OCEAN GROVE - A hearing has been postponed on whether the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association can be forced to allow access to the beach from its boardwalk on Sunday mornings, raising the prospect that the matter, along with the accompanying public protests, will not be settled by the time the new summer season starts Memorial Day weekend.
A hearing date for the appeal was originally scheduled for April 17, but that hearing was adjourned. With a conference regarding the status of the hearing tentatively scheduled for May 16, the hope that the issue would be resolved before the summer season is in doubt. The first Sunday morning that access to the beach would be closed is May 26.
While other moves made by the Camp Meeting Association last year simply irritated its critics, the fight over beach access drew the attention of the state Department of Environmental Protection. It ordered the Camp Meeting Association last year to open access to the beach from the boardwalk. The association refused and is seeking to overturn the order.
The Camp Meeting Association's standoff with the state over its beach-access policy is a fight that has divided the town, the latest battle in a long history that has seen the Methodist group that owns the land clash with secular state government as it seeks to hang on to what it says is its mission: "build and maintain a beautiful seaside community to serve as a place for meditation, reflection and renewal."
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Supporters of the limited beach hours say the rule is part of Ocean Grove's quirks that have made the town an attractive place for visitors seeking sanctuary from the stress of modern life. Critics say it is offputting to residents and visitors who are more secular, and violates New Jersey's beach access rules.
Some residents complain the Camp Meeting Association has begun rolling out religious imagery with more assertion. The group last summer included an image of a cross on beach badges. And it rebuilt the Ocean Grove pier, destroyed during superstorm Sandy in 2012, in the shape of a cross. The 500-foot pier opened last April, but it has been temporarily closed due to concerns about the safety of its structure.
One policy that divided the community was Sunday morning beach access.
The Camp Meeting Association has kept the beach closed from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Sundays from Memorial Day to Labor Day, violating the terms of a permit that it received from the Department of Environmental Protection to manage and maintain the beach. Specifically, the permit said the Camp Meeting Association couldn't limit public access to the beach.
Some residents began defying the policy. They gathered on the boardwalk on Sunday mornings, beach chairs in hand, insisting they were not protesting, but merely showing up to enjoy the beach with their friends and family as they were allowed to do under the law. The Camp Meeting Association filed a lawsuit, saying the group was trespassing.
Last October, with the Camp Meeting Association policy still in force, the DEP issued an order: "Comply with the approved permit and conditions immediately upon receipt of this document. More specifically, immediately cease the use of chain and padlock barriers which prevents public access to the site’s beach." It threatened a $25,000 fine each day beach access from the boardwalk was closed.
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In its appeal, the Camp Meeting said the entrances to the beach are closed for just 45 hours a year in a policy that is at the core of its mission. The association spelled out a long list of benefits for the religious and secular alike: It gives people a chance to take a morning stroll on a less crowded boardwalk; it gives lifeguards some much needed rest; it reduces summer traffic into Ocean Grove; and it is an economic driver since visitors might have more time to shop at local businesses.
"It is difficult to imagine a private property owner giving the public broader access to its privately owned land," it said in court documents.
Members of the nonprofit activist group Neptune United have been among the most vocal residents defying the policy.
The nonprofit told the Press that "Neptune United respects the right of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association to appeal the October 12, 2023 administrative order issued by the Department of Environmental Protection concerning beach access, however, we remain confident in the finding of the Order."
Ocean Grove was founded in 1869 by Methodist clergymen and is noted for its Victorian-style homes and the Great Auditorium, which frequently attracts religious gatherings. It is commonly known by the nickname "God's Square Mile." In the past, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association had police powers like any other municipality, forbidding vehicular traffic on Sundays, but a 1979 state Supreme Court decision changed that. It maintains ownership of much of the land.
Ocean Grove, which is part of Neptune Township, has a population of 3,151. All of the land in Ocean Grove is owned by the Camp Meeting Association except for the streets. Many (but not all) homeowners lease the land on which their homes sit. Anyone can live and work in Ocean Grove, no matter their religion.
Last month, Neptune United released a report arguing properties owned by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association are generally assessed at a lower value for property taxes compared with similar properties owned by other taxpayers.
Now, the Monmouth County Board of Taxation is looking into the tax assessments of Ocean Grove and the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association following the report released that highlighted tax advantages enjoyed by the association.
Charles Daye is the metro reporter for Asbury Park and Neptune, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. @CharlesDayeAPP Contact him: CDaye@gannettnj.com
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