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Council Discusses Holding Bi-Annual Auctions For Small Residential Lots
By Catherine Snipe
A parcel here, a spot of woods there: Brick has several small lots that nestled between residents' property that are too small to do much with.
With hopes of neighboring owners taking an interest in making these smaller lots part of their own, the township council recently suggested its administrators compile a list of these properties, citing the interest of many residents who already come to town hall seeking to purchase these smaller neighboring lots, according to township officials.
While council members liked the idea, the only problem the council posed was how best to administer the sale of these properties. For example, a public auction is the current means of approving the sale. Acting township Business Administrator Scott Pezarras said the auction is traditionally scheduled whenever enough properties make it to the auction list, which evens out to an auction, once or twice a year.
However, the council toyed with the idea of creating an auction each time an interested party comes forward, or setting days far in advance, with township attorney Scott Kenneally saying the interest needed for a very regular auction just isn't there.
"We do it once or twice a year. We have an auction here, and three people show up," Kenneally said. "I wouldn't go through the process ... you wouldn't want to do it for one."
One auctioned property per auction is not efficient enough, he said.
Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli agreed, instead suggesting the town hold auctions twice a year.
"Twice a year it is then," Pezarras said, adding that the tax assessor sets the minimum price the township can start the bidding at.
The auctions would allow smaller lots to be incorporated into the larger neighboring lots. As of now, the lots are too small to build homes on.
No matter the size of the parcel, the auctions usually have a low turnout, Kenneally said. This year, a public auction brought two bidders out of a solicited 30 bidders to compete for a 23-acre tract. In five minutes, the auction was over, and the winning bid topped $12 million. The previous year, a public auction was also held for a large parcel, known as Lighthouse Court - a township-owned six-lot subdivision off Hooper Avenue - with a winning bid of $750,000.
However, the council's discussions focused on parcels under an acre, whose uses could allow for additional landscaping on residents' yards or a widened driveway. They further noted that if the properties are sold, it would put the lots back onto the municipality's tax rolls.
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