City attorney denies Takanassee conflict Unger sees breach in law firm handling city and developer BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer Reacting to conflict of interest charges, Long Branch City Attorney James Aaron said Monday he would recuse himself as counsel in matters relating to the development of the Takanassee Beach Club property. Aaron's statement came in response to charges made by city Councilman Brian Unger in an April 30 letter he made public. In the letter, Unger said Aaron's law firm, Ansell Zaro Grimm & Aaron, Ocean Township, could be involved in a conflict of interest due to its dual representation of the city and the developer of the Takanassee property on Ocean Avenue. But Aaron countered that there is no conflict because he never represented the city on any matter involving the Takanassee property. "Never has the issue come up," said Aaron in an interview Monday. "If it ever came up, I would leave the room. If Mr. Unger would have simply picked up the telephone, I would have said I am not, I cannot and I will not represent the city on that matter." Aaron's law partner, Jerold Zaro, is representing Isaac Chera, principal of Takanassee Developers, which has a contract to purchase the former Takanassee Beach Club property. The property is assessed at $9,843,400 and a contract is in place to sell the property to Takanassee Developers for an estimated $17 million. Chera is awaiting a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection in order to develop 21 luxury townhouses and condominiums on the beach club site. Unger, who has been instrumental in working to preserve the almost 5-acre site, said in the letter that Aaron's firm has "a real potential here for conflict of interest. "The developer plans to put a luxury development there," Unger said, "and we [the council] are going to be looking to Mr. Aaron for advice on how to prevent Mr. Zaro's client from getting this property in order to preserve it." Aaron said the city has plans for a conflict attorney to step into his place in workshop or executive session meetings where the Takanassee issue would be discussed, as well as at public meetings where a vote would be required by council. "Mr. Unger calls me all the time and yet he decided to not call me with respect to this issue," Aaron said. "I would have explained this to him. The city has conflict attorneys on call for matters such as this." Unger said he sent the letter to Aaron as well as issuing a press release on the issue prior to learning that Aaron would recuse himself as counsel in the matter. "[Mayor] Adam Schneider told me that [Aaron] will leave the room during any discussions on it," Unger said. "My impression [from Schneider] was that this is common practice and he would typically recuse himself in a situation like this. "But I would still prefer these things [be] made public and documented on file," Unger said, "so our citizens see that their government is operating with full transparency." Unger cited recent statements made by Zaro about Unger's presence at the Takanassee Beach Club. Unger, along with Assemblyman Sean Kean (R-11), members of the Monmouth County Park System, community members and Scott Peters, an owner of the property, toured the site on April 25. According to Unger, Zaro described Unger and Kean as "law breakers" and called the tour a trespass on the beach club property. "We were invited guests of Scott Peters and Mr. Peters' family," Unger said, "and our tour of Takanassee was clearly within the guidelines of the lease "[Aaron's] partner is making statements about me and I am a client of Mr. Aaron's. That is a conflict." In his letter, Unger asked Aaron to provide a written response, addressing his firm's policy on the possible conflict of interest in its dual representation, including the fact that Chera plans to develop the property, which Unger said would require substantial involvement of city boards, agencies and officials. Unger also asked Aaron to address the fact that he will likely be asked to provide detailed information on the methods and requirements of obtaining state, federal and private assistance to preserve the property from Chera's intended development. And lastly, Unger asked for a response to how Aaron or other attorneys in his firm would not be influenced or affected financially through revenue derived from representation of Chera on this issue. Aaron was asked in the letter to provide a written response no later than the close of business May 8. Aaron said this week that he will not provide a written response to Unger's request. "The letter was made public already," Aaron said, "so a response would be impossible. You cannot have attorney client privilege when the letter is public." Unger, along with several public officials, environmental advocates and community members are objecting to development of the Takanassee Beach Club property, which consists of three buildings that comprises the original United States Life-Saving Station No. 5., which dates to the 1800s. They are seeking to prevent development at the site and preserve the beachfront property for public recreational uses.