City continues talks on historic preservation law
Proposal calls for sites to be designated on voluntary basis
BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer
Long Branch is continuing discussions on adopting a measure that would preserve historic structures in Long Branch on a voluntary basis.

A draft outline of a historic preservation ordinance is being reviewed by attorney Mark Aikins, who is representing the city on the matter.

The consensus at the July 8 City Council workshop meeting was to draft the ordinance so that owners of historic buildings and properties would have the option of designating sites as historic, after an involuntary process was compared to eminent domain.

"It is like a taking," Councilman Michael DeStefano said. "You are taking someone's home ….

"Eminent domain, to me, is a long, open process that is very public and very involved," he said.

The proposed historic preservation ordinance aims to restore and protect historic structures in the city by implementing regulations to prevent demolition of certain buildings and to control the preservation of the structures.

The ordinance would also call for the creation of a historic commission that could exist as an advisory panel that would review applications concerning historic structures before they appear before the city's Planning and Zoning boards, Aikins explained.

"I think the ordinance itself makes it very cumbersome for the owner of the house to get out of it," Councilwoman Mary Jane Celli said. "If they declared my areas historic, I don't want my house, which is more than 100 years old, to be declared historic.

"Years ago, the historical association went thorough a process like this and found a historic preservation ordinance too restrictive," Celli said. "I think some people from the historic association should be on the [historic commission].

"This is something that is going to cost money," she said, adding, "I still think we have a lot of work to do."

A historical preservation ordinance was proposed by Councilman Brian Unger after the historic Takanassee Beach Club was sold to a private developer.

"I respectfully disagree with the other council members and Planning Board members regarding the notion that designation of a historic site constitutes a government taking of private property," Unger said. "Even though I have brought this up a few times, we still don't have a formal legal opinion on this.

"It appears that at least three council members do not want the historic designations to be involuntary, and because of that, I am willing to drop this for now in the hope that we can obtain a minimally effective piece of legislation that at least gets the city on the road to historic preservation," Unger said.

The council also discussed how many members would make up the historic commission.

Unger proposed that seven people sit on the commission.

"I think seven is a good number," Unger said. "Nine doesn't bother me, but I think five is too small.

"I propose a membership with four non-expert Long Branch residents and three experts," he said, explaining that experts could consist of architects, architectural historians or academic historians.

"Further, I think each City Council member should get one appointment, with the mayor getting the final two," Unger said. "This will help make the commission truly democratic and representative of the electorate as reflected through the officials they have elected."

Councilman DeStefano said that since the commission will be required to have a quorum, having any fewer than seven members could be difficult.

"You can always start small and amend the ordinance," Aikins said, "Three of the five is needed for a quorum."

Unger said that the city could start with designating institutional structures, some of which are already identified in the city's master plan.

From 1980 to 1982, Monmouth County conducted a historic sites survey of Long Branch based on the federal standards for National Registry of Historic Places in place at that time, according to Unger.

The county government identified 62 potential locations for preservation, including St. James Chapel/Church of the Presidents, Elberon Memorial Church, St. James Episcopal Church, Long Branch Public Library, the Broadway School, the original Elberon rail station, Long Branch Main Post Office and U.S. Lifesaving Station No. 5 at the Takanassee Beach Club.

"Many people in Long Branch and surrounding communities who are interested in saving Takanassee and other historic sites in Long Branch have been involved in this issue," Unger said. "We have lost Takanassee.

"But we can win adoption of this ordinance for battles that must be fought in the future," he said, adding, "There are more treasures in Long Branch and surrounding communities, and it is our mission to save them."