After 11-Year Legal Battle, Town Successfully Secedes from Neighbors

A small Jersey shore community has won its long-haul fight to break ties from its township. 

South Seaside Park has been granted permission by the New Jersey Supreme Court to secede from Berkeley Township after a grueling 11-year battle.

The peaceful neighborhood of just about 500 residents has longed to be able to turn its back on Berkeley and join another township – Seaside Park.

South Seaside community members feel disconnected from the Berkeley Township, as it is geographically isolated from the rest of its neighborhoods.

The portion of the barrier island is separated from the remainder of the township by Barnegat Bay, requiring a drive of 13 to 16 miles. This township includes more than a dozen towns and unincorporated communities, as noted by the Asbury Park Press.

Residents have expressed dissatisfaction regarding insufficient services and resources from the township and have highlighted their disproportionate share of the tax burden.

Even though they make up only about one percent of the township’s population, South Seaside contributes nearly 10 percent to its property tax base, according to 2024 court records submitted on behalf of South Seaside.

As Berkeley’s only ocean-front neighborhood, South Seaside residents argued the township has failed to develop its beach, provide ‘adequate’ sanitation services, and offer a sufficient police and emergency services presence. 

South Seaside Park, has been granted permission by the New Jersey Supreme Court to remove itself from Berkeley Township (pictured: the Seaside boardwalk)

South Seaside shares a boardwalk with the bustling Seaside Heights (pictured).

‘We don’t want to see them go, [but] it’s out of our control. We really don’t have much to say at this point,’ Berkeley Mayor John A. Bacchione (pictured) said

‘As a result, they rely heavily on Seaside Park for services,’ the filing states.   

South Seaside Park is only about one mile away – roughly a three-minute drive – from Seaside Park township. It even shares a boardwalk with the bustling Seaside Heights.  

The Supreme Court found that South Seaside could secede from Berkeley Township without causing any economic turmoil.

Its decision, which was made on June 10, states that if South Seaside’s request was denied, it would be ‘detrimental to the economic and social well-being’ to the people living there, according to the Asbury Park Press. 

‘We don’t want to see them go, [but] it’s out of our control. We really don’t have much to say at this point,’ Berkeley Mayor John A. Bacchione told the Asbury Park Press.

During a board meeting detailing the situation, experts estimated the rest of the township’s property owners’ taxes would increase about $148 each year if South Seaside left.  

But now it is up to Seaside Park Township officials to decide if they are willing to welcome South Seaside. 

Seaside Park must perform a ‘thorough review process’ before giving the community the official go-ahead, according to Seaside Park Mayor John Peterson. 

‘There is a process and procedures that have to be adhered-to, and we can assume that the plaintiffs would be filing a petition,’ he said, according to Shorebeat. 

South Seaside Park is only about one mile away – roughly a three-minute drive – from Seaside Park township

Seaside Park must perform a ‘thorough review process’ before giving the community the official go-ahead, according to Seaside Park Mayor John Peterson (pictured)

‘No such petition has been received by the borough of Seaside Park as of yet, so as we speak, there has been nothing formal received from the South Seaside Park property owners.

‘I would assume that that is something they’re contemplating doing at their first opportunity.’ 

The attorney representing South Seaside residents, Joseph Michelini, said his clients are going to reach out to the township in the coming days. 

‘We will make a request of Seaside Park,’ Michelini told the Asbury Park Press. ‘At that point it’s Seaside Park’s decision.’

But he said he is confident the municipal will gladly annex its tiny neighbor. 

The Garden State’s secession process is notably strenuous and hardly ever pulled off by small communities tired of their broader townships.

As recently as 2019, the unincorporated community of Strathmere’s try at leaving Upper Township was denied. 

A few years prior in 2016, Seaview Harbor Marina’s request to leave Egg Harbor Township and join Longport was also turned down.