The low-lying portions of Highlands Borough are continuing to deal with the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy over five years after it made landfall. One Bayfront property impacted by Sandy is the “Captain’s Cove” Marina site. This long, narrow marina property saw significant damage and it has yet to be
restored to its pre-storm condition.

In order to address the condition of the Captain’s Cove site, the Highlands Borough Council adopted a resolution on December 7, 2016, which directed the Borough Land Use Board to conduct a preliminary investigation and hold a public hearing to determine if the property qualifies as an area in need of
redevelopment in accordance with the standards in the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law (“LRHL”).

In December of 2016, the Mayor and Council of the Borough directed the Land Use Board, in Resolution 16-228, to undertake an investigation of the area of Block 105.107, Lot 1.1, the Shadow Lawn Mobile Home Park on Ocean Boulevard, to determine if it met the statutory criteria as found in N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-5 to be designated as an Area in Need of Redevelopment. The Land Use Board after conducting the required investigation and holding a public hearing, recommended that the area met the statutory criteria. The Mayor and Council accepted this recommendation in Resolution 18-069, that the area was found to meet the necessary statutory criteria, and the site was designated as an Area in Need of Redevelopment in March of 2018.