Asbury, iStar dispute: Don't draw line in the sand over boardwalk: Editorial

Asbury Park Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Asbury Park residents fight to stop boardwalk change Asbury Park residents oppose a boardwalk project on the North End.

The outcry expressed by a throng of Asbury Park residents at last week’s City Council meeting over the reconstruction of a stretch of boardwalk on the city’s north end was about more than just the boardwalk’s design. Likewise, the implications of the council’s resolution at the end of the night calling for developer iStar to halt construction and negotiate new terms could extend well beyond that limited issue.

The boardwalk design was part of the 2002 Waterfront Redevelopment Plan approved by the former city administration and former developer, Asbury Partners. The city regards the plan as a living, breathing document — one that should reflect the dramatic evolution of the oceanfront over the past 16 years.

Asbury Partners regards the redevelopment plan as a binding legal agreement; it will make concessions when it is deemed in its best interests. If those interests dovetail with those of the city, fine. If not, the legal document prevails. Hopefully, it won't take the courts to determine which argument has the most merit. Good-faith negotiations are the best outcome.

In the past, limited aspects of the original redevelopment plan have been renegotiated, but efforts to rework major elements of it, including allowable building heights and uses, have failed.

Clearly, iStar was irate at the council’s decision last week. The city has yet to receive a response to the request to renegotiate. iStar may be waiting until the city hears from its Redevelopment Council regarding whether it has the authority to halt the project. How iStar responds to the request to renegotiate could go a long way toward determining how quickly it proceeds with other aspects of its redevelopment plans next year and beyond.

The attorney for iStar emphasized at Thursday's meeting that the only issue before the council was the boardwalk reconstruction. But for many in the audience, the concern was whether the boardwalk plan, which calls for a 15-foot wide meandering boardwalk with a dune system and creating a 117-space paved lot at the Bradley Cove dirt lot, was the first step toward building a private clubhouse and condominiums on one of the final parcels of private, undeveloped beachfront property at the Jersey Shore.

Preserving the north end and making it accessible to the public has been a long-standing goal of environmentalists and longtime residents of the area, who have pushed to have the city, county and other entities purchase the parcel from iStar. Those efforts collapsed because of widely differing property valuations.

The relationship between the city and iStar, which inherited the redevelopment rights in 2009 after Asbury Partners defaulted on a repay a $70 million loan, has been testy at times. iStar wants what's best for its bottom line. Asbury Park wants what's best for the city. Those goals don't always overlap.

But at this junction in the oceanfront's renaissance, it's imperative that the two sides find an amicable resolution. Drawing a line in the sand isn't in anyone's best interest.