SEASIDE PARK, NJ – A New Jersey Superior Court decision declares the tiny beach community of South Seaside Park, located just north of Island Beach State Park can petition to secede from Berkeley Township to become part of Seaside Park to the north.
The ruling could set precedent for other small beachfront communities along the barrier island to break away from the control of their larger mainland municipalities
Many residents in South Seaside Park feel like they have high taxation without equal representation from Berkeley Township which is a nearly 30-minute drive by car to town hall some 16 miles away. To get there, you have to drive through Seaside Park, across the Barnegat Bay, through Toms River and Beachwood before you finally hit the Berkeley Township border.
According to a report, the tiny community of beachfront bungalows is just 1% of the population of Berkeley Township but pays 10% of the township’s overall taxes collected annually.
A petition recently showed 68% of the community wanted to leave Berkeley Township. If successful, South Seaside Park’s de-annexation could lead to the de-annexation of other small beach towns controlled by faraway mainland municipalities such as Ortley Beach, owned by Toms River and Brick Beaches, owned by Brick Township.