Government

Seaside Park Heading to Court After Annexation Negotiations With Berkeley Stall

by
Daniel Nee
June 25, 2026

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

Seaside Park has petitioned Ocean County Superior Court to help resolve the allocation of assets, debts and other obligations tied to the annexation of South Seaside Park from Berkeley Township after a statutory joint committee failed to complete its work by the required deadline.

In filings submitted June 12, Seaside Park said the six-member joint committee — three appointees from each municipality — held its first meeting April 13 but did not produce the report mandated under state law within 60 days. The statutory deadline expired June 12. The petition asks Assignment Judge Francis R. Hodgson to appoint commissioners to perform the committee’s duties and issue a report within 30 days of appointment, unless the court orders otherwise. However, Seaside Park also requested that the court first schedule a case management conference to address scheduling, allow continued negotiations and provide any procedural guidance before considering the appointment of commissioners.

The post-annexation relationship between the two towns has been particularly sour. Property tax revenue from South Seaside Park – which is now under Seaside Park’s jurisdiction – is still being sent to Berkeley Township and the township has not agreed to route the revenue back to Seaside Park. They also refused to forge an agreement under which beach badges sold while the section was still under Berkeley control to be valid in Seaside Park, which will be expending funds to run the beach this summer. A smaller agreement was worked out regarding beach buggy access in the winter season. In some cases, Seaside Park officials said, even handicap signs designated for residents’ on-street reserved parking spaces were removed by Berkeley Township, who purportedly claimed the signs were their property.

Mayor John Peterson said last week that, despite the two towns having had meetings since annexation, Berkeley has yet to make clear an exact figure for how much debt should be transferred to the new town. Seaside Park officials have not conceded that any debt should be transferred.

“While progress has been made, the parties do not anticipate that a final joint report and determination will be completed by June 12, 2026,” the borough stated in court papers, with the judicial complaint having been authored by special counsel Jean L. Ciprinai, representing Seaside Park. “Importantly, however, the parties continue to negotiate in good faith and believe that additional time and judicial case management may facilitate completion of the statutory process and potentially avoid the immediate necessity of appointing commissioners.”

The current proceeding stems from a years-long effort by South Seaside Park residents to deannex from Berkeley Township and annex into Seaside Park. A 2014 petition was denied by Berkeley, leading to litigation that reached the New Jersey Supreme Court. In Whiteman v. Township Council of Berkeley Township, decided last summer, the court affirmed the judgment ordering deannexation and permitting annexation to Seaside Park, holding that municipal services would be better delivered by Seaside Parkk versus Berkeley, which is located a 30-minute drive away, on the opposite side of Barnegat Bay. South Seaside Park residents also would see lower property tax obligations under Seaside Park jurisdiction.

Under state law, once annexation takes effect, committees from both municipalities must meet to account for property, debts and other obligations and determine the proportional share of indebtedness the annexing municipality will assume. Seaside Park, as the municipality receiving the territory, was required to apply for commissioners if the joint committee does not timely file its report.

Berkeley Township has not yet filed a response in the new docket. The case is captioned Borough of Seaside Park v. Township of Berkeley. Berkeley officials did, however, support the request for judicial intervention in the matter.

The annexation process itself was completed earlier this year following Seaside Park’s adoption of the necessary ordinance after the Supreme Court ruling. The joint committee process was the final statutory step for resolving financial and asset issues between the two towns.