The Lakewood Township Committee passed and adopted five ordinances at its July 16, 2026 meeting, each after a public hearing, according to legal notices published by Township Clerk Lauren Kirkman. Two of the ordinances directly affect township finances.

Public land sale (Ordinance 2026-024)

The committee authorized the public sale of Block 1139, Lot 1, a vacant parcel of approximately 0.918 acres (200 feet by 200 feet) fronting Havens Avenue, Vine Avenue, and Broadway, in the R-10A zone (a residential zoning district). Following consultation with the Township Tax Assessor, the property was set for sale at a minimum bid of $3,000,000, the ordinance states.

The sale is to be conducted by open public auction through sealed bids submitted to the Township Manager. The ordinance requires all-cash offers, a 10% deposit at bid submission, and full payment within 30 days of acceptance; a bidder who fails to close within 30 days forfeits the deposit. The property is sold “as is, where is,” with a quitclaim deed and no title contingencies. The committee declared the property “surplus and not needed for public use,” and the ordinance states the sale “will return the Property to the tax rolls.” No bid is finally accepted until the committee passes a resolution accepting it, and the committee may reconsider selling the property within 30 days of enactment.

Tax cancellation (Ordinance 2026-019)

The committee authorized the cancellation and refund of property taxes on Block 41, Lot 16, owned by Congregation Mesifta Atereth Mordechai, totaling $7,753.20 for 2024, $11,012.82 for 2025, and $2,753.22 for 2026 — about $21,519 combined. The ordinance states the cancellation is made under N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.6c, which allows a municipality to waive or refund taxes on property used for charitable or religious purposes when the owner shows good cause for a late exemption filing. According to the ordinance, the property owner demonstrated good cause for 2024 and 2025 and was granted an exemption for 2026. The Tax Collector is authorized to process the cancellation and refunds.

Liquor licenses (Ordinance 2026-018)

The committee amended the Alcoholic Beverage Control chapter to reduce the maximum number of club liquor licenses from 10 to 5, with an annual license fee of $150. Under the amended text, no plenary retail consumption, distribution, or club license issued after January 1, 1989 may be located within the Downtown Redevelopment District — defined as bounded by Fifth Street (north), Hurley Avenue (south), Madison Avenue (west), and the Jersey Central Railroad tracks (east). Existing consumption and distribution licenses already located in that district are grandfathered in, the ordinance states.

Street vacation (Ordinance 2026-020)

The committee vacated an approximately 115-foot-long by 50-foot-wide unimproved (“paper”) portion of Beaumont Street. The ordinance states the vacation is a required condition of a five-lot single-family residential development by Stuybell Management, LLC, which received final subdivision approval (SD-2562) on December 19, 2023. Public utilities and cable companies retain the right to maintain existing facilities in the vacated area. The Township Clerk must file a certified copy with the Ocean County Clerk within 60 days after the ordinance takes effect.

Traffic (Ordinance 2026-017)

The committee amended the traffic code to prohibit stopping or standing on the west side of Massachusetts Avenue at Payne Avenue, extending 50 feet in both directions at the entrances and exits. The prohibition applies at all times, including Sundays and public holidays. This ordinance takes effect immediately upon publication.

What happens next

For the land sale, the township would hold the auction and then act on any bid by resolution no later than the second regular committee meeting after the auction. The records reviewed here are the published second-reading notices; they do not state the committee’s vote tally, the auction date, or the net budgetary effect of the tax cancellation. The adopted resolutions, an auction schedule, and any supporting finance memos would resolve those points.