February, 2022.
Following months of discussion between Long Beach Township officials and residents, the municipal board of commissioners decided to rescind Ordinance 21-27C, adopted last October, “which changed regulations relating to bulkhead construction requirements for lagoon and bayfront properties as a condition of certificates of occupancy,” as the municipality explained.
The township made an introduction to rescind the measure at the Jan. 5 meeting (moved from Jan. 3 due to inclement weather) with second reading scheduled for the Feb. 7 meeting.
“In the meantime,” the township “will not be enforcing any of the changes that were included in Ordinance 21-27C,” as the municipality states on its website, longbeachtownship.com.
According to the new measure, homeowners making substantial improvements to a residence on the bay or lagoon – meaning any new construction or other work that requires a certificate of occupancy – would have had to meet certain bulkhead height requirements: 7 feet (NAVD 1988) for bayfront properties in the southern sections of the municipality, 6 feet for any houses on the bay in the northern part of the township and 6 feet for homes on a lagoon.
Before the annulment of the ordinance, the bulkhead height mandate was also set to apply to home resales beginning Feb. 1 of this year.
The township had hoped increasing bulkhead heights would help mitigate flooding issues, in combination with other measures. Mayor Joseph Mancini also pointed out the state will eventually mandate higher bulkhead heights, so the township had aimed to get in front of that directive.
A number of residents, though, opposed the ordinance, citing concern about water dispersement, as some noted, and the fact the changes would have been made in a piecemeal manner.
The board of commissioners meeting on Monday, Feb. 7 will be held at 4 p.m. at the municipal complex in Brant Beach. —J.K.-H.
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