Ocean County Real Estate: Ocean Acres

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OCEAN ACRES REAL ESTATE

Ocean Acres is a census-designated place and unincorporated area split between Barnegat Township and Stafford Township in Ocean County, New Jersey.  The subdivision is one of the largest in Ocean County, alongside Holiday City - Silver Ridge Park in Toms River. The subdivision includes the Ocean Acres Country Club, and is the location for the 98.5 WBBO radio station.

Ocean Acres Real Estate - History

Ocean Acres is approximately a six-square-mile master-planned community of 5,500 lots, located in the northwestern end of Stafford Township and part of Barnegat. It is the newest, and with approximately 13,155 out of 22,532 total residents, the biggest part of both towns. Most of the streets are named after nautical terms.

Ocean Acres was started in the early 1960s, and in its first year, 2,000 lots were sold. Developers used to bus potential buyers to Stafford.

Ocean Acres is home to Southern Ocean County Hospital, a 144-bed hospital that started as a satellite of Burlington County Memorial Hospital and grew as the county grew. Mayor Carl W. Block has lived in Ocean Acres for about 30 years. The golf course at Ocean Acres Country Club was included in Golf Digest's "4,200 Best Places To Play" and was designed by course architect Hal Purdy.

Ocean Acres continues to grow. A new section, Ocean Acres Barnegat, which opened in 2006, is being developed by Walters Homes, which has developed a large part of Ocean Acres Stafford in recent years. Lighthouse Development Company is also developing the new Ocean Acres Barnegat.

There is one development, Oaks of Stafford, which is technically not a part of Ocean Acres, although it is located inside of it.

Ocean Acres Real Estate - Environmental Concern

The Pinelands Commission is quoted as stating: "In the Ocean County matter, the Pinelands Commission voted to certify an amendment to the Barnegat Township land use ordinance that will implement an innovative plan to protect important natural resources in the Ocean Acres subdivision. The Plan will permanently protect about 350 acres (1.4 km²) of critical habitat in the roughly 810 acres (3.3 km²) subdivision through a combination of conservation and zoning measures.

Development of a conservation plan was prompted by the recent discovery of endangered northern pine snakes and other rare plant and animal species in the area where a developer plans to construct hundreds of new homes. Ocean Acres is in a Pinelands Regional Growth Area, a zone designated for moderate density residential development. At the request of the Pinelands Commission, the developer agreed to conduct an extensive survey to determine if additional snakes inhabit the area and, if so, to what extent. Five snakes were radio-tracked over several months to determine the extent of their habitat and ranges. This snake data was combined with information on other natural resources, including the location of other protected plant and animal species and wetlands, to delineate conservation areas within the Ocean Acres subdivision that would be off-limit to future development. The Barnegat Township portion of Ocean Acres was sub-divided prior to the Pinelands protection program and approximately 850 of the area’s 2,015 lots are below the Pinelands minimum lot size standards for the area. The proposed conservation plan sets forth mitigation options that allow owners of undersized lots to protect land in the conservation area in exchange for building approvals.

Ocean Acres Real Estate - External links

 

Source:  Wikipedia.com