BERKELEY – A solo property that used to have a home was purchased in order to become open space.
The property at 56 Good Luck Drive is the latest among its neighbors to be purchased by the county.
Good Luck Point was hit hard by Superstorm Sandy. Some residents were never able to rebuild. Once a full neighborhood, it is almost entirely reeds now. The marina and a handful of homes still remain.
This is a repetitive loss area. That means the land floods frequently. The federal government is the only entity providing flood insurance because it’s too expensive when a disaster occurs. The government doesn’t want to keep bailing out flooding properties so they incentivize towns to take repetitive loss properties off the market.
Mayor Carmen Amato explained that the government’s flood insurance plan offers deductions to residents if the town follows certain guidelines. One of them is having flood-prone property become open space.
Many properties are being preserved as open space and allowed to return to their natural state, but a few houses remain. (Photo by Chris Lundy)
Currently, Berkeley residents enjoy a 25% deduction on their flood insurance due to actions like this, he said.
The county has partnered with Blue Acres, a program run by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which looks for land near bodies of water.
The Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Fund and Blue Acres were the ones buying the land and knocking down the house. The trust fund is fueled by an open space tax on every property in the county.
Councilman James Byrnes expressed concern about the property’s bulkheads. These are the property owner’s responsibility. This would now be the county’s job.
Amato suggested working something out with the county to pay for local workers to do it.
The county would also be responsible for maintaining the property.
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