Kean will seek $14M for Takanassee Beach Club Assemblyman drafting legislation aimed at preserving historic site BY LIZ SHEEHAN Correspondent Life Saving Station No. 5, now the Takanassee Beach Club. Assemblyman Sean Kean (R-11) announced this week that he would introduce legislation to allocate funds for the purchase of Takanassee Beach Club, Long Branch, to save the property from being sold to a developer. In a press release issued Monday, Kean said he had drafted a bill "to allocate $14 million to purchase the property because of the historic and environmental significance of the site." Kean said he is looking at several sources of funding including the state Green Acres program as well as several other avenues of state funding. He said he has requested a meeting with DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson "Allowing this property to be developed would deprive Monmouth County of one of the most significant historic sites in our area," he said in the release. "The Takanassee Lifesaving Station is an important part of our maritime history and should be preserved for future generations to enjoy." Kean also said there would be a "negative environmental impact" if the property was allowed to be used for multiple residences. Assemblyman Sean Kean (R-11) On Jan. 11, a public meeting was held by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) at the Long Branch Municipal Building on an application for a permit under the Coastal Area Facility Review (CAFRA) to build 21 dwellings on the Takanassee site. Ginger Peters, one of the property owners, said she was selling the site to a developer because of her need for funds for medical care required because she has cerebral palsy and spinal stenosis. She said her income, including the beach club, cannot cover the costs for her caregivers and medical needs, and because she is part owner of the club, with her brother, she cannot qualify for aid. Opponents of development of the site said that it contained three historic lifesaving stations, and both the buildings and their oceanfront setting should be preserved. Long Branch Councilman Brian Unger spoke in favor of preserving the club site, stating that the Peters family had made "a great contribution to Long Branch," and to the whole coastline while running the club. "Too many historic structures have been lost," Unger said. He said he had discussed the site, which is priced at $14 million, with officials in the state Green Acres Program and Mayor Adam Schneider. "In my view this is the way to go," he said. "The Green Acres Program is "very, very well aware of this site," Unger said, The program gives municipalities and counties low-interest loans and grants to buy open space and to develop outdoor recreation areas. Also at the meeting, a representative of Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., (D-N.J.) read a statement from the congressman that said he wanted to add his "strong opposition" to having the site developed for residential use. "I know this development is more of what we don't need here," Pallone said. He said that Takanassee Lake was "already overtaxed and silting up, and the development of the beach club site could cause the "death knell" of fishing in the lake. John Weber, of the Surfrider founder, said his organization had problems getting access to documents giving information about the proposal, and asked that the DEP delay taking action on any decision on the permit application until those opposed to the permit could get more information on the developer's proposal. What is now the Takanassee Beach Club, was a lifesaving station operated from 1876 to 1928 as one of the 42 lifesaving stations situated three-and-a-half miles apart along the New Jersey shoreline from Sandy Hook to Cape May. The property still contains the three original buildings, which were constructed between 1878 and 1903. Crews at the lifesaving station patrolled the Long Branch beaches until 1928 when the Coast Guard deactivated the station and the site became the Takanassee Beach Club. Last year, Preservation New Jersey (PNJ) named the lifesaving station as one of "New Jersey's 10 Most Endangered Historic Sites." According to the PNJ Web site, the buildings at the lifesaving station are "irreplaceable survivors" and "a rare survivor from the era of frequent shipwrecks, when sandbars, shallow water and winter storms made the waters of New Jersey treacherous."