Brick Moves Forward Taking Oceanfront Easements For Dune, 'Wall' Project

Brick Township, along with state officials, have moved forward with the taking of small slivers of oceanfront land from homeowners who refused to sign easements to allow construction of an underground sea wall and beach replenishment project to move forward.

In all, nine properties out of a total of 63 on the oceanfront have easements being targeted for taking under eminent domain laws and an executive order signed last summer by Gov. Chris Christie ordering such action. Christie ordered the easements of ocean holdouts be taken following a Supreme Court decision that threw out a six-figure award for a Harvey Cedars couple who had an easement taken to allow a dune protection project to move forward.

In Brick, two separate projects require easements: a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project that will build up a 25 foot-high protective dune and expand the beachfront to a minimum of 200 feet in width, and a state project that will see the construction of steel wall under the dune line that will be driven 39 feet underground in order to protect the integrity of the barrier island, plus Route 35, which is undergoing reconstruction.

The Army Corps dune project is slated to begin after Labor Day, but the steel revetment must be in place before then.

"There’s a need to move quickly now and, frankly, all the paperwork is not quite in place," said Township Attorney Kevin Starkey.

Starkey said the township has entered into an agreement with the state Department of Environmental Protection where the state will pay all acquisition costs and legal fees related to the eminent domain proceedings. State attorneys will oversee the legal process, he said, though the township's legal team will monitor the situation.

"What the town is doing is assisting the state in allowing them to proceed with this project," Starkey said.

Mayor John Ducey said he expects the revetment project to begin soon. A bid would have been awarded already, he explained, but two bidders are currently opposing each other in court. The case has been marked as emergent, he said, and a resolution is expected quickly.

The holdout properties include:

• 101 Faber Lane
• 366 Route 35
• 536 Ocean Terrace
• Easy Street
• 138 Sunset Lane
• 158 Sunset Lane
• 162 Sunset Lane
• 178 Sunset Lane
• 118 Route 35 North