Developer must resubmit Takanassee application DEP decision extends public comment period on beach club project BY LIZ SHEEHAN Correspondent Lifesaving station No. 5, now Takanassee Beach Club LONG BRANCH - The Department of Environmental Protection said last week the permit application for the redevelopment of the Takanassee Beach Club site is deficient and must be resubmitted with new information. In a letter to Kyle Weise, Trident Environmental Consultants, consultant for applicant Takanassee Developers LLC, John N. Policarpo, project manager, Bureau of Coastal Regulation for the DEP, said the application could not "be considered to be 'complete for final review' until acceptable responses have been received by the division to all of the requests within the deficiency letter … ." Policarpo was one of the two DEP staff members who conducted a public hearing on the application Jan. 11 at the Long Branch Municipal Building, at which opponents of the proposal packed the room. Christopher Dolphin, the other DEP staffer at the meeting, said Tuesday that since the application had been found deficient, the period for public comment was now extended. "The clock has stopped," he said about the 90-day statutory period that the DEP had to make a decision on the application because of the need for more information, and the public could file comments up to the day of the decision. The 90-day period will not begin again until the applicant has supplied all the necessary information, Dolphin said. At the meeting, the public was notified it had 15 days to place any comments on the project on the record, but this was now void, Dolphin said. In his letter, Policarpo outlined items that needed to be submitted, including a revised site plan showing that the proposed dune will be constructed as a linear dune system and not segmented as appears on the submitted plan; revised site plans showing the different FEMA-designated flood zones on the subject property of the proposed development; a revised architectural drawing showing the proposed heights of all buildings adjacent to the beach in relation to the existing site grade; and the stormwater and water quality information previously requested by division engineers. The letter also asked for certified mail receipts as proof that all landowners within a 200-foot area of the property were notified of the public hearing. "Be advised that the division may request an additional 30-day comment period if it is found that the adjacent property owners were not notified properly," the letter said. The proposal has been met with strong opposition from residents, historians and some public officials including Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-12.) and Long Branch council members Brian Unger and Michael DeStefano. Those against the proposal cite the historic significance of the three former life-saving station buildings on the property and the environmental importance of the site. Ginger Peters, one of the owners of the property, said at the hearing that she needed the funds from the sale to the developer to pay for medical needs because she has cerebral palsy and spinal stenosis. John Webber, of Surfrider Foundation, a coastal environmental organization, said Monday he thought the extension of the application period was "a good thing." "There are a lot of unanswered questions" about the proposal, he said. "My organization had difficulty getting all the information related to the project," Webber said. He said he had gone to Long Branch for the records but they were not available, and after making further calls was only able to get the documents shortly before the DEP meeting. He also said he wasn't able to get copies of the documents a corporation usually filed with the state because the name of the developer, Takanassee Developers LLC, was misspelled in the papers. The papers filed with the state in 2004 spell Takanassee with one "s." These records list Isaac Chera, c/o Crown Acquisitions, New York, as the managing member of the group. According to the attorney representing the developer at the application hearing, Chera resides in Allenhurst. There was no mention of the developer's name at the January hearing. The incorporation papers also identify Jerold Zaro, a partner in the law firm of Ansell Zaro Grim & Aaron, Ocean Township, as the agent for Takanassee Developers LLC. Long Branch City Attorney James Aaron is a member of the firm. Zaro said last week that he represented the developer only in dealing with the Peters family and would not do so in any aspect of the project that would involve city agencies or boards. He said he was listed as the agent for the incorporation because many lawyers did this when filing incorporation papers, but that he was not a member of the corporation. Zaro declined to name other members of the corporation.