JACKSON TOWNSHIP, NJ – Open space in Ocean County for decades has been synonymous with government officials buying useless land owned by political insiders for above market values and in Jackson Township, one such deal will be voted on during Tuesday’s meeting.
Open space purchases at the county level can usually be traced back to owners with longtime connections to political figures and on Tuesday, that’s what’s happening in Jackson.
Jackson Council President Marty Flemming has proposed an ordinance to purchase property owned by former Jackson Zoning Board member Peter Kitay’s County Line Construction company. The town, according to reports will be offering to buy Kitay’s land for $1.8 million dollars.
That property has been assessed by the township tax assessor at just $215,000, meaning Flemming’s offer to the political insider will earn him a profit of $1.6 million.
The property’s Zillow estimate is now just $489,000.
Kitay sought to subdivide the Frank Applegate lot into eight lots to build a development, but with rising interest rates and the housing bubble potentially ready to burst, the town will now offer the political insider a lifeline. A variance for that project was approved by the zoning board back in March.
Flemming and the council will also vote to purchase a landlocked plot of land in the area between the Lucy N. Holman school and the Flair development. That land split in half by a JCP&L right of way currently has no roads connecting it to any currently improved roads in Jackson.
A hearing will be held Tuesday at the Jackson Township Municipal Building at 7:00 pm.