Save the Beaton property — before it’s too late

If you’re an environmentalist or you live in the Beverly Beach area of Brick, then the Beaton property is probably a focus of your concern.

If you’re not one of these people, you should still pay attention to what happens with this property within the next year. It may or may not change how you feel about the mayor and/or Township Council when seats are up for election in November 2005.

The 9-acre tract of land known as the Beaton property, named after the family who owns it, is a peninsula that extends from Beverly Beach Road into the Manasquan River. As Township Council members have pointed out, it is a “gem,” it is “one of the last of its kind,” and it is the last undeveloped piece of land in Brick on the Manasquan River.

So what does that mean? It means this property, surrounded by marshes and home to countless species of birds, not to mention occasional otters and seals, is in danger of being developed. Up and down the shore of the Manasquan there are beautiful homes, no doubt. But when faced with the choice of a horizon filled with houses vs. a horizon of natural, pristine, virgin land — the untouched land should win every time.

There are already enough homes on the Manasquan River. Period. To save this piece of land would not only mean that a natural habitat to dozens, maybe hundreds, of creatures will be preserved. It means saving homes from being built — in other words, saving taxes from being spent on schools and infrastructure.

True, there are only six homes proposed to be built there. Some council members have pointed out that the township’s open space money could be better used at a site where more homes are proposed to be built. But, so far, there is no guarantee from anyone in the township that these other undeveloped tracts will definitely be saved.

So the Township Council should act now. They know now that the Beaton property is in jeopardy. They know now that they could save this piece of land from being developed. As negotiations continue between the Beaton family and the township, council members should put the past behind them, stop the blame game, and throw 100 percent of their support behind the negotiations.

Windward Beach is a great riverfront property that the township uses for all sorts of activities. It would be great for the community to have a place like the Beaton property for more passive recreation — such as nature trails and maybe a few picnic benches.

Take this property now — while it’s there for the taking.