Deal will close Tent City near the Shore

LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Residents of a homeless encampment in the woods near the Jersey Shore have agreed with government officials on the details of a plan to close down the camp after its 80 or so residents have found homes.

Both sides in the seven-year dispute have signed a consent order and submitted it to a judge, who is expected to approve it soon.

The parties reached an agreement in principle last month. The consent order spells out how Lakewood's Tent City will close down and was sent to Superior Court Judge Joseph Foster on Thursday.

It says any camp resident who refuses to be screened for welfare or housing benefits can be ejected from the camp.

It also guarantees residents one year of indoor housing, no more than two months of which can be in a motel. They can be evicted from the camp if they refuse the offer.

"This consent order gives the people of Tent City everything they wanted, and more, given that a year or more of housing equates to the federal definition of permanent housing, not just emergency shelter," said Jeffrey Wild, lawyer for the camp residents.

Lakewood and Ocean County officials have been trying to close the camp for years. It's on township-owned land near a minor-league baseball stadium.

The deal allows supporters of the camp to keep bringing in food, clothing, and supplies, obligates Lakewood to collect trash put in receptacles by camp residents, and permits outside vendors to service and clean portable toilets at the camp.

A potholed, rutted dirt road leading through the camp can be filled in and smoothed out, but not paved.

The deal also spells out in some detail how the camp will be cleared of residents and eventually returned to Lakewood's control. As each resident is provided with housing and moved out, the tent in which that person lived will be removed by town officials if the resident doesn't take it.

New occupants will be prohibited from moving into the camp; the consent order gives Lakewood the right to bar them in court or by "other lawful means."

Code-violation charges Lakewood officials brought against camp residents for things like having illegal stoves or heaters will be dismissed.

Earlier this year, officials threatened daily fines of $1,000 for each of the site's 100 tents and 80 wood-burning stoves. They cited health and sanitary issues, as well as complaints from neighbors. Lakewood's mayor called conditions there "disgusting" and "horrendous."

Wild also said Ocean County officials had indicated a willingness to discuss establishing a homeless shelter somewhere in the county. Advocates for the residents say that there is no shelter anywhere in the region for homeless adults and that governments have not done enough to provide safe housing for them.