Judge blocks rebuilding plan for a bungalow community destroyed by Superstorm Sandy
Camp Osborn
A Jersey Shore bungalow community destroyed by Superstorm Sandy cannot be rebuilt as approved by a municipal land use board, a state judge has ruled.
Reversing the decision by the Brick Township Zoning Board of Adjustment, Ocean County Superior Court Judge Arnold Goldman ruled that the approved plan is too dense.
The design called for 13 bungalows to replace 32 units in a section of the oceanfront Camp Osborn community. The originally proposed plan was reduced by one unit after neighbors raised density concerns.
Goldman ruled that the approval with numerous variances was tantamount to a rezoning, a legislative action reserved solely for the municipal governing body.
The judge found that the land use board didn’t provide specific findings why the proposed density was appropriate for the 1.4-acre plot, as argued by the applicant in support of the variances, and also didn’t adequately weigh the detriments against the benefits of the plan.
The community, previously developed with summer bungalows between Route 35 and the Atlantic Ocean more than five decades old, was all but destroyed when a massive storm surge was followed by a natural gas-fed fire.
The application involved about half of the entire tract.
It’s not known if the applicant will appeal the judge’s decision.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.
