Seaside Park Waiting on Final Considerations Before South Seaside Park Annexation Report Due

Route 35 South in South Seaside Park. (Credit: Monmouth-Ocean MLS)

Seaside Park officials said the borough’s professionals and consultants working on a comprehensive series of reports on the potential annexation of the South Seaside Park section of Berkeley Township are in the final stages of their work, with a few items left to consider.

Last year, residents of South Seaside Park won the right to secede from Berkeley Township and join Seaside Park borough after years of litigation. The Seaside Park borough council, however, must approve a petition from South Seaside Park to accept the community into its municipal boundaries. To that end, Seaside Park contracted with a consulting firm that will provide a report on the myriad ramifications of annexation, and also hired a planner to examine the land use aspects of the matter, including zoning changes and related factors. Initially, it was hoped the final reports from professionals would have been proffered by the end of 2025, but the breadth of information involved has led to a bit of a longer time frame.

“We would expect the report sooner rather than later,” Seaside Park Mayor John Peterson said at the Feb. 5, 2026 council meeting. “I also think it’s imminent in terms of a related report on the zoning of South Seaside Park.”

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The planner hired by the borough, as well as an attorney, are also in the midst of examining whether annexation would bring any consequences in terms of the state’s controversial affordable housing policies, which is the subject of hundreds of lawsuits statewide.

“There was one nonprofit group that brought a suit against every town in the state – every city and every town – and they are now, informally, separating them out,” said Peterson. “The planner is coming to explain all that, and the attorney as well.”

It is expected, but not guaranteed, that the matter will be discussed at the borough’s next planning board meeting.