In our previous post, we highlighted a new parking ordinance introduced by the Borough of Deal. While this was a "new" ordinance, it most certainly was not the first attempt at such a law. Click here to read the full text of the restrictive ordinance. Following the introduction, the chapter along with beach access group COBRA worked with state legislators of the 11th District, Gopal, Downey, and Houghtaling on putting a stop to the borough's council vote on ordinance #1239. On Friday, May 14th Senator Vin Gopal and Assembly Members Houghtaling & Downey issued a public letter to the Borough of Deal in opposition.
On May 27th, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued a letter to the Borough of Deal. The letter stated that ordinance #1239 "is in direct conflict with Item 4 of the State Aid Agreement (SAA) 6072-D-I, the cooperative agreement between the Borough of Deal and the Department of Environmental Protection executed June 4, 2018 (see attached) for participation in the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) beach replenishment project." The letter also states should the borough "adopt the proposed parking ordinance, the USACE funding for the above project components maybe in jeopardy and DEP funding will be in jeopardy."
This letter is a massive win for public access on the shore & should deter the Borough of Deal from future restrictive parking measures. Click here to view full text of the letter.