The Catholic Church is slated to sell acres of woods in Ocean County to a developer, but plans to build dozens of homes on the site have yet to be approved by local officials as some community members are speaking out against the deal.
The Church of the Visitation and the Diocese of Trenton own the land in Brick between Drum Point and Mantoloking roads, which spans 31 acres and is known as Breton Woods. The property is under contract to be sold to the developer D.R. Horton, a church official said.
The developers plans call for 59 single-family houses on the site, which is zoned for residential buildings.
But the plans are still pending before the townships planning board following the most recent meeting in December, which included time for the public to voice its concerns, officials said.
D.R. Horton, a national homebuilder with offices in Mount Laurel, did not respond to a request for comment.
Julie Gaffney, a Brick resident and member of Save Breton Woods, a local group fighting the development, called the land 31 acres of pristine forest.
What they want to do is pull it all up, rip it all up, she said, noting the animals living in the area will be displaced. Its going to be a brutal cutting of these trees.
Once its done, it just can never go back, said Kitty Stillufsen, a Point Pleasant Beach resident who attended the three-hour December meeting and opposes the development. Its just, you know, a wilderness in our overdeveloped area.
A rendering of the proposed development from D.R. Horton, as shown during a May 2022 planning board meeting.Brick Township Planning Board
Members of the public also raised concerns about additional traffic congestion and issues with coastal flooding due to increased development. Township planner Tara Paxton, who has been reviewing the plans, cited stormwater management as the townships biggest concern.
They indicated that they designed the site to comply with New Jersey municipal stormwater management regulations, but they designed to the minimums, Paxton said. They did the least that they were required to do.
If the developer reduced the number of units, the stormwater design would work, she said. But, plans do not currently include a decrease in the number of houses.
D.R. Horton first submitted plans at the end of 2021, Paxton said. Decembers meeting was the latest after several hearings over the last year. No vote was taken by the planning board.
In the 1980s, the parish planned to put a cemetery on the site, said Rev. Edward Blanchett of the Church of the Visitation. But, a motion to rezone the land for cemetery use was defeated decades later in 2013, he said.
Since the land is not used for religious purposes, the parish has been paying taxes on it, Blanchett wrote in an email. That, coupled with the on-going issues of responsibility for property that the parish cannot use (maintenance, damage to adjoining properties) under these financially challenging times make it infeasible for the parish to retain it.
The sales proceeds will also allow church officials to build a faith formation center near the church, Blanchett said. No sale price has been disclosed by church officials.
In 2019, there were tentative plans to schedule a meeting with church officials about Green Acres, the states land preservation program, but they were unable to find a time, Blanchett said.
To my knowledge, there had been no further attempt to reschedule such a meeting until after the announcement that D.R. Horton was under contract for the land, at which point it was too late for us to consider that option, he said.
Rayanne Bennett, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Trenton, confirmed the property remains under contract with D.R. Horton, but declined to comment further.
The Church of the Visitation on Lynnwood Avenue in Brick.Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media
Save Barnegat Bay, an advocacy group that partnered with Save Breton Woods to help with legal costs, has also objected to the plans. The group is represented by an attorney, who will have a chance to present a case against the developers current plans, Paxton said.
The next meeting date has not been set yet, township officials said. Its unlikely a vote will be taken any time soon because more testimony is expected, Paxton said.
Brick officials proposed that Breton Woods be preserved as open space. But, because it is privately owned land, the township needs the Catholic Church to work with town officials on selling it to ensure it stays undeveloped, she said.
Wed like to see it more creatively designed to accommodate everybodys concerns, Paxton said. And if not, we want to buy it and they dont want to sell it.
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Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com.