Ka-Ching! Owner of Beachwood Shopping Center Still Being Fined $40,000 A Day

The owner of the Beachwood Shopping Center on Route 9 South is still facing a $40,000 fine each day the eyesore remains, Township Attorney Lauren Staiger said.

"Since the nuisance has not been abated and the matter is still ongoing, technically the fines accrue every day," Staiger said.

Oughton or her representatives are due in court before the Ocean County Board of Construction Appeals on June 20, she said.

The fines began Township Fire Official Jack Wiegartner ordered a number of corrective actions be taken after a vacant store in the battered strip mall caught fire during the height of Superstorm Sandy on Oct. 29.

Shortly after the storm, he ordered owner Priscilla Oughton to take a number of corrective actions immediately, including vacating the shopping center, removing the structures, demolishing the structures and removing all debris.

Wiegartner found eight violations. Oughton was notified she would be fined $5,000 a day for each one. Oughton is the daughter of the late James E. Johnson, who built the shopping center decades ago. She lives in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in Florida.

The shopping center - a longtime eyesore off the busy highway - has been vacant for years. Sections of roofs have caved in, windows have shattered and overhangs are sagging. The massive parking lot is cracked and has sinkholes in some areas.

Oughton's attorney, Michael J. McCalley, countered with a Nov. 21 letter to township officials. He asked for time to review the damage from the storm and asked for a hearing.

"As you are well aware, Ocean County was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy," McCalley said in the letter. "The damage referred to in the cover letter to the Notice of Violation appears to be a direct consequence of the storm."

McCalley said granting a hearing and giving Beachwood Mall LLC more time to assess the storm damage is "both necessary and appropriate."

Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said late last year the township would "stick to the letter of the law."

"I think the township has been more than patient for the last decade and a half," Amato has said.

The shopping center has been a headache for more than one administration. Berkeley officials rejoiced last summer, when the state Planning Commission finally approved the township's Town Center redevelopment plan.

The Beachwood Shopping Center is the kingpin in the plan, which affects four sections in the township. Developer Donato D'Onofrio had been interested in developing the site, but later backed out because of the poor economy and environmental remediation costs.

It was a blow to Berkeley officials. The township badly needs commercial ratables.

Earlier this month, representatives of M&M Realty and Lennar Corporation gave a presentation to the Township Council about the potential redevelopment of the shopping center.

But they have to be formally named the redevelopers of the site before they can determine the environmental costs associated with it, Amato has said.

Since Wiegartner's order, Oughton had some of the larger pieces of sagging metal removed from the buildings and fenced in the entire area.