The Ocean County Natural Lands Trust has acquired over 78 acres in Eagleswood Township for $850,000, according to the program’s September status report, which was shared at the regular township committee meeting of Monday, Oct. 26.
Eagleswood Mayor Michael Pasternak said the purchase “will greatly help protect the rural character of the township” and “prevent development and all the associated issues that go along with it, especially traffic.” He called it “a major win for the environment in this sensitive area.”
The parcel was previously at risk of being cleared for nine single-family homes; it is the second property purchased in Eagleswood through the county program, which is under the Ocean County Department of Planning.
The acquisition was part of a larger, nearly 90-acre agreement that also included a donated 1.22-acre parcel in Berkeley Township and 9.97 acres of farmland development rights in Plumsted Township.
During public comment, Dock Road property owners Jeff and Mary Ellen Hackett addressed the committee about the lot they bought in 2023, which requires a permit through the Coastal Area Facilities Review Act.
“When we applied for our CAFRA permit, the DEP said we have to provide public access because there were two or more contiguous lots in the same ownership within the past (30-some) years.”
The lot measures 50 by 130 feet. The state wants the Hacketts “to grant them an easement from Dock Road back to the bulkhead, 10-foot-wide strip for public access, plus signage. This is a great inconvenience to somebody with private property,” Jeff Hackett said. “It infringes on your right as a landowner.”
The Hacketts now propose to use the state’s money, estimated to be $9,000, to purchase three picnic tables, two benches and a few garbage cans for the public dock and fishing pier areas – exact locations to be determined. They need the town’s blessing to obtain another permit as part of the process of reapplying for CAFRA.
The committee was both sympathetic to the Hacketts’ exasperation and appreciative of the opportunity to accept the improvements to public recreation.
“I’m sorry you have to deal with this,” Pasternak said.
In other news, Committeewoman Michelle Sysol announced the recreation commission’s annual Breakfast With Santa event is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 5, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the firehouse on Railroad Avenue. —V.F.
