Residents and attorney urge committee not to designate Anchorage Point lots as 'area in need of redevelopment'
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Summary
Neighbors and property owners objected to a proposed redevelopment-area designation covering three lots (Blocks 9401 Lot 1; 9402 Lot 1; 9603 Lot 2), arguing the properties do not meet statutory criteria and that the municipal determination conflicts with a 2008 Superior Court judgment about O'Byrne Drive right-of-way.
Several residents and a lawyer representing neighboring homeowners urged the Egg Harbor Township Committee to halt or reconsider a determination that would designate portions of Anchorage Point as an 'area in need of redevelopment.
Kevin Moore, an attorney representing Auburn Drive neighbors, told the committee the three lots identified in the planning report do not meet the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law's criteria for redevelopment. "None of these 3 lots taken together or individually meet the criteria for local redevelopment and housing law to be designated as an area in need of redevelopment," Moore said, arguing there is no evidence of the sort of dilapidation or blight the statute requires.
Residents also pointed to an extant 2008 Superior Court judgment that the speakers said establishes a 40-foot dedicated right-of-way for O'Byrne Drive and confirms the bulkhead and tidal limits along the lagoon. One objector read portions of the 2008 judgment into the record and said the planning report contradicts those findings, which could expose the township to judicial challenges, injunctions or reversal if the municipal record contains factual errors.
Speakers stressed that Block 9603 Lot 2 abuts an active roadway and existing development, and therefore cannot meet the statutory test for long-term unimproved, remote land lacking access (a criterion sometimes cited in redevelopment designations). Several residents also described community character, raising concerns about increased traffic, marina and parking plans and possible effects on property safety and values.
Planning staff and committee members noted the procedural steps remain: a local redevelopment designation can trigger preparation of a redevelopment plan, but for properties in Planning Area 5 the designation is not final until the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) approves the designation. Mayor Frommer told residents the resolution for the determination had been included on a previous consent calendar and said the matter would follow the established multi-step process, including future planning-board hearings and public notice.
Ending: Residents said they will continue to press legal and factual objections and urged the committee to correct the public record before advancing redevelopment steps; the committee confirmed additional procedural reviews and DCA oversight would apply before any redevelopment plan took effect.
