Dear Requestor, 
 
Thank you for submitting a Open Public Records Act Request Form on Monday,
July 21, 2025. As such, the Township will respond as soon as possible but
no later than seven (7) business days.
 
Your request reference number is [1]Request Number: OPRA-JF2025-1170 and
your security key is 11106EC3.
 
Use this information to track the status of your request at any time and
to receive responsive documents through the Township of Lakewood JustFOIA
Public Portal here:
[2]https://lakewoodnj.justfoia.com/publicpo...
 
Please have both reference numbers available when communicating with our
staff regarding your request.
 
Thank you, 
[3]Label1
Township of Lakewood, NJ
231 Third Street
Lakewood, NJ 08701
(732) 364 - 2500
 
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Dear Requestor, 
 
The Township of Lakewood received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA)
request on 7/21/2025.   As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to
respond to your request is 7/30/2025.  This response to your request is
being provided to you before the 1st business day after the custodian's
receipt of said request.
 
Regarding your request for "architectural plans", building/architectural
plans are exempt from the release under OPRA pursuant to the following
statutes:  N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1  Emergency or security information or
procedures for any buildings or facility which, if disclosed, would
jeopardize security of the building or facility or persons therein.  
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-9  Upholds exemptions contained in other State or federal
statutes and regulations, Executive Orders of the Governor, Rules of
Court, Constitution of this State, or judicial case law.  Executive Order
No. 21 (Gov. McGreevey 2002) Records where inspection, examination or
copying would substantially interfere with the State's ability to protect
and defend the State and its citizens against acts of sabotage or
terrorism, or which, if disclosed, would materially increase the risk or
consequences of potential acts of sabotage or terrorism.  N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1
(Legislative Findings)  Privacy Interest - "a public agency has a
responsibility and an obligation to safeguard from public access a
citizen's personal information with which it has been entrusted when
disclosure thereof would violate the citizen's reasonable expectation of
privacy."   Cardillo v. City of Hoboken Zoning Officer, GRC Complaint No.
2005-158 (December 2006); and Kohn v. Twp. Of Livingston (Essex)¸ GRC
Complaint No. 2007-319 (July 2008). construction/building plans are not
releasable or reviewable under OPRA because it was deemed that if the
construction plans were disclosed it would jeopardize the security of the
building or facility or the persons therein. If you are the owner of the
property, you may make a common law request by contacting the Construction
Department.
 
Regarding your request for "permits" construction permits can now be found
on the township's website at
[1]https://lakewoodnj.portal.fasttrackgov.c...

Do not enter the city and zip code when searching for permits.

Furthermore, OPRA is a request for a specific government record.  A proper
request under OPRA must identify with reasonable clarity those documents
that are desired, and a party cannot satisfy this requirement by simply
requesting all of an agency's documents on a given topic.  See Bent v.
Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J.Super. 30, 37 (App. Div.  2005). OPRA
is not a research tool to force government entities to identify and siphon
off information. See Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J.Super.
30, 37 (App. Div.  2005).  Your request does not identify a specific
government records but rather picks a topic and then asks the Township to
research whether or not any of these records exist.    As such, your
request is an invalid OPRA request.  When a request is "complex" because
it fails to specifically identify the documents sought, then that request
is not "encompassed" by OPRA. See New Jersey Builders Association v. New
Jersey Council on Affordable Housing, 390 N.J.Super. 166, 180 (App. Div.
2007). 

In regards to "all documents associated with 400 New Hampshire Ave
Lakewood NJ 08701" please clarify your request to identify specifically
what record you are seeking.  As previously noted, Township's are not
required to conduct research.  Please note requests for "any and all"
records are not valid. Please see MAG Entm't LLC v. Div. of Alcoholic
Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534 (App. Div. 2005).

The remaining portion of your request for "surveys" and "violations" is
currently being processed. You will receive a response as soon as possible
but not later than seven business days.

If your request for access to a government record has been denied or
unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a
right to challenge the decision by the Township of Lakewood to deny
access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the
Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government
Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form.
You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at
P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [email address], or at
their web site at www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other
questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in
Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.

Please note, if a response is not received within 7 business days, your
request will be closed.
 
Thank you, 
[2]Label1
Township of Lakewood, NJ
231 Third Street
Lakewood, New Jersey 08701
(732) 364 - 2500
 
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Dear Requestor, 
 
The Township of Lakewood received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA)
request on Monday, July 21, 2025.  As such, the seven (7) business day
deadline to respond to your request is Wednesday, July 30, 2025.  This
response to your request is being provided to you on the 4th business day
after the custodian's receipt of said request. 
 
Your OPRA request sought access to the following:
 
"Records requested: Architectural plans, Surveys, permits, violations and
all documents associated with 400 New Hampshire Ave Lakewood NJ 08701 My
preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as
attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. If you are not
the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and
provide their email address to me for future reference. Yours faithfully,
Sam a resident of Lakewood "
 

The following records being provided are responsive to your request.

 1. Survey (3 documents)
 2. Site Plan

Please click on the request link here: [1]Request Number: OPRA-JF2025-1170
to download any responsive documents that may have been released to you. 

As stated in our initial response on 7/21/2025, building/architectural
plans are exempt from the release under OPRA pursuant to the following
statutes:  N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1  Emergency or security information or
procedures for any buildings or facility which, if disclosed, would
jeopardize security of the building or facility or persons therein.  
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-9  Upholds exemptions contained in other State or federal
statutes and regulations, Executive Orders of the Governor, Rules of
Court, Constitution of this State, or judicial case law.  Executive Order
No. 21 (Gov. McGreevey 2002) Records where inspection, examination or
copying would substantially interfere with the State's ability to protect
and defend the State and its citizens against acts of sabotage or
terrorism, or which, if disclosed, would materially increase the risk or
consequences of potential acts of sabotage or terrorism.  N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1
(Legislative Findings)  Privacy Interest - "a public agency has a
responsibility and an obligation to safeguard from public access a
citizen's personal information with which it has been entrusted when
disclosure thereof would violate the citizen's reasonable expectation of
privacy."   Cardillo v. City of Hoboken Zoning Officer, GRC Complaint No.
2005-158 (December 2006); and Kohn v. Twp. Of Livingston (Essex)¸ GRC
Complaint No. 2007-319 (July 2008). construction/building plans are not
releasable or reviewable under OPRA because it was deemed that if the
construction plans were disclosed it would jeopardize the security of the
building or facility or the persons therein. If you are the owner of the
property, you may make a common law request by contacting the Construction
Department.

Permits can now be found on the township's website at
[2]https://lakewoodnj.portal.fasttrackgov.c...

Furthermore, the Township had requested clarification of your request
regarding "all documents associated with 400 New Hampshire Ave Lakewood NJ
08701" on 7/21/2025 with no response. At this time, your OPRA request is
deemed concluded since we did not receive the requested clarification.

If you are still seeking additional records, please re-submit with the
requested information.

This deems your request complete.

Thank you, 
[3]Label1
Township of Lakewood, NJ
231 Third Street
Lakewood, NJ 08701
(732) 364 - 2500
 
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If your request for access to a government record has been denied or
unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a
right to challenge the decision by the Township of Lakewood to deny
access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the
Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government
Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. 
You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at
P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [4][email address], or
at their web site at [5]www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other
questions about the law.  All questions regarding complaints filed in
Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.

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