NJ Takes Margate To Court Over Protective Dunes On The Beach
By David Madden, Diana Rocco
TRENTON, NJ (CBS) -- New Jersey is going after the city of Margate in connection with a two year long battle to put protective dunes along the beach.
Governor Chris Christie last week labeled Margate officials "among the most selfish people in the state of New Jersey" for putting up a fight over his plan for a dune network along the entire coast.
Now, the state is taking Margate to court, seeking to seize 87 public owned beach parcels through eminent domain so the Army can start work there.
Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, told KYW Newsradio, "We have numerous projects ongoing with the Army Corps of Engineers on Southern New Jersey beaches and this is kind of like the hole in the dike."
Neighboring Ventnor and Longport want the dunes, but have to wait until the Margate issue is settled.
Margate officials could not be reached for comment, but in the past have stated residents don't believe the dunes are needed.
This move does not include 10 private residents where the state is continuing to seek easements that would allow the project to proceed.
As CBS 3's Diana Rocco reports, in the latest move Gov. Christie is seeking to take Margate's beaches by eminent domain.
"Towns like Margate you know you are among the most selfish people in the state of New Jersey," said Gov. Christie during a press conference on October 2. "I hope it's worth the vanity act that you're all engaging in. Because we're going to win eventually."
Fighting words from the governor last week after a two-year battle with Margate residents over a dune project to put sand back on city beaches in the wake of erosion from Hurricane Sandy up and down the Jersey coastline.
"I think they need to find another solution," said a resident.
Eighty-seven parcels of public property and 10 privately owned beachfront homes are at issue. The state needs the easements to start a statewide replenishment project paid for by the federal government. The governor says the resistance of Margate residents is holding the project hostage.
"The beaches in Margate we're a seaside resort. The beaches are our gem, they're priceless," said Mayor of Margate Mike Becker.
Margate's mayor says the state has offered them $29,000 for a project that would change the landscape unnecessarily. The island's end to end bulk heads have provided protection from flooding.
"It's not a question of money, it's not a question of people losing their view, it's a question that we just don't think it's the right thing for us," said Becker.
Longtime resident Charlene Natalie says during Sandy the flooding was bay side. Like others it was the beaches that first attracted her to Margate.
"For the people that live on the ocean, for the taxes that they pay, that it would obstruct their view of the ocean and that is the reason why they purchased their houses," she said.
Margate residents have voted down the beach replenishment project twice and a federal judge has sided with them twice. Now faced with the threat of eminent domain, they say they will once again have their day in court, a process which could take months.
