Location of Loch Arbour in Monmouth County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Monmouth County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
In 2020, Loch Arbour was the third-smallest municipality in New Jersey in terms of area (behind Shrewsbury Township and East Newark)[1][20] and was the fifth-smallest municipality by population in the state of New Jersey.[8]
Its formation was driven by efforts to build beachfront condominiums in the area.[20] Residents who sought to prevent the development led the secession, taking with them the last portion of oceanfront property in what The New York Times described as "the now ironically-named Ocean Township."[23]
In 1997, Loch Arbour voters rejected a ballot proposal that would have it merge back into Ocean Township by an 88–69 margin, and proposals to merge with Allenhurst or Interlaken failed by a nearly 10–1 margin.[24]
A ballot proposal in 2011 again considered a merger with Allenhurst, citing a potential reduction in property taxes for residents.[25] In 2012, Loch Arbour officials held discussions with their counterparts in Allenhurst towards a plan in which the two municipalities would merge, subject to approval by the councils of both communities and approval of a referendum by voters in both Loch Arbour and Allenhurst. The merger drive was driven by property taxes paid to the Ocean Township School District, a relationship that would be ended by the merger, under which the combined municipality would send students at lower cost to the Asbury Park Public Schools.[26]
While there are four municipalities that retain the Village type of government (Loch Arbour, Ridgefield Park, Ridgewood and South Orange), none of them still use the Village form of government. Loch Arbour was the last to do so, but on December 20, 2011, its residents voted to change from having a form with five village trustees to the Walsh Act form of government, under which Loch Arbour is governed by a three-member board of commissioners.[27][5]
In 1892, James J. Corbett set up his training camp in Loch Arbour for the bout with John L. Sullivan in which Corbett won the world heavyweight boxing championship.[28]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village had a total area of 0.13 square miles (0.35 km2), including 0.09 square miles (0.22 km2) of land and 0.05 square miles (0.12 km2) of water (36.15%).[1][2]
The village is located along the Atlantic Ocean in eastern Monmouth County and is bordered to the north by the Borough of Allenhurst, to the west by the borough of Interlaken and to the south by the City of Asbury Park.[29][30][31]
Of the 82 households, 28.0% had children under the age of 18; 52.4% were married couples living together; 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present and 35.4% were non-families. Of all households, 29.3% were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.91.[17]
19.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 13.9% from 25 to 44, 44.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.0 years. For every 100 females, the population had 102.1 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 108.0 males.[17]
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $120,000 (with a margin of error of +/− $62,957) and the median family income was $119,167 (+/− $20,917). Males had a median income of $73,500 (+/− $27,181) versus $92,500 (+/− $38,683) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $60,575 (+/− $9,229). None of the population were below the poverty line.[36]
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census[13] there were 280 people, 120 households, and 77 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,894.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,117.4/km2). There were 156 housing units at an average density of 1,612.4 per square mile (622.6/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 95.00% White, 2.14% African American, 0.71% Asian, 0.36% from other races, and 1.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.71% of the population.[34][35]
There were 120 households, out of which 20.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.88.[34][35]
In the village, the population was spread out, with 17.5% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 30.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.6 males.[34][35]
The median income for a household in the village was $68,542, and the median income for a family was $74,250. Males had a median income of $61,964 versus $41,250 for females. The per capita income for the village was $34,037. None of the families and 4.8% of the population were living below the poverty line.[34][35]
Government
Local government
Since 2011, the Loch Arbour has been governed under the Walsh Act form of government. The village is one of 30 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this commission form of government.[37][38] The governing body is comprised of a Board of Commissioners, whose three members are chosen by the voters at-large on a non-partisan basis to serve concurrent three-year terms of office as part of the May municipal election. At a reorganization meeting held after each election, each commissioner is assigned a department to oversee and administer, and the commissioners select one of their members to serve as mayor and another as deputy mayor.[5] In December 2011, residents voted to switch from the Village form to the current Walsh Act form of government.[27]
As of 2024[update], members of Loch Arbour's Board of Trustees are
Mayor Saul M. Tawil (Commissioner of Revenue and Finance),
Deputy Mayor Jack D. Hedaya (Commissioner of Public Works, Parks and Public Property) and
Jason Elo (Commissioner of Public Affairs and Public Safety), all of whom are serving concurrent terms of office ending May 2028.[3][39][40][41][42][43][44]
Federal, state, and county representation
Loch Arbour is located in the 6th Congressional District[45] and is part of New Jersey's 11th state legislative district.[46][47][48]
Monmouth County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners composed of five members who are elected at-large to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats up for election each year as part of the November general election. At an annual reorganization meeting held in the beginning of January, the board selects one of its members to serve as director and another as deputy director.[54]
As of March 2011, there were a total of 160 registered voters in Loch Arbour, of which 54 (33.8%) were registered as Democrats, 42 (26.3%) were registered as Republicans and 64 (40.0%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were no voters registered to other parties.[69]
In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 56.7% of the vote (68 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 42.5% (51 votes), and other candidates with 0.8% (1 vote), among the 121 ballots cast by the village's 164 registered voters (1 ballot was spoiled), for a turnout of 73.8%.[70][71] In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 51.4% of the vote (73 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 47.2% (67 votes) and other candidates with 1.4% (2 votes), among the 142 ballots cast by the village's 186 registered voters, for a turnout of 76.3%.[72] In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 57.6% of the vote (106 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 40.2% (74 votes) and other candidates with 0.9% (2 votes), among the 184 ballots cast by the village's 231 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 79.7.[73]
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 65.1% of the vote (54 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 33.7% (28 votes), and other candidates with 1.2% (1 vote), among the 85 ballots cast by the village's 166 registered voters (2 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 51.2%.[74][75] In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 62.0% of the vote (75 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 24.8% (30 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 11.6% (14 votes) and other candidates with 0.8% (1 votes), among the 121 ballots cast by the village's 168 registered voters, yielding a 72.0% turnout.[76]
At the end of the 2016–2017 school year, Loch Arbour left the Ocean Township district after getting approval from the New Jersey Department of Education and the approval of a referendum by over 95% of voters. With 14 public school students and school property taxes of $2 million, Loch Arbour had been paying an average of $143,000 per pupil under the old arrangement, while Ocean Township residents paid only $16,000 per pupil. Under new sending/receiving relationships established with the West Long Branch district for Pre-K–8 and Shore Regional for 9–12, Loch Arbour pays tuition to each district based on the number of students.[79][80][81]
The West Long Branch Public Schools serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.[82] Students from Allenhurst and Interlaken also attend the district's school as part of sending/receiving relationships, in which students attend on a tuition basis.[83] As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 551 students and 61.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.0:1.[84] Schools in the district (with 2021–22 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[85]) are
Betty McElmon Elementary School[86] with 330 students in pre-Kindergarten through fourth grade and
Frank Antonides School[87] with 214 students in fifth through eighth grades.[88][89][90]
For ninth through twelfth grades, public school students attend Shore Regional High School, a regional high school located in West Long Branch that also serves students from the constituent districts of Monmouth Beach, Oceanport and Sea Bright.[91][92] The high school is part of the Shore Regional High School District. As of the 2021–22 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 613 students and 55.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.0:1.[93]
As of May 2010[update], the village had a total of 2.04 miles (3.28 km) of roadways, of which 1.82 miles (2.93 km) were maintained by the municipality and 0.22 miles (0.35 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.[94]
Route 71 is the main access road that passes north–south through the village.
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Loch Arbour has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa). Cfa climates are characterized by all months having an average temperature above 32.0 °F (0.0 °C), at least four months with an average temperature at or above 50.0 °F (10.0 °C), at least one month with an average temperature at or above 71.6 °F (22.0 °C) and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. Although most summer days are slightly humid with a cooling afternoon sea breeze in Loch Arbour, episodes of heat and high humidity can occur with heat index values above 103 °F (39 °C). Since 1981, the highest air temperature was 100.3 °F (37.9 °C) on August 9, 2001, and the highest daily average mean dew point was 77.4 °F (25.2 °C) on August 13, 2016. July is the peak in thunderstorm activity and the average wettest month is August. Since 1981, the wettest calendar day was August 27, 2011, with 5.60 inches (14 cm) of rain. During the winter months, the average annual extreme minimum air temperature is 3.7 °F (−15.7 °C).[99] Since 1981, the coldest air temperature was −6.0 °F (−21.1 °C) on January 22, 1984. Episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur with wind chill values below −6 °F (−21 °C). The average seasonal (November–April) snowfall total is 18 to 24 inches (46 to 61 cm), and the average snowiest month is February which corresponds with the annual peak in nor'easter activity.
Climate data for Loch Arbour, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1981–2019
According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. potential natural vegetation types, Loch Arbour would have a dominant vegetation type of Appalachian Oak (104) with a dominant vegetation form of Eastern Hardwood Forest (25).[102] The plant hardiness zone is 7a with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 3.7 °F (−15.7 °C).[99] The average date of first spring leaf-out is March 24[103] and fall color typically peaks in early-November.
^ abAstudillo, Carla. "The 10 tiniest towns in New Jersey (they're really small)", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 1, 2016, updated May 16, 2019. Accessed March 5, 2020. "We used square mile data from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to rank the ten municipalities with the smallest area size.... 3. Loch Arbour At barely over one-tenth of a square mile, Loch Arbour, named after the town of Lochaber, Scotland, sits in Monmouth County to the north of Asbury Park.... In 1957, developers planned on building a beachfront condominium complex, but area homeowners in Ocean Township were not keen on the idea. They failed to stop the developers from going ahead with construction. Instead, Ocean Township residents came up with a plan to secede from the township and form the Village of Loch Arbour."
^Strauss, Robert. "Communities; Municipal Madness or 'Creative Localism?'", The New York Times, January 4, 2004. Accessed August 17, 2013. "The final comeuppance for Ocean Township, though, came in 1957.... The Village of Loch Arbour was formed, the last new municipality in New Jersey. When it seceded, it took with it the last piece of oceanfront in the now ironically-named Ocean Township."
^ abShields, Nancy. "Loch Arbour to change government; staying village for now; Will switch from five-member board of trustees to three-member board of commissioners", Asbury Park Press, December 21, 2011. Accessed March 30, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Village residents Tuesday voted 51-35 to change its form of government from a five-member board of trustees to a three-member board of commissioners. The vote in the special election means that Loch Arbour is still a village, at least for now, but the town will have three commissioners elected at the same time every four years. The five trustees had three-year terms, which were staggered. The special election to change the form of government under the Walsh Act is part of a number of steps being taken in search of an answer to a very high school-tax bill, which residents were forced to take on after the state in 2008 ended a special financial deal the village worked out with Ocean Township a decade ago to keep school taxes low."
^"Training a fighter." The Illustrated American, July 23, 1892.
^Home Page, Deal Lake Commission. Accessed July 8, 2015. "The Deal Lake Commission was created by the seven Monmouth County, NJ towns that surround Deal Lake. The Commission was chartered in 1974 by the Borough of Allenhurst, City of Asbury Park, Borough of Deal, Borough of Interlaken, Village of Loch Arbour, Neptune Township, and Ocean Township."
^Board of Commissioners Reorganization Meeting Minutes for June 5, 2024, Village of Loch Arbour. Accessed December 13, 2024. "Department of Public Affairs and Public Safety – Mayor Saul Tawil... Department of Revenue and Finance – Commissioner Hedaya... Department of Public Works, Public Property and Beaches – Commissioner Elo"
^Wildstein, David. "Challenge to Loch Arbour election dismissed", New Jersey Globe, July 17, 2024. Accessed December 13, 2024. "Incumbents Jack Hedaya (114) and Jason Elo (113) won new terms, but the third seat was captured by Tawil. With 104 votes, Tawil defeated Fernicola (69), whose name remained on the ballot, Jeffrey Schwartz (62), and two former commissioners, Alfred Cheswick (61) and Denis D’Angelo (2)."
^Biography, Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. Accessed January 3, 2019. "Frank Pallone, Jr., was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, where he grew up and still resides."
^Monmouth County Government, Monmouth County, New Jersey. Accessed July 19, 2022. "Monmouth County is governed by five commissioners elected at-large for three-year terms. Each January, the freeholders select one of their members to serve as the director of the board for the year to preside over the meetings and activities of the Board."
^Frequently Asked Questions, Borough of Loch Arbour, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 11, 2017. Accessed August 1, 2018. "Where do Village children attend school? The Village is part of the Township of Ocean School District. Children attend the Wanamassa School, Ocean Township Intermediate School and Ocean Township High School."
^Spahr, Rob. "Shore town votes to leave longtime school district", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, April 5, 2017. Accessed April 16, 2017. "According to unofficial results posted by the Monmouth County Clerk's Office, Loch Arbour residents voted - by a margin of 93 to 4 - to withdraw from the Ocean Township School District and enter into 'send-receive' relationships with the West Long Branch and Shore Regional school districts.... The commissioners explained that Loch Arbour pays approximately $126,000 to educate a single student in Ocean Township, when it could educate the same student in West Long Branch and Shore Regional for approximately $16,000 per student."
^Radel, Dan. "Loch Arbour votes to leave Ocean Twp. schools", Asbury Park Press, April 4, 2017. Accessed August 1, 2018. "Village voters have decided by an overwhelming margin to leave the Ocean Township School District and forge a (cheaper) different path. The tally Tuesday was 93 in favor to 4 opposed, according to the unofficial results from the Office of the Monmouth County Clerk.... The village's per-pupil education cost for Ocean Township now totals about $143,000, according to Mayor Paul Fernicola. He said the village will instead send students to West Long Branch and Shore Regional High School on a per-pupil tuition rate, not yet determined, that is substantially less than the current tab."
^Frequently Asked Questions, Borough of Loch Arbour. Accessed August 1, 2018. "Where do Village children attend school? The Village of Loch Arbour has a send-receive relationship with the West Long Branch School (Grades pre-K-8) and the Shore Regional High School (Grades 9-12)."
^West Long Branch Board of Eeucation District Policy 0110 - Identification, West Long Branch Public Schools. Accessed July 25, 2023. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-Kindergarten through eight in the West Long Branch School District. Composition: The West Long Branch School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of West Long Branch."
^Stine, Don. "Allenhurst Ends Sending-Receiving Relationship with Asbury Park School District", The Coaster, August 7, 2017. "Allenhurst is following in the footsteps of its two neighboring towns and will begin to send its students to West Long Branch Elementary School and to Shore Regional High School on a per-pupil tuition basis. Board of Education President Larry O’Rourke said that Allenhurst school board officials saw Interlaken and Loch Arbour recently make the same move with permission of state Acting-Commissioner of Education Kimberly Harrington.... O’Rourke said Allenhurst has about 38 school-age children and that some may be able to start attending their new schools this September but he added that no contracts with the two schools have yet been signed."
^Shore Regional High School District 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 11, 2020. "Shore Regional High School, located in West Long Branch, Monmouth County New Jersey, is a comprehensive secondary school that proudly serves the communities of Monmouth Beach, Oceanport, Sea Bright, and West Long Branch. The beautiful ten-acre campus is situated on the banks of Franklin Lake in the borough of West Long Branch."
^Walter, Kenny. "SRHS $15.7M budget calls for flat tax levy; School taxes decrease for three of four sending towns", The Hub, April 4, 2013. Accessed January 28, 2017. "Three of the four sending districts that comprise the Shore Regional High School District — Oceanport, Monmouth Beach and West Long Branch — will pay less in taxes for the 2013-14 school year. Taxes will increase, however, for property owners in Sea Bright, which will pay a higher percentage of the regional school budget."
^Chesek, Tom. "Archive: A Sneak Preview in Circuit City", Upper Wet Side, April 22, 2011. Accessed September 22, 2015. "Red Bank area native, movie actor and filmmaker Peter Dobson directing his project Exit 102, which climaxes a daylong Reels & Wheels event at various venues in Asbury Park.... Peter Dobson: I was born in Riverview Hospital; lived on West Front Street out by River Plaza.... I went to Lincroft Elementary, Thompson Junior High and Middletown High School South — where I spent two years in tenth grade. I also lived for a while in Loch Arbour, so I have very vivid memories of hanging out in Asbury Park."
^"Music Winners Feted", Red Bank Register, December 27, 1968. Accessed September 20, 2021. "Mrs. Benjamin Nebman, 1308 Edgewood Ave., hosted a party in her home to honor her students Adrienne Wigdortz, Wanamassa, and Radia Perlman, Loch Arbour, who were two of the winners of the Monmouth Arts Foundation Merit Award for piano."
^Clugston, Michael. "A disputed killing in New Jersey", Maclean's, April 16, 1984. Accessed March 30, 2022. "Curtis was a studious high school graduate who hoped to become an astrophysicist when the killing occurred. He was visiting a school friend, Scott Franz, at his home in Loch Arbour, N. J., a small town of 300 residents, about 80 km southeast of Newark, during the summer of 1982 when the killing took place."
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