N.J. has 80 pct. of easements needed for dune, beach work

New Jersey has obtained more than 80 percent of the property easements it needs to go ahead with dune construction and beach widening, to protect shorefronts against future storms, state officials announced Thursday.

But even though about 2,400 easements have been secured, about 450 holdouts remain, which could lead to expensive and time-consuming court battles, officials said.

"We appreciate that many property owners - clearly mindful of the destruction caused by Superstorm Sandy - have unselfishly donated easements for the greater good rather than engage the state in protracted litigation," said acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman.

"But to those who continue to hold out, our message is that we remain committed to acquiring these easements as expeditiously as possible, and - consistent with a landmark Supreme Court decision issued in 2013 - without paying a king's ransom as compensation."

In that case, Harvey and Phyllis Karan, who owned beachfront property in Harvey Cedars on Long Beach Island, sought compensation for a 22-foot-high dune built in front of their property.

A trial jury placed the value of the easement at $375,000, but the Supreme Court said homeowners were not entitled to a "windfall" when the goal of projects was to protect their and others' properties.

The Karans later settled for $1.

None of the property owners who granted the current easements has been paid, according to a DEP spokesman.

Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin praised those who donated easements, saying they understood "their civic responsibility in helping to protect their communities and their neighbors."

"Sandy taught us sobering lessons about the critical need for beach and dune systems as an integral part of making New Jersey more resilient in the face of future storms and floods," he said.

The highest number of holdouts for a single community - 123 - is in Bay Head, Ocean County.

None of the oceanfront property owners there has granted the easement, said Thacher Brown, a Devon resident who owns a home there. "We do not believe we need the replenishment," he said.

Bay Head has had a sea wall since 1882, and it was reinforced by a rock revetment 18 feet high, covered with sand, after the "March storm" in 1962, he said.

All the work was funded by the property owners, he said: "We have privately provided our protection for years."

Because of the sea wall and revetment, many homes received minimal or no damage during Sandy, said Brown, who said he was speaking for an informal association of most of the property owners.

Since then, the sea wall has been extended to the south, and the DEP has given permission to extend the revetment to the north.

"The government is asking us to give up our land - our beaches and our dunes - in perpetuity in return for something we don't need, with the promise that . . . they will come back as needed" to replenish the dunes, he said.

"But that's all dependent upon government budgets and whether they can get the appropriations five years from now," Brown said.

Point Pleasant Beach has 69 property owners who have not agreed to easements; Brick Township has 44.

Ocean City, Longport, and Middletown adopted resolutions under the state Disaster Control Act that enabled them to take about 20 easements not voluntarily provided by the property owners.