Land Swap - The End of the Story

Gov. signs bill to allow land swap in Sea Isle
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Thursday, December 22, 2005

Updated: Thursday, December 22, 2005SEA ISLE CITY-Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey signed a bill into law Wednesday to give clear property ownership rights to nine homeowners caught in a bizarre land dispute.The law gives the state Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP, the legal authority to convey the property back to 47th Place homeowners, DEP spokeswoman Elaine Makatura said.The law is a big step, she said. But the process is not over.Brian Buckley, who became a spokesman for the 47th Place homeowners, was pleased with the bill's passage but will remain cautious until everything is ratified."The bill doesn't state all the details. It just gives the authority to the DEP, so long as all parties are in agreement," Buckley said."We're thrilled, we're optimistic," he said. "But this has taken so long, it's not done until it's done."Mayor Leonard Desiderio said the whole process had the ups and downs of a roller-coaster ride."The legislators did their job getting it through their respective houses and getting it done in record-breaking time," Desiderio said.Desiderio said he will schedule a meeting with the DEP to confirm that the land swap of city-owned land means that the city will not be held liable by title companies for selling that land in the 1960s."I just want to make sure the city is going to be held harmless, which we're sure is going to happen," Desiderio said. "It was never an issue. All along I believe all parties were in agreement that the city would not be held liable for anything that happened in 1942."Desiderio said he also wanted to confirm with the DEP that the city-owned property used in the land swap will be conserved for open space."I just want to sit down with the Commissioner's Office and make sure we know the lands, that they know the lands they are getting, and to ensure that these two minor little things are accomplished," he said.On Feb. 9, 1942, Sea Isle City sold title to the area to the state to dredge. The price was $1. The title change allowed the state's former Board of Commerce and Navigation to dredge a waterway.The titles to land at 47th Place were never returned to Sea Isle City. However, in 1965 - more than 20 years later - Sea Isle City held a public land sale. In January 1966, the city confirmed the land sale at 47th Place, which was sold to a developer, who filled the marsh and sold individual lots.And that was that.It wasn't until 2003 when the DEP's Bureau of Tidelands Management discovered the discrepancy.In May, the agency sent letters to nine property owners who live on six lots at 47th Place.The letter included the phrases, "the State of New Jersey claims title to your entire property" and "the City sold land it did not own and you eventually bought a portion of that land."The homeowners were stunned.They met several times with DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell, who drove to Sea Isle City to attend afternoon meetings.But clearing the titles proved a difficult process.Sea Isle City offered two city-owned lots on 29th Street in exchange for the 47th Place parcels. When a deal between the DEP and the city appeared ready to pass, the state Attorney General's Office said that legislation would be needed to close the deal.But that revelation came in late November. A bill would have to move quickly to pass the lame-duck Legislature. The bill passed through the Assembly, the Senate, and was signed by the governor in less than a month."I think, once in a while, the process works," said Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic. "This is a case where the process really works and in record speed."

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press:BIanieri@pressofac.com