DEAL – Whether the borough Board of Commissioners will vote on a controversial ordinance limiting public parking in the vicinity of the public beach now remains to be seen. But no matter what, opposition remains strong and opponents plan on being at the Friday morning meeting to voice their concerns.
The Board of Commissioners proposed to amend the Parking By Permit subsection of the Revised General Ordinance to restrict parking on several streets in Deal to residents only.
The ordinance would restrict parking on Monmouth Terrance, Monmouth Drive, Hathaway Avenue, Sydney Avenue, Neptune Avenue, and Roosevelt Avenue every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the affluent, insulated community.
The board had planned to hold its public hearing and possible final vote on the ordinance Friday at its regularly scheduled meeting, set for 9 a.m.
But there have been some reports that the commissioners would table the vote. Robert Considine, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said on Wednesday, the borough contacted the state agency that the commissioners wouldn’t take action this week. However, “Whether they do or not is the borough’s decision,” he acknowledged.
When reached on Wednesday, borough clerk/administrator Stephen Carasia said Mayor Morris Ades has been out of state this week and Carasia has yet to finalize Friday’s meeting agenda and couldn’t comment. The agenda would be prepared on Thursday, Carasia said.
Attempts to contact Ades this week were unsuccessful. Whether the commissioners vote or even if they meet, will not dissuade John Weber from attending Friday. Weber is the northeast manager for the Jersey Chapter of Surfrider Foundation, a coastal environmental organization, and his organization is planning an impromptu press conference on Friday to express their concerns. “We’re still seriously against this,” Weber said, believing prohibiting non-resident parking in the area of the beach violates the state requirements to provide access to those beaches. “We’re going just to let them know that nothing resembling this should be introduced even.”
Surfrider successfully sued the borough in 1994, charging Deal’s ordinance restricting surfing to the point of effectively banning it for much of the year, was in violation of the state Constitution by denying access to what should be public for the borough’s mile-long span of sand and ocean. Now, “The same argument exists,” Weber maintained. “They don’t own the beaches. They hold them in the public’s trust for everyone in the state of New Jersey and they need to start acting like that.”
This ordinance restricts the public from parking on these beachfront streets, which will greatly affect surfers and fisherman from the local community, critics of the ordinance argue.
Andrew L. Chambarry, a local lawyer, has drafted a legal brief in opposition to Ordinance #1124. When the petition was drafted, 37 people announced they were for the ordinance. A mere few hours later, the petition, titled Citizens in Opposition to Deal Ordinance #1124, had 1900 signatures, according to Chambarry.
The petition states that ordinance is unconstitutional for violating the public trust doctrine, the public’s right to access a traditional public forum – thereby violating the First Amendment, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
What is most irksome for Weber, he said, is that Deal has benefitted from a $40 million federal taxpayer-financed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers beach replenishment project to address erosion. “It’s especially obnoxious given Deal has gotten all that sand,” he said.
Surfrider is not alone. The DEP hasn’t formally taken a position, Considine said, “although I think it’s fair to say we have concerns about what the ordinance would mean for public access,” particularly given that the federal Beachfill project requires the municipality to provide that public access.
“The ocean is something that should be enjoyed by any person who lives anywhere,“ said Gary Germain, Rumson. “Unfortunately, Deal has shown a propensity to use legal tactics and zoning that is exclusionary and restrictive.”
Anthony Giglio, of Monmouth Beach, who has been surfing in Deal for many years, thinks Deal residents are being selfish by trying to pass the ordinance. “They don’t want people like us on the beaches. They’re trying to keep it just for them when we pay the taxes for that sand.
They don’t even live in those houses in the wintertime. It’s pretty messed up,” Giglio said.
Numerous fisherman and surfers from the Two River area expressed concern about the ordinance.
Surprisingly, Sea Bright resident and seasoned surfer Drew Eastwood is not angry about the ordinance. “Hey, if I lived somewhere where people were coming from all over the place to park and surf across the street from my house, and I could try to keep people from parking there, why not try?” Eastwood said. “Whether it’s a parking issue or not, they’re trying to keep people from being around. It means less people are surfing the waves and using the beach. You can’t blame anybody for that. I would try the same thing,” Eastwood said. Eastwood did not sign Chambarry’s petition.
Heritage House Sotheby’s realtor Joann Wiener, a homeowner in Oakhurst, is not in support of the ordinance. “No one owns the street. You can’t start picking and choosing who gets to park. That pendulum always swings the other way. The beach is part of the taxes that are paid by people living in this area. That’s kind of crazy, and very unfair,” Wiener said. As a realtor who often rents houses that are located in Deal, she mentioned the issue of whether or not renters will be able to receive these residential parking permits. This could have a very negative effect on those who rent property in Deal, especially in the winter. “You know the fall has come when all the license plates change,” she said.
A Deal resident riding his bike on Hathaway Ave who did not wish to be identified, stated that residents of Deal are generally in favor of the passing of the ordinance due to the filling of the local streets by surfers and visitors, primarily over the weekends. Cars park up and down the streets, which bothers the residents.
