Activists say CAFRA permit not so bad DEP approves plans to develop Takanassee Beach Club site BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer When developer Isaac Chera received an environmental permit from the state to move forward with plans to develop the Takanassee Beach Club site, critics of the project said they were "outraged." Above: Andrew Chiles, 2, of Atlantic Highlands, holds a poster during a rally in November to save the Takanassee Beach Club property from being developed. Left: One of the Life Saving stations on the Takanassee Beach Club property site on Ocean Avenue. After reading the terms and conditions outlined by the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in the Coastal Area Facilities Review Act (CAFRA) permit, the objectors had a slight change of heart. "The Number 1 drawback is that they are building at the site at all," said Leila Poch, president of the Elberon Voters and Property Owners Association. "But I do feel very encouraged that a lot of what we were taking issue to has been included in the conditions," said Poch, who has been leading a group of activists in a fight to save the historic oceanfront site from being developed. FILE PHOTOS "We really did have an impact on the DEP," she said, adding, "After seeing the conditions in the permit, I can say that the approval isn't a total disappointment. All the restrictions are very much reflective of the fight we were having to block this project." Chera was issued a CAFRA permit from the DEP on Feb. 28 to construct five single-family homes, eight condominium units and six townhouses on the 4.8-acre site on Ocean Avenue where three original Life Saving stations stand. With the approval come some 30 conditions the developer must adhere to in order to move forward with the project, including preserving the historic Life Saving buildings. Plans call for Chera to preserve one of the buildings on the original site and to relocate the other two stations to off-site locations where they also will be restored. Objectors of the project have held meetings and rallies to protest the project and sent letters to the DEP asking that the agency deny issuing a CAFRA permit for the project. "The CAFRA permit was approved. That is only step one," Poch said. "[The groups of activists] have not gotten together yet. We will be doing something. Legal action is in the thoughts. "It is a big commitment tomake sure that the environment and historic significance at that site isn't damaged," she said, adding, "We need to meet and decide what we will plan to do." In addition to possibly legally challenging the approval, another avenue being explored is for the activist groups to work with the developer on the plans for the project, according to Long Branch Councilman Brian Unger. "It is really sad to see another historic site in Long Branch given over to another developer," said Unger, who has been instrumental in the fight to block the project. "Now our task is to work with the developer to come out with the best possible result at that site for the community. "We would like to see at least two of the buildings preserved on the site to restore the historic value. "We met with Isaac Chera and his attorney, Mr. Jerry Zaro, in February and we looked at drawings. "I felt that Isaac and Jerry are willing to work with us to come out with the best possible solution," Unger said, adding, "At the least, we will have a constructive dialogue." Another activist opposed to the project said he is disappointed that the DEP approved the project and issued the permit, but added that he feels the state agency listened to the objections against the project. "Of course we are disappointed," John Weber of the Surfrider Foundation said. "But if you look at the conditions, you could say we were a success. "We clearly made an impact," Weber said. "We wanted them to take our idea and not give the permit. But the conditions are good. It makes this a little less bad." The Takanassee Beach Club property was sold to Chera for just under $18 million by the Peters family, which consists of Ginger Peters, her brother Scott Peters and their sisterin law Kristen Peters. Ginger Peters took her family to court to force the sale of the property, saying that the sale is necessary in order to obtain the needed money to support medical bills for her cerebral palsy and spinal stenosis. Scott Peters has objected to the sale of the property. "The property has been in the family since 1680," Peters said. "I have been against this development all along. My sister Ginger, she always thinks she needs more money. She is handicapped. "I just think that there is another way around it. I love the property. "I don't know anything that I can do at this moment," he said, adding, "I just have to wait." Activists opposed to the project had claimed that the DEP was working "too closely" with the developer on the plans for the project in order to obtain the CAFRA permit. The activists were charging that the DEP planned strategy for and coached the developer in an effort to secure the required permits to develop the historic site. Zaro said the claims are false and that many aspects of the project and the CAFRA approval process were "mischaracterized." "The CAFRA permit really only says that the DEP has signed off to [the project]," Zaro said. "This isn't like going into a courtroom and convincing a judge that this project is good or bad. The DEP has no ability to decide that. "[The DEP] has the role to see if the application meets all the requirements. Whether they like it or not, they have to issue the permit if the application meets the requirements. "That is the reason the DEP approves so many applications before them. Attorneys would not submit an application if they didn't reach the requirements. "Now the process is, the developer must go before the municipality with the exact plans and get that approved," Zaro said. Zaro also explained that Chera is not required to save the historic structures. "These buildings are unquestionably old and have an interesting history to them," Zaro said. "But they are not protected structures.As such, my client could have knocked them down. "In recognition of the sentiments of so many people, my client said that he will do what he can to accommodate the one building and do what he can to preserve the other two buildings. "This is something he agreed voluntarily to do. "Mr. Chera hasn't gotten the credit he deserves for voluntarily agreeing to preserve the one building on the site and the two other buildings off-site. "He could have demolished them," Zaro said, adding, "He is a good person who is doing what he can to do the best that he can."