley residents would see an increase in taxes if SSP left. One study said that it would raise taxes about 8.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The example given was that the average homeowner would pay $156 more a year.
It is expected that the Township Council will follow the Planning Board’s recommendation and not let them leave, and that the decision will be kicked up to the Superior Court.
In order for the Planning Board to let SSP go, two conditions had to be met by state statute, McGuckin had said. One was that SSP had to prove that it would be detrimental to them to stay. The other was that SSP had to prove that it wouldn’t be detrimental to the rest of Berkeley if they left.
If South Seaside Park left, they would not form their own town. They would join another. Seaside Park is the only one that shares a border, so that is the likely choice. Seaside Park officials have, by law, stayed out of these discussions.
