South Seaside Park Formally Files to be Annexed by Seaside Park: What Happens Now?

A ‘Welcome to Berkeley Township’ sign in South Seaside Park. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Following a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that would pave the way for the South Seaside Park section of Berkeley Township to become part of Seaside Park Borough, the committee that shepherded the case through years of litigation and multiple levels of the court system took the first formal step toward achieving their goal: formally filing a petition requesting to be annexed by their next-door neighbor.

While South Seaside Park has collected the requisite number of residents’ signatures to make the request – at least 60 percent of legal voters – they must have a willing partner in Seaside Park, sans forcing the issue through more litigation. While the process of de-annexation from Berkeley Township and annexation by Seaside Park is fairly straightforward from a legal standpoint, before a vote can be taken, a great deal of due diligence is required, officials said. In fact, in the 1970s, a previous effort by South Seaside Park residents reached the same position as today, but was rejected by Seaside Park. But a half-century later, both local realities and the value of barrier island property has changed significantly, modifying many of the variables that could influence a decision. That decision, however, will not come in rapid fashion.

“It would not be a well-reasoned and informed decision if we didn’t first do our homework and research all of the positives, all of the negatives, and accumulate all of that information from all available sources,” said Seaside Park Mayor John Peterson. “That includes public records as well.”

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Phones at borough hall have been ringing with residents who have questions on the process, leading the borough to place an FAQ document on its website that outlines the steps the town will be taking to determine whether combining the two communities would represent a good fit.

Options Upon Options

Now that the Supreme Court has opined that South Seaside Park can be de-annexed from Berkeley Township due to its distance and lack of connection with the mainland community about 30 minutes away, there are several options to effectuate the merger. A “scorched Earth” approach on the part of the petitioners could force the issue by asking the court to order an annexation by Seaside Park. This would be the likely approach if Seaside Park were to simply ignore the issue, or take a snap vote to deny the petition without conducting any due diligence on the matter.

That is not going to happen, the mayor said.

“They sent in the petition with their attorney’s cover letter,” said Peterson. “As such, that kicks off the review process that the town is going to engage in.”

The corollary to forcing the issue on one side would be forcing the issue from the opposite direction. If Seaside Park were to simply hold a vote and immediately accept South Seaside Park into the borough, current residents who oppose the merger could likewise ask the court to vacate the council’s vote on the grounds that the town acted arbitrarily and unreasonably to make a major decision without sufficient consideration.

Instead of turning the process on its head by engaging in more litigation, Seaside Park officials have decided to do the work necessary to make an informed decision.

“Part of the process is collecting all available public records – and that is ongoing – but later would be input from professionals,” said Peterson.

Those professionals would people such as planners, attorneys, engineers, and financial experts who will pour over the data and produce a report that explains the positive and negative aspects of either accepting or rejecting the petition. Seaside Park is now preparing a request for proposals that will seek a team of experts to compile the data and produce that report. In most circumstances, the professionals will likely be those with existing knowledge of the town and its operations, however the process must be free of conflicts.

“Now, some of the professionals that are employed by Seaside Park are also employed by Berkeley Township, so that’s a bit of an obstacle,” said Peterson, given the fact that Berkeley Township opposed the de-annexation for years, and those experts may have worked on the township’s behalf to oppose the effort. “We’re looking into the situation as to which other professionals might be appropriate and will not have a conflict.”

After the due diligence is completed and the report is authored, Seaside Park plans to release the document on its website and hold public meetings where the matter can be discussed by the community. That portion of the process will even go beyond the borough council; a planner familiar with the borough will be preparing a report on planning aspects, including zoning proposals, and a hearing to review that specific report will be held by the Land Use Board.

At some point following these public hearings, the question will be scheduled for a vote at a public meeting. Acceptance of the proposed annexation requires two-thirds vote of the governing body in favor of an ordinance accepting the annexation petition. That ordinance, like those considered more routinely by towns across the state, would require introduction at one meeting and a second vote and public hearing at a second meeting. If an ordinance to accept annexation is introduced, it is likely that zoning ordinances covering the area to be annexed would be introduced simultaneously.

As one can imagine, the timeline for selecting impartial experts, conducting research, holding public hearings and potentially fashioning annexation and zoning ordinances will be a time-consuming process. As such, the state does not set forth a deadline for a vote to be taken. In the case where Seaside Park goes through the due diligence process and comes to the conclusion that a merger is not a good fit, the petitioners could still choose to argue before a judge that “refusal to consent to the annexation is detrimental to the economic and social well-being of a majority of the residents of the affected land.”

The likelihood of such an effort succeeding after Seaside Park legitimately conducts its due diligence on the matter is considered remote.

Once again, the opposite is also true: if Seaside Park agrees to the annexation, current residents who oppose the merger could, themselves, go to court to request the ordinance be vacated. Likewise, assuming due diligence was conducted, such an effort would be unlikely to succeed since the objectors would be required to show that the borough acted arbitrarily and unreasonably.

If annexation were to occur, Seaside Park would not be required to “pay” for the new land it is acquiring as in the case of an eminent domain proceedings. That said, the borough would be required to assume outstanding debts that are specifically linked to South Seaside Park. That debt service, however, could either be de minimis or negated by an influx of tax revenue from the expanded ratable base. The amount would be set by a committee made up of officials from both towns.

Berkeley Township would proffer an accounting of “all the property, debts, judgments, claims and liens, actions and rights of action belonging to Berkeley,” a memorandum from borough staff said. Berkeley would also state an account of all the debts outstanding, and the proper proportion or share it believes to be owed by Seaside Park (specifically, the portion attributable to South Seaside Park), and the methods in, and times at, which payment should be made. Seaside Park’s credit would be pledged for the final payment of the indebtedness apportioned to it. Seaside Park would present its own analysis and proposal, and the two sides would be expected to come to an agreement. A lack of such an agreement would bring the issue back to a judge, who would likely appoint his or her own experts to inform a final decision.

Seaside Park’s next regularly-scheduled borough council meeting will be held Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. in the courtroom above the police station. While the matter certainly will not be decided then and there, it is likely it will be discussed. Officials also said updates would be posted on the Seaside Park website as the process takes shape.