'Inaccurate' Claims Made In Article Refuted By Asbury Officials

ASBURY PARK, NJ – Asbury Park officials released a statement on the city’s website Wednesday morning to refute the “prevalence of incomplete and inaccurate information as reported in the media” in regards to the ongoing talks between City officials and FEMA regarding the building of a beach club on Ocean Avenue.

The state refutes claims made in a June 12 NJ.com article stating that the city’s planning board approved the application, despite FEMA’s warning that the project would make the city lose it’s flood insurance as the proposed beach club would violate federal regulations regarding development in a floodplain, something that Asbury Park officials say isn’t true.

“The March 1, 2021 letter to the City from Scott V. Duell, Chief of Floodplain Management and Insurance Branch, FEMA, did not threaten to put the City on probation, instead it merely explained the features of the FEMA Flood Insurance Program and requested information about the status of the City’ s consideration of the proposed Beach Club and its compliance with the Program. It also requested, among other things, information about the Floodplain Development Permit for the Beach Club project,” the statement said.

The statement from the city went on to say that final plans for the proposed beach club has not yet been submitted to the city and once they are, they will make sure that those plan satisfy all regulations.

“It is essential to stress that not only is the participation by the City of Asbury Park in the National Flood Insurance Program not in jeopardy, but also that, if the construction plans for the Beach Club, or any other project in the Special Flood Hazard Area, are not in compliance with the most restrictive requirements, a Floodplain Development Permit will NOT be issued by the City unless and until they do so,” the city’s statement said.