Barnegat Township officials plan to file a lawsuit this week to stop the managers of the Johnson's Pit area - Barnegat Holdings LLC - from storing what some in the township have reported as "thousands of cars" that were damaged during Sandy.
"We've been authorized to start a lawsuit in Superior Court," Township Attorney Jerry Dasti said at the committee meeting on Monday night. "Hopefully Superior Court in Toms River has a little more muscle with them than our code enforcement officer."
Charles Horner, an assistant executive director at the Pinelands Commission wrote a letter to owners of the Barnegat property, last Friday, noting that storing the vehicles there is not permitted because it is considered Pinelands Forested Area. Further, the letter notes, storing the vehicles there constitutes a commercial use, and requires permission from Barnegat, the DEP, and the Pinelands Commission.
Township Committee members said at the meeting that the owners did not secure any approval before using the site to store the damaged vehicles.
Mayor Al Cirulli cited the letter from the Pinelands Commission, and expressed frustration with the situation.
"We will do everything short of breaking the law to stop this immediately," Cirulli said.
Barnegat resident Toni Carrea said at the committee meeting that she personally witnessed vehicles being brought to the site on trucks, and she urged the committee to post police near the property road to deter the owners from continuing the practice.
Ocean County GOP Political Machine. It would be assumed the owners may have advised the township officials that they planned to put these some thousands of vehicles on the site ... with so many not in town for the winter (snow birds), the move was moved on figuring no one would know what was going on ... power and greed ... agree law firms do benefit that is historic in Ocean County ... Barnegat has to look at Scarinci & Hollenbeck for legal services ... they are out of the connected area ... Guessing a waiver maneuver will be created ... no harm no foul ...
are written to be broken ... how can such a dumb plan be allowed by any legal company? Surely a permit would have been allowed if a simple request was done ... call Christie he's well connected to Ocean County ... it was the nearly 30,000 that put over the top ... post election G. Gilmore APPress comment. Do not give us that tree hugger crap ... developers have been allowed to cut down trees and build within a zero set-back fire wall ... that cost Barnegat big a few years ago. Sad that folks want to convert a great area into what they left behind ...well you are doing a good job of it ... developers. law firms, engineering firms all not to mention who else has benefited ... enjoying your rising property taxes ???
Jon D.