IJ: Taking of homes not on the table
Residents ask council to reconsider plans in slow realty market
BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

In a show of good-faith negotiations, Long Branch officials sat down with attorneys for homeowners in one of the city's redevelopment zones last week, but talks didn't include the option of condemning the properties.

"The discussion did not concern negotiations on monetary compensation for their homes," said Institute for Justice senior attorney Scott Bullock.

Along with Peter H. Wegener, of Bathgate Wegener and Wolf, Lakewood, IJ is representing some 20 residents in the Beachfront North Phase II redevelopment zone.

"If the city wants to discuss ways of protecting the rights of the homeowners without going through the appeal process, we would listen to that," Bullock said. "Nothing will stop us from exhausting every avenue to stop the city from taking their homes."

The meeting was held on Oct. 11, Bullock confirmed this week.

In addition to Bullock and Wegener, also in attendance at the meeting were Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider, Councilman Anthony Giordano, Councilwoman Jackeline Biddle, Business Administrator Howard Woolley, City Attorney James Aaron, attorney Paul Fernicola, and representatives from developer Matzel & Mumford, according to Bullock.

"It was a good meeting," Schneider said Tuesday.

"There really weren't any specifics. We told [the attorneys] what information we would need from them.

"At this point, virtually anything and everything is on the table. We will listen to any proposals they have," he said.

"We all walked out of the meeting reasonably agreeing that we will accomplish something."

Although Bullock said he could not disclose details of the discussions, he said his goal in negotiating with the city remains to save the homes of his clients from being taken for the redevelopment.

Plans for Beachfront North Phase II, known as MTOTSA (Marine and Ocean terraces and Seaview Avenue), call for designated developer MM Beachfront North, consisting of K. Hovnanian and the Applied Cos., to raze the three-street neighborhood and construct a luxury condominium project.

Bullock and Wegener are currently appealing a June decision by Superior Court Judge Lawrence M. Lawson that affirmed the city's right to acquire the properties through eminent domain.

"[MTOTSA] remains the forefront of our efforts to stop eminent domain abuse," said Bullock, whose Arlington, Va.-based firm specializes in the protection of property rights.

Bullock said that he and Wegener will be meeting with city officials again within the next couple of weeks, but a date had not been scheduled as of Tuesday.

Schneider confirmed that a meeting will be held in the near future.

In the wake of a slowing real estate market, Long Branch residents opposed to the city's redevelopment plans weighed in at the City Council meeting last week, asking officials to revisit contracts with developers.

Michael Sirianni, who is running in the Nov. 7 election for the single open seat on council, said at the Oct. 10 meeting that an "economic crunch" in today's real estate market has caused developers K. Hovnanian to pull out of several of its projects.

"It is reported that [K. Hovnanian] is downsizing their employees and making changes with suppliers, lowering prices of pre-existing homes and renegotiating contracts pending future projects," Sirianni said.

"I am sure Hovnanian is not the only contractor who is feeling the crunch," he continued.

"I feel we need to look at another means to effectively bring growth to Long Branch, and large condo developments is not the answer," he said. "I ask the mayor and council to revisit our contracts with the developers and see what the revert clauses are in the contracts."

Sirianni continued, "I hope you spend time looking at the contacts and talking with the developers. Be proactive in this so [the city] won't wake up one day and receive a phone call and now the city is reacting to this crisis."

According to an e-mail sent to employees of K. Hovnanian Enterprises, New Jersey's largest home builder, the company is "preparing for a long period of slower sales, at least through 2007 and perhaps beyond."

K. Hovnanian is co-developer for the MTOTSA neighborhood.

K. Hov spokesman Doug Fenichel said last week that there are no plans in place for the company to pull out of any projects in Long Branch.

"At this time our plans are to move ahead," Fenichel said.

MTOTSA resident Lori Ann Vendetti, told the council, "If K. Hovnanian comes to you and wants out, I hope you do."

Council candidate Ralph DeFillipo also spoke at the meeting, saying that since the building market is "quite rapidly slowing down," the city should take a six-month "breather" from its redevelopment plans.

"I walked all over this town," DeFillipo said, adding, "I saw so many 'for sale' signs. This in itself is a negative happening.

"This will give everyone time to think things out," he said.

Beachfront South resident Harold Bobrow addressed City Attorney James Aaron and said, "You say it would cost millions of dollars if you were to breach a contract.

"You now have the opportunity. The tide is changing. The market is changing. Maybe go back to the table now, and instead of the ogres, you would be everyone's heroes.

"You have a window - for the people, for the residents, for yourself," Bobrow said,

"You have accomplished some of the basic goals you had [for redevelopment]," he added. "Now you are getting to the point where you are destroying people's lives."

Bobrow seconded DeFillipo's suggestion and said he supports a six-month moratorium on eminent domain to see what turn the real estate market takes.

If contracts were breached, Aaron said, the city could "absolutely" be sued.

"The city does everything in its power to meet its obligations," Aaron said.

South Central Avenue resident Harold Cooper asked the council, "How many people in Long Branch do you feel could live in those units [constructed in the oceanfront redevelopment zone]?"

"Who are you constructing these for?" he asked," adding, "Long Branch is becoming two."