Our view
Up to council to make best deal for city

The people of Long Branch are about to find out for certain if their elected officials really are willing to give the town away to developers.

The City Council has introduced an ordinance that calls for the city to vacate a right of way on a 28-acre tract, known as the Ranch, in the city’s Elberon section. In return for vacating that right of way the city is demanding ... well, absolutely nothing.

To his credit, Councilman Anthony Giordano is not so ready to roll over and give the developer, Park Avenue Estates, LLC, what it wants.

He is urging his fellow council members to, at the very least, extract some form of compensation for something that is clearly of value, at least to the developer.

In case the other council members are wondering, that is generally how things work in the real world.

If you have something that someone wants, they have to give you something you want in return for it.

In this case, the city has a right of way through the land Park Avenue Estates is proposing to build on.

By Giordano’s estimate, construction of at least three homes depends on the city vacating its claim to the right of way.

Based on the developer’s description of the homes it intends to build, the city’s giving up the right of way will put a significant profit — possibly more than $1 million — into the devloper’s coffers.

That being the case, it is completely reasonable for the city to seek compensation for what it will be giving up. It is difficult to imagine a circumstance where the developer would expect a private entity to give it something so valuable for nothing.

Councilman Michael DeStefano, arguing in favor of abandoning the right of way, noted that the issue was never brought up before the Planning Board. It is difficult to see why that matters now.

Business deals such as this one take place every day, and in some of them mistakes are made that prove very costly.

When that happens, the people who make the mistake are the ones who have to pay to correct it. At least that is the way it is supposed to work.

Next week city residents are going to find out for sure who the council repre­sents.