TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling allowing the barrier island community of South Seaside Park to deannex from Berkeley Township and annex to neighboring Seaside Park.
The unanimous ruling, authored by Justice Patterson, found that Berkeley Township’s Planning Board failed to conduct an impartial review of the 2014 deannexation petition, violating legal standards set under state law. The Court concluded that the township’s rejection of the petition was “arbitrary or unreasonable” and that plaintiffs met all statutory requirements for deannexation.
“To reach the mainland section of the Township, a resident of South Seaside Park must drive between thirteen and sixteen miles across seven other municipalities. In the off-season, that trip can take a half hour, and during the summer, it can take forty-five minutes or more,” the court noted.
“The Planning Board did not act in accordance with [a fair and impartial] standard,” the Court stated, citing the Board’s planner’s coordination with township officials to oppose the petition and prepare witnesses.
Residents of South Seaside Park, who are geographically separated from the mainland portion of Berkeley by up to 16 miles and seven other municipalities, argued that they identify more closely with Seaside Park, which shares a border and zip code with the community.
The Court found that denial of the petition would be detrimental to the social and economic well-being of the roughly 490 year-round residents of South Seaside Park, satisfying the second prong of the state’s three-part deannexation standard.
On the third prong—whether deannexation would significantly harm Berkeley Township—the justices agreed with the lower courts that while the township would lose tax revenue, that loss would be at least partially offset by cost savings in services no longer required for South Seaside Park.
The ruling clears the way for residents to seek formal annexation to Seaside Park under state law. The disputed land includes White Sands Beach, which the Court confirmed as subject to the deannexation.
The high court’s decision affirms that South Seaside Park has legal grounds to sever ties with Berkeley Township after a years-long dispute.