OPRA Open Permit Request for 211 Hamilton Avenue, Neptune
Dear Neptune Township,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-5(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
Records requested: All permit history
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,
Nicole Valentine
Good afternoon,
Good morning,
You have not provided all of the information requested on the state OPRA form. Specifically, address, and phone number. You don’t have to provide this information but failure to do so will result in your request being consider anonymous. As an anonymous requestor, you will have no ability to challenge the response from this office. Please provide the missing information or we will proceed with processing this as an anonymous request.
Additionally, your request does not describe any identifiable record.
OPRA allows you to request identifiable records. OPRA does not allow for requests that are open-ended, requests that require research, requests the necessitate unbridled search of our files.
For building permits, you must describe each requested permit by telling us the type of permit, the work permitted and when the permit was issued.
Alternatively, you can request a permit history report that will detail the permits issued since these functions were computerized. Will that suffice?
In this regard, OPRA "is not intended as a research tool . . . to force government officials to identify and siphon useful information." Id. at 546,868 A.2d 1067. In other words, a records custodian is not required "to conduct research among its records… and correlate data from various government records in the custodian's possession." Id. at 546-47, 868 A.2d 1067. (internal citation omitted). To qualify under OPRA then, the request must reasonably identify a record and not generally data, information or statistics.
Nor does OPRA "authorize a party to make a blanket request for every document" a public agency has on file. See Gannett, supra, 379 N.J.Super. at213, 877 A.2d 330 . Rather, a party requesting access to a public record under OPRA must specifically describe the document sought. Ibid.; see also MAG Entm't, supra, 375 N.J.Super. at 546-49, 868 A.2d 1067 . OPRA operates to make identifiable government records "readily accessible for inspection, copying, or examination." N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1. As such, 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. OPRA does not authorize unbridled searches of an agency's property. See Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J.Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005).
William Bray, RMC
Township Clerk
TOWNSHIP OF NEPTUNE
25 Neptune Boulevard
Neptune, NJ 07753
[email address]
732-988-5200 extension 234
https://www.facebook.com/neptunetownship...
visit online at www.neptunetownship.org
Dear William Bray,
Thank you for your response! Yes, a permit history report on 211 Hamilton Ave, Neptune would be perfect. I represent Buyers who are purchasing the property from an investor who flipped it, so any information on prior permits would be great.
Yours sincerely,
Nicole Valentine
732-330-0915
Requested records attached.
*A CERTIFICATE OF INSPECTION is required for ALL Residential Resales. Information on how to apply can be found here: https://neptunetownship.org/departments/... Fees apply. The township will pursue compliance with the new property owner, if an inspection is not done before closing.
DISCLAIMER:
The presence or absence of any permit should not be relied upon to demonstrate the condition of a property or whether alterations have been performed. A permit that has been fully executed, inspected, approved and closed out only indicates that at the time of inspection the permitted work met the minimum standards in place at the time the permit was issued. Illegal alterations or unpermitted work may have occurred after our last inspection. Furthermore, codes and standards may have changed still the worked was approved and it may not meet current construction codes. Additionally, underground storage tank may have been installed, removed or both before permitting was required and therefore you should not rely upon the existence or absence of permit to determine whether any have or still exist on the property. The best source of information about a property’s history and current condition is the current owner. OPRA is not a substitute for a Seller’s disclosure and does not fulfill your need for due diligence in any real estate transaction.