To the Editor:
The borough of Avalon and the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection were derelict in their duty to protect Avalon’s precious, unique and critical dune system.
Lots in Avalon average 5,000 sq. ft. Despite the borough’s allegation that code enforcement is tasked only with checking construction progress and not landscaping, it is inconceivable that the Gureghians could “inadvertently” clear 8,470 sq. ft. of maritime forest and replace it with sod when a landscape plan is required as part of a construction plan.
It is even more difficult to swallow when the homeowner is participating in the ill-conceived Dune Vegetation Management Plan, which requires additional oversight by the Avalon Environmental Commission and the Lomax Consulting Group.
Between the code enforcement official inspecting the site monthly, the Avalon Environmental Commission covering the project in multiple meetings and the Lomax Consulting Group responsible for supervision, it still took a whistleblower to alert the DEP of this egregious infraction.
This array of appointed, elected and paid officials, consultants and government entities saw, or chose to see, nothing. The situation is further exacerbated by the borough’s failure to prosecute and instead accept a plea agreement that did not even include community service.
A $2,000 fine and a $13,000 donation to the borough’s Environmental Trust Fund is petty cash to the Gureghians. Adding a few more digits to the fine might have made it meaningful.
Given Avalon’s poor stewardship of the dunes, the Dune Vegetation Management Plan should be terminated, and to regain the public’s trust, the $13,000 donation redirected to an environmental fund offering rigorous stewardship and integrity.
