Board to hire town planner for feasibility study of proposed redevelopment zone

A board member told the Ocean Gate Board of Education that the land-use board is restarting work and the board is voting to hire a town planner to prepare a feasibility study for a proposed redevelopment zone covering district-owned buildings and adjacent open space. "We're moving forward so the borough has some sort of control as to what uses the properties, the buildings and the open space" the board member said, describing the study as a compliance and feasibility check.

The speaker said the goal of the redevelopment zone is to protect the town from speculative or undesired changes to the site, including the playground next to the kindergarten building, and to make the allowable uses explicit in municipal zoning. The same speaker said a two-page insert explaining development zones was included in a regular resident update letter to provide public information and invited board members and residents to ask questions or request follow-up meetings.

The discussion repeatedly framed the work as protective—"It's really to protect the town and what can happen to the space and the buildings there," the board member said—rather than as a specific redevelopment proposal. No formal ordinance or zoning text was presented at the meeting; the board described the study as the next step that would inform any subsequent decisions.

The board did not vote on a zoning ordinance at the meeting; members described hiring the planner and commissioning the study as the action under consideration and a mechanism to record and evaluate feasible options. The board indicated it would report further details as meetings with the planner and residents proceed.