Schneider, Unger debate beach club issue
City sends letter to DEP to express interest in acquiring Takanassee
BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer

LONG BRANCH - City Councilman Brian Unger said he did not "lie" during a contentious public discussion last week with Mayor Adam Schneider on the Takanassee Beach Club.

Rather, it was in the "heat of the moment" that led Unger to cite Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Lisa Jackson as the source he has been conversing with on the matter at the state level, he said.

"The mistake I made was that I didn't say Commissioner Jackson's office, instead of just Commissioner Jackson," said Unger in a prepared statement after the Nov. 27 Long Branch workshop meeting.

"The mayor baited me and in the heat of the moment I took the bait and shouldn't have.

"Or having taken it, I should have simply referred to the commissioner's office or her senior staff, not her name alone," he said.

The council agreed at the workshop meeting to approve a nonbinding resolution proposed by Unger to show that the city supports acquiring the Takanassee Beach Club property if the needed funding is in place.

A letter was sent from City Business Administrator Howard H. Woolley's office on Nov. 30 to Martha Sapp in the state's Green Acres department.

"I have been directed by the mayor and council of the city of Long Branch to confirm with you some of our previous discussions that the city is interested in exploring acquisition of the site known as the Takanassee Beach Club," Woolley wrote.

"As you know from these communications there are many issues to be dealt with on this matter. We did, however, want to formally express interested in the potential acquisition of this site," he wrote.

According to Unger, after several conversations with DEP officials, he and a group of Takanassee preservationists concluded that it would be in the city's best interest to adopt a nonbinding resolution so the state would know that Long Branch is interested in obtaining funds to acquire Takanassee.

"The issue is that we have heard from very high people at the DEP that they don't think the city is interested [in acquiring the Takanassee property]," Unger said at the meeting.

Schneider asked Unger who he is speaking with at the DEP.

"Who at the DEP told you that we need a nonbinding resolution, which is the most meaningless thing," Schneider said.

Schneider said that rather than approve a nonbinding resolution, the city should wait to see if a project pending before the DEP that calls for the Takanassee site to be developed is approved or denied.

"A nonbinding resolution is not necessary," Schneider said. "The issue is, how much does the property cost and where does the money come from."

When Unger continued to refuse to reveal his source at the DEP, Schneider said, "So much for transparency."

Unger replied, "How about the commissioner of the DEP? Is that good enough for you?"

A spokeswoman from the DEP said after the meeting that Jackson never spoke with Unger.

"The commissioner has never spoken to anyone about the need for a non-binding resolution on this matter," DEP Spokeswoman Darlene Yuhas said.

"She had no conversation with [Unger] before Wednesday [the day after Unger made the comment].

"That is when [Jackson] called [Unger] to express her displeasure and disappointment," Yuhas said.

Unger said in his prepared statement that he spoke with Jackson's senior aid on the matter the day of the workshop meeting.

He said he also consulted with elected officials, environmentalists and preservations who had direct conversations with senior DEP officials and with Jackson.

"Long Branch City Council and city government needs to make a clear and unambiguous statement that we want to save Takanassee from becoming just another luxury condo on the beach," Unger said. "That's what we need to focus on, not who said what when,

"Not passing a resolution and making a clear public statement is just playing into the hands of developers," he said.

An application is currently pending before the DEP for a Coastal Area Facilities Review Act (CAFRA) permit to develop the 5-acre site.

Takanassee Developers is seeking to build 21 luxury condominium and townhouses on the site where three original lifesaving stations stand.

Principal in Takanassee Developers is Isaac Chera of Crown Acquisitions.

In the letter to green acres, Woolley wrote, "I am sure you are aware that there is a contract purchaser for the site who is presently before CAFRA with a development proposal.

"The city in no way wished to interfere with that process. We do however look forward to discussing with you ways that this property could become publicly owned," Woolley wrote.

Schneider said at the workshop meeting that once the CAFRA decision is made, he is willing to spend money to get an appraisal of the site, which has been valued anywhere from $10 million to $17 million.

"Green acres knows we have an interest," Schneider said, adding, "But we also have an interest with financial concerns.

"It is completely unnecessary to the DEP to get a nonbinding resolution. What I am going to suggest is to see what comes of this CAFRA application and at that point we can talk about an appraisal," Schneider said.

The DEP could pay up to 75 percent of the cost of the project for the city to acquire the Takanassee property, which leaves the city to come up with the remaining 25 percent of the funds.

In November, a $200 million preservation bond initiative though the DEP's green acres program was approved by voters. The bond makes funding available in the state to be used to preserve open space, farmland and historic sites in the states, such as the Takanassee property.

The nonbinding resolution will show green acres that the city is interested in acquiring funds from the bond initiative to preserve the Takanassee property, according to Unger.

At the meeting, Unger said, "a nonbinding resolution is so that [the DEP] knows that the city of Long Branch is not against the acquisition of Takanassee.

"The clock is ticking," he said, adding, "We are not the only people lobbying for this pot of money."