Meetings Set On South Seaside Park Annexation In Seaside Park

SEASIDE PARK, NJ — The Borough of Seaside Park has two special meetings planned for November to discuss the potential annexation of the South Seaside Park portion of Berkeley Township.

It was this past summer that the decades-long battle ended with the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that the tiny neighborhood located on the Barnegat Peninsula was allowed to deannex from Berkeley and ask to join Seaside Park, which residents have argued they have more in common with than the mainland community.

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The approval isn't so simple, however. South Seaside Park petitioned Seaside Park for annexation. While the Court's ruling allows the neighborhood to leave Berkeley, Seaside Park has to approve the annexation. The borough has hired professionals to study whatever benefits and drawbacks this may bring.

Those professionals will host a brief presentation at the "community listening sessions" on Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. and Nov. 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the in-person special meetings in the second-floor Council Chambers, located at Sixth & Central Avenues, Seaside Park.

These sessions will also provide the public a chance to provide feedback on the proposal. After the presentation, a public comment period will be held.

No formal action will be taken at these meetings.

The decision to allow annexation, ultimately, comes back to the Borough Council. Following the hearings at some point in the future, an ordinance will be introduced on the matter. That will need an introduction at a meeting and public comment and final vote at the following meeting, requiring two-thirds of the governing body to vote "yes" for it to go through.

Seaside Park officials have said they hope to act by the end of 2025. However, that isn't guaranteed.