ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENT
Defining a Dune : A Case Study in C
By Agnes Antonian and Christina Sartorio Ku , Connell Foley
Watching helplessly as all of your neighbors expand their homes while locked in a sixyear struggle to obtain routine permits for a small expansion project – this is the reality for two homeowners in the Borough of Beach Haven , New Jersey . Michael and Maria O ’ Hara originally applied for a Coastal General Permit 5 in February of 2017 , seeking approval for the reconstruction and expansion of their oceanfront , single-family home . The application sought to allow expansion in line with other neighboring properties , which had all previously received permit approvals in the past few years to expand their homes and decks towards the water . Given that their application request was similar , the O ’ Haras believed that they would be able to begin construction soon .
However , without providing any supporting documentation or explanation , the state Department of Environmental Protection ( DEP ) notified the O ’ Hara ’ s engineer in a March 2017 email that the dune was located further west ( inland ) than had been found for all of their neighbors . The DEP issued a permit , which did not allow any expansion of the house from its current footprint , and set the home back as compared to the adjacent properties .
The O ’ Haras , who were not aware of these changes , were surprised and extremely disappointed when they first learned about this significant change , months after the Coastal Area Facility Review Act ( CAFRA ) permit had been approved . Since the appeal window had lapsed , the O ’ Haras had to file a second permit application on May 15 , 2020 , for the same proposed footprint . The DEP again denied this application on August 12 , 2020 . The O ’ Haras were forced to appeal and are currently in litigation .
The DEP ’ s denial of the 2020 permit application was based on the determination that , again , the dune extends further west than the adjacent properties . However , this determination appears inconsistent with the NJDEP ’ s dune regulations . Specifically , N . J . A . C . Maria and Michael O ' Hara ' s house in Beach Haven is the third from the left .
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