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County freeholders conducted their June 26 meeting in front of a packed council chambers in Asbury Park who urged freeholders to assist the city with the preservation of an open tract of land on the city’s northern beach front.

The tract comprises roughly .6 acres of beachfront in the Ocean Avenue right-of-way along Asbury Park’s North Beach and has come to be known as Bradley Cove, the name developers chose for a 15 unit townhouse development slated to be built in the area. Master waterfront redeveloper iStar Financial owns the development rights to the property.

Representatives from the Asbury Park City Council, American Littoral Society, Surfrider Foundation, Citizens for Oceanfront Preservation, Friends of Deal Lake and the NJ Beach Buggy Association addressed the freeholders during the public participation session to protest the townhouses and gain their support in the preservation of the land.

Over 150 people attended, filling city council chambers to capacity, about 50 people had to wait outside due to fire regulations.

Freeholders said they would back the city’s effort to preserve the land but suggested the city renegotiate the terms of the waterfront redevelopment agreement with Master Waterfront Redeveloper iStar Financial. Potential renegotiation could include offering higher densities and increasing building heights in other lots iStar owns.

A draft appraisal on the property provided to the county in October of 2012, prior to Hurricane Sandy, valued the parcel at $3.6 million.

The as-yet-unknown valuation of the property is the largest hurdle that presents itself.

The city has submitted an application for state Green Acres funding to buy the development rights back from iStar and is hopeful the county will partner with them to supply matching contribution funds. Green Acres funds would pay for the appraisal of the land.

County and city officials met with iStar representatives in March to determine their interest in selling the development rights, but Freeholder Director Lillian Burry said the meeting stalled when iStar representatives claimed the appraised value provided in the draft proposal was not acceptable.

No representatives from iStar identified themselves when freeholders asked if they were present at the meeting.

Since February of 2012, representatives from iStar have maintained they will consider preservation “provided that it receives fair treatment and just compensation, the same as Asbury Partners is required to provide to other property owners when Asbury Partners must acquire property in the waterfront redevelopment areas.”

Andrew Coeyman, supervisor of the county’s land preservation office, said the city “conveyed the precious right” to develop the property when previous city officials sold the development rights to the area and while the county supports the preservation effort, the question of preservation lies “between iStar and the City of Asbury Park, not the County of Monmouth.”

“We’re glad to work with Asbury Park, but we’re not sure this is the project,” he said.

Loch Arbour Mayor Paul Fernicola, an attorney who specializes in redevelopment and eminent domain, said public preservation through eminent domain is not only legal and allowable at the county level but is, in fact, why the law exists.

Freeholder John Curley questioned why past city council members sold the development rights on that portion of the beachfront.

“I don’t know why the city of Asbury Park allowed that proposal to be passed, because in my personal opinion it’s asinine to build something on the sand on the beachfront,” Curley said.

Councilwoman Amy Quinn underscored the city’s “energized” efforts to preserve the land in question and said the current council was unified in their effort to preserve Bradley Cove.

“We’ve completed a Green Acres application, we’re working on the Waterfront Redevelopment [Plan] amendments, and we have a ton of public support behind us, so, again, we are hoping we can energize you toward working with us to preserving this piece of land,” Quinn said.

“What we are asking for is a partnership,” said activist Joe Woerner, main organizer of Save Asbury Park’s North Beach campaign. “We don’t want to look at the past and look at the appraisal and all of these other problems, that is water under the bridge. We are looking for a partnership to move this project forward, to make this area more resilient.”

Michele Rachelson, a resident of the Asbury Senior Towers, a building situated opposite the development site on Ocean Avenue, questioned how anything could be built on the site since all flood insurance policies within her building were cancelled after Hurricane Sandy, she said.

Holding up a map of the county that showed where open space funds have been allocated throughout the county, Asbury Park resident Jeffrey Seeds pointed out the county has spent the majority of funds inland.

“It seems that the county spent a lot of money to preserve open space inland and relatively little money to preserve oceanfront open space, and there isn’t much of it to preserve,” he said, “and at the same time Asbury Park and the surrounding communities give several million dollars in taxes to the county parks and open space fund.”

Aside from coughing up $3.5 million to purchase back the development rights on just over a half-acre of land, if the city is galvanized enough to find other ways and means to preserving the property, the freeholders would partner with the city to support their efforts, said Freeholder Thomas Arnone.

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